I know I have been horrible about blogging, but I have been learning a lot about writing and books and being inspired to not just writing a blog, but also getting back into my own literary genius of a mind (and when I say literary genius, I mean of the devious, romance, perhaps mystery, oh so sassy, smart quipped book sure to be a Pulitzer prize winner! I am totally serious!) and actually trying to publish a book (again NY best seller!)
And perhaps you are asking, how on earth are you learning all of this?
Well darlings, I am in the greatest city in the world.
And being in said greatest city of the world there is a lot to offer.
Not to mention instead of having to read about all of this greatness in magazines or in my favorite authors blogs…..
Oh no great readers I actually get to be a part of it!
And what do I get to be a part of you might ask?
Why the Annual Young Adult book festival in NYC where the greatest young adult minds come together to discuss extremely important topics, like plots, dyostopic worlds, vampires, gorgeous male characters, and femme fatales.
All vital to the world.
Seriously! You may look at this and be like seriously? And I know I am sarcastic and funny and a comedian (or at least I like to live in that delusion) but in issues like this I am serious.
Yes young adult may seem like fluff to some people.
But in our world where we are surrounded by the Kardashians, implosions of marriage (Jenny, Peter, I am heartbroken as another 90120 wedded bliss bites the dust!) children starving, crooked politicians, wars, and genocide.
We need books like this. We need our children especially young adults to read. Because regardless of what we read, we are still educating our minds in some shape and form.
And yes that includes fluff.
Yes that includes romance, mystery and fantasy.
I won’t get into my Twilight tirade (and yes it made teens read which I do applaud but on terms of literary prowess it does not hold a fig to Hunger Games or Harry Potter) about Bella, but honestly you take books like Hunger Games, Harry Potter (especially the last four books), The Gemma Doyle Trilogy, And the Immortals. the lessons that these authors discuss are so pivotal. And yes they are tied up these fantasy realms, but that doesn’t dismiss the issues they bring up. Even books by Meg Cabot, Maureen Johnson, Keiran Scott, Sarah Dessen, and David Levithan yes they are fun light books for the most part, but a lot of times these author will touch on important topics for the times we live in, whether it is gay teens trying to come out, teens dealing with death, religion, sex, eating disorders, the list goes on, these authors deal with it in a way that will bring issues to the teens and make them think.
And that is something that is so incredibly important.
To be able to talk to authors who change the world in their own right is incredible. It doesn’t matter if you are a New York best seller or have only ever sold your novel as an e-book, if one person has read your work, you have influenced and impacted them in some way and that is so incredibly important.
To be part of this festival the last few days has been an incredible gift and opportunity which if I had lived in a different place I never would have been able to be a part of.
Lord knows festivals like this never come to North Conway.
To be able to pick apart these authors minds and to be part of the excitement really represents not only what New York is about but also what the Young adult community is about as well. These are authors that have inspired and will continue to do so for years to come.
This genre is relatively young. As is this festival. Only in the last ten years has the preteen and teen audience really been recognized and catered to as readers, yet I know it is only the beginning. This is an audience that has an excitement and a following not any other genre has and I hope one day I will be able to take the knowledge I have learned and finally be a part of it as a published author.
Namaste peeps and happy reading! <3
