YALC 2016 Line-Up Reaction

YALC is wonderful! But you all know that already. Having followed and been to every single one since its inception (don't be too impressed, it's only in its 3rd year) I have seen it grow and change. 

The first year certainly had some hiccoughs (you couldn't hear the workshops, the seating in the auditorium area was a bit cramped, blah, blah, blah). But those niggles were made up for by an incredible line-up!

2015 was a marked improvement in logistics - separate venue with speakers, blocked off areas for workshops and the genius addition of an agents' area. It was obvious the organisers listened to the feedback of attendees in 2014 and we really appreciate it. With incredible names like Cassandra Clare and Judy Blume too (who I got to escort around the festival and help with her signing! I love my job!), it was even better than 2014. You can find my 2015 YALC highlights post here for an even clearer idea and some pics below.  

YALC 2015 Highlights Reel 

This event is just heaven for a YA lover... obviously. This year's lineup just dropped and it is looking amazing! Here are some of the authors I'm really excited about seeing: 


Malorie Blackman - My goddess! I have a signed first edition of Chasing the Stars but screw it, I'm going to get her to sign it again! Shakespeare panel methinks? 

Melvin Burgess - So this year marks the 20th anniversary of Melvin's iconic Junk. Having seen him and Malorie on a panel together before, I know that he is so widely respected and a great speaker. He'll be high on my to-see list!

Keren David  - Keren is one of my favourite contemporary YA authors and I've been sad she hasn't been included in the past. I was firmly #TeamSalvage for last year's YA Prize and also loved This Is Not A Love Story. I really cannot wait to hear what Keren's been up to! 

Patrick Ness - Last year I saw Patrick in conversation with Judy Blume and he was an incredible speaker and compare. I can't wait to hear him talk about the adaptation of A Monster Calls. With the actor playing Connor coming as well! 

V.E Schwabb - All anyone talks about this year is V.E Schwabb. Looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is - I discovered Red Queen last year so here's hoping for another amazing discovery in 2016. 

Alwyn Hamilton - How much did we all love Rebel of the Sands? A lot! Wickedly excited, hope there will be a debut panel! 

Lauren James - One of the nicest authors you'll ever meet, Lauren is an absolutely gem and a fellow Nottingham Alum. Her debut novel The Next Together is YA's answer to Outlander - another for the debut panel I hope!

Juno Dawson - With Lisa Williamson also on the playbill and a lot of debate about representing trans and non-gender conforming characters occurring last year, I am sincerely looking forward to seeing what topics Juno will be discussing. Also, Juno rocked serious Daenerys cosplay last year. I am sincerely hoping that another stellar costume is in store. 

Lucy Saxon - Speaking of cosplay, Lucy's incredible outfits are always a highlight of YALC. She has assured me via Twitter that she has some amazing pieces prepped for this year too!  

Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison - Love the work by these two and can't wait to hear what they're getting up to. Having seen them both at the YA Book Prize Blogger Drinks, their new book Freshers sounds so exciting. Often the first year of university to relegated to NA smut novels, so really nice to see Rainbow Rowell and Tom & Lucy exploring this area. YA readers aren't just in high school and college you know *cough, turning 26 this month, cough* 

Non Pratt - simply because Non is awesome! 

Sara Barnard - I really loved Beautiful Broken Things and am just excited to hear Sara speak. The fact that she's joining Holly Bourne and other to talk about Squad Goals just makes it all the better. Sign me up! 

Pete Kalu - Pete is an author you might now have heard of, but he is published by HopeRoad, an indie who specialise on voices often marginalised in the media from Africa, Asian and the Caribbean. Having worked with Pete professionally in the past, I know him to be a wonderfully eloquent, passionate and lovely author. His book Being Me by Adele Vialu had some insightful things to say about race and what it is to be a woman, and Pete is very passionate about writing POCs accurately. I predict a great panel on identity in our future... To get an idea of Pete's ideas, check out this piece he did for the Guardian on writing non-cliched multicultural characters.

Nat Luurtsema - I heard Nat read from her new book Girl Out of Water at the Walker Blogger Brunch last year and she is milk out the nose funny! As well as an established author, Nat is a Bafta-nominated screen writer and comic so this is gonna be good...

Another  Harry Potter Day - last year was awesome, I'm just hoping that we get some different activities and fun things that aren't a replay of last year. 


So without just saying everything and everyone, this is who I am really looking forward to seeing. It's a cracking line-up that has a nice level of familiarity, friendly faces coming back and new exciting authors joining for the first time. With Hay's YA lineup quite a bit smaller this year, this is THE EVENT for YA lovers in 2016!


So I'm off to do this for a few hours and book my tickets, I suggest you do too! 

YALC 2015 Line-Up Reaction

So, unless you've been living under a rock these past few months, you will know that YALC is back for 2015! The ace Booktrust team have been announcing the authors on the line up in stages, but now the full line up has finally been revealed. Here's what I'm really excited about: 

• Malorie Blackman - I worship at the shrine that is Malorie, so not only am I incredibly excited that YALC is back under her steerage, I'm very happy to see she will be actively taking part again. Is it wrong to have her sign all my signed copies again? 

• Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison- I set out to read the whole YA Book Prize Shortlist this year and made it to 6, Lobsters being one of them. I think it's absolutely wonderful and does a great job at capturing what it is to be a teenager. Can't think of better attendees for a Young Adult event than these two... excited to hear news about their new projects too. 

• Moira Fowley-Doyle- The Accident Season's tarot card teasers were incredibly intriguing and to say I'm curious about Moira and this book is an understatement.. 

Were you lucky enough to receive one of these in the post today? #accidentseason by @moirawithatrema pic.twitter.com/W7vXhJowqC
— Random House Kids UK (@RHKidsUK) January 9, 2015

• Alexia Casale - I attended Alexia's workshop on finding your voice last year and (what I could hear of it) was really great and insightful. The YALC team have learned from last year and have said they've sourced separate rooms at the new Olympia location to hold these workshops in. I literally couldn't be happier with this news so hopefully another fantastic Alexia workshop is on the cards. 

• Alice Oseman & Samantha Shannon - a young author panel perhaps... intriguing. Check out Lucy at Queen of Contemporary's post on young authors (there's hope for us all yet).

• Non Pratt - I became familiar with Non through this year's YA Book Prize and Trouble has swiftly become one of my favourite contemporary YA's of all time. She is also a boss at Twitter and makes me die from laughter on public transport on a near daily basis.   

@Rachel90Kennedy pic.twitter.com/6yMKulHUoX
— Non Pratt (@NonPratt) April 23, 2015

• Louise O'Neill - Winner of the inaugural YA Book Prize, Louise is a champion of women's rights, body image and all things feminist. I'm hoping she's going to take part in a girl power style panel on self-love and self-worth. 

• Siobhan Curham - After the whole Zoella ghostwriter thing, I'm really looking forward to learning more about Siobhan and her work. 

• Lisa Williamson & Melinda Salisbury - I saw both these ladies at Oxford on a panel together and they were both ace. I was hoping to wait to buy a copy of The Art of Being Normal in paperback but I just won't be able to hold off after seeing Lisa speak so well again. And Mel is just so endearing, I wanted to give her a hug the whole last time I saw her. Looking forward to these two! 

• Lucy Saxon - Lucy was at YALC last year doing a panel on fandoms, and she cosplayed as Captain America. I'm counting on Lucy to lead the cosplayers this year - I'm already considering my Twylla/Melissandre/Scarlett Witch outfit... 

• Laura Dockrill - Particularly excited about this one and can't wait to get my grubby mits on a copy of Lorali!  I got to hang out with Laura while doing some work experience (we had the best curry I've ever had in Aberystwyth) and I can't wait to hear her speak again. Her energy is so infectious and her lipstick and wardrobe so eye-popping, she's sure to be a highlight. She might even cosplay, if the rumours are to be believed. 

• Carrie Hope Fletcher - I have been a Hopeful for a while now having discovered Carrie through Alex Day's channel back in the day. Anyone who doesn't know of Carrie or why she is YALC material, just watch below! Vloggers will take over the world! 

• Cassandra Clare - Need I Say More?! Gah!!! So excited! I saw her at Hay last year and everyone in the line was covered in Runes. I'm sure YALC will be no different, I'll bring the Sharpies! 

And last but certainly not least, I take huge pleasure in finally being able to say that Judy Blume will be at YALC this year! Fangirl to the extreme. Judy is one of the pioneering authors who carved out a teen book scene. She's incredibly inspiring, just listen to her here talking about her reading experiences as a kid. 

I am also incredibly fortunate that the PR agency I work for is handling the publicity for Judy's new adult book In the Unlikely Event. So with my YALC tickets already booked, I might even be lucky enough to escort Judy to the convention, and I might just die a little bit *fingers crossed she doesn't see this because that's embarrassingly uncool* 

And with all the other amazing authors attending, I can't wait to discover some great new voices and stories. A huge congrats to Malorie and Booktrust for creating such an incredible line-up! Bring on July! 

So who's going to YALC then? Who are you excited about seeing? 

Can't wait to see you all there!