Last weekend, I
went to KidLitCon, not quite sure what to expect. I already knew that the organizers, Colleen Mondor, and Jackie Parker, were awesome; they'd helped me find a carpool from
Portland to Seattle and back (Emily Whitman and Amy Baskin, excellent travel
partners). But I hadn't heard of
KidLitCon until Colleen tweeted about it, and I signed up mostly because it was
nearby and sounded like a fun way to spend a weekend.
Luckily, it was amazing.
We set out at 7:30 AM on Friday morning, and made it to the Hotel Monaco around lunchtime. The conference kicked off with a panel on the relationship between bloggers, authors, and publishers (the first of many times that we'd discuss the evergreen issue of writers reviewing books). Every room was equipped with long tables, notepads, and pens - if you've ever tried to balance writing materials on your lap while taking notes and listening at the same time, you can imagine what an excellent plan this was.
Most of the conference had two sessions running at once, which worked very well except when I wanted to attend both (a frequent issue). Some of my favorite sessions included:
- Denise Jaden, Karen Kincy, Chelsea Campbell, and Mindi Scott talking about developing and finessing your online persona
- Suzanne Young and Sara Gundell hitting us with wisdom about the collaboration between authors and bloggers and how that can lead to crazy awesome creative marketing
- Stasia WardKehoe discussing how to find the heart of your blog (and making everyone participate)
Scott Westerfeld's keynote was, as you may imagine, brilliant - all about reviving the lost art of illustrated novels that he's exemplified in the Leviathan series. Goliath was on sale a few days early, and I ended up buying a copy for myself along with five other books. Oops. Some of the proceeds went to RIF, as part of the KidLitCon fundraising efforts for the organization, so I don't feel guilty.
The final panel, moderated by Lee Wind, was an impassioned and at times fierce discussion of diversity in YA literature. I particularly appreciated the nuanced argument that authors shouldn't be afraid write characters of backgrounds and beliefs different than their own - as long as they're diligent about researching and being aware of stereotypes they may play into. The panelists were Sarah Stevenson, Brent Hartinger, Justina Chen, and Sara Ryan. Check out microaggressions for a quick glimpse at privilege & other issues discussed.
I think my favorite part of the conference, though, was the sheer number of great conversations I had with other attendees. Mindi Scott and I spent a two-hour lunch discussing everything from balancing work and writing to portrayals of incest in literature. Stasia Ward Kehoe led a charge to the complimentary hotel wine hour after sessions ended for the day, and a group of us took over the hotel lobby, swallowing any non-conference-attendees within our conversations. Everyone was universally friendly and welcoming, and because the conference was fairly small - about 90 people - we had the chance to talk (and breathe!) and mingle while eating some astoundingly good food.
Would I go again? Absolutely. Is there any reason you wouldn't go? Only if you a) hate the internet and other people and b) never ever ever want to hear anything about blogging. Though even those folks may come out of it inspired to start - after a few sessions, I started planning out a highly ambitious schedule of podcasting and vlogging until I remember that I barely manage to update this blog twice a month. Still. Highly recommended.
Luckily, it was amazing.
We set out at 7:30 AM on Friday morning, and made it to the Hotel Monaco around lunchtime. The conference kicked off with a panel on the relationship between bloggers, authors, and publishers (the first of many times that we'd discuss the evergreen issue of writers reviewing books). Every room was equipped with long tables, notepads, and pens - if you've ever tried to balance writing materials on your lap while taking notes and listening at the same time, you can imagine what an excellent plan this was.
Most of the conference had two sessions running at once, which worked very well except when I wanted to attend both (a frequent issue). Some of my favorite sessions included:
- Denise Jaden, Karen Kincy, Chelsea Campbell, and Mindi Scott talking about developing and finessing your online persona
- Suzanne Young and Sara Gundell hitting us with wisdom about the collaboration between authors and bloggers and how that can lead to crazy awesome creative marketing
- Stasia WardKehoe discussing how to find the heart of your blog (and making everyone participate)
Scott Westerfeld's keynote was, as you may imagine, brilliant - all about reviving the lost art of illustrated novels that he's exemplified in the Leviathan series. Goliath was on sale a few days early, and I ended up buying a copy for myself along with five other books. Oops. Some of the proceeds went to RIF, as part of the KidLitCon fundraising efforts for the organization, so I don't feel guilty.
The final panel, moderated by Lee Wind, was an impassioned and at times fierce discussion of diversity in YA literature. I particularly appreciated the nuanced argument that authors shouldn't be afraid write characters of backgrounds and beliefs different than their own - as long as they're diligent about researching and being aware of stereotypes they may play into. The panelists were Sarah Stevenson, Brent Hartinger, Justina Chen, and Sara Ryan. Check out microaggressions for a quick glimpse at privilege & other issues discussed.
I think my favorite part of the conference, though, was the sheer number of great conversations I had with other attendees. Mindi Scott and I spent a two-hour lunch discussing everything from balancing work and writing to portrayals of incest in literature. Stasia Ward Kehoe led a charge to the complimentary hotel wine hour after sessions ended for the day, and a group of us took over the hotel lobby, swallowing any non-conference-attendees within our conversations. Everyone was universally friendly and welcoming, and because the conference was fairly small - about 90 people - we had the chance to talk (and breathe!) and mingle while eating some astoundingly good food.
Would I go again? Absolutely. Is there any reason you wouldn't go? Only if you a) hate the internet and other people and b) never ever ever want to hear anything about blogging. Though even those folks may come out of it inspired to start - after a few sessions, I started planning out a highly ambitious schedule of podcasting and vlogging until I remember that I barely manage to update this blog twice a month. Still. Highly recommended.
2 comments:
Great seeing you!
Most excellent wrap-up, Nora! Hope to see you again soon.
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