The American Library Association Annual Conference!

In June, I attended ALAAC (American Library Association Annual Conference)-my first plane trip since the pandemic! Here are some of the highlights:

It was my daughter's first plane trip EVER! It was so fun to go to D.C. with her, and she even offered to hold my hand during the turbulence. It was an odd time to be in Washington DC and struggling with my own reactions to Roe, but I'm glad I got to share it with her.

The ALA conference is BIG! Think "The San Diego Comic Con, but for Librarians." It was amazing to see Drew Leclair Gets a Clue on more than one display in the Harper Collins booth, next to so may other great authors. It felt especially good to see HC/Clarion promoting books that celebrate pride!

I met so many cool people, like Zachary Levi (aka Eugene Fitzherbert/Flynn Rider and so many other fantastic roles) while he was promoting his memoir). He even sent me a message from Eugene to my daughter! What a nice guy!

I also got to meet Kelly Yang, author of one of my favorite middle grade books (and an early comp for Drew!) Front Desk. She was so incredibly kind, and even took a moment to let me grab my book off the shelf so I could pose with her. Definitely check out her books if you haven't!

One of my favorite parts was meeting author friends! Here are some of my fellow '22 debuts (above)

Another highlight was meeting one of my absolute FAVE middle grade authors, Tae Keller. Tae has ben a hero to me since her very first novel (The Science of Breakable Things) so this was an honor indeed!

Well, that's all for now. Stay tuned for a few more updates-it's been a busy few months!

-KB