Authors You Need To See At YALC 2019

Written by Sasha Zatz

If you’re a UK bookworm like me, you probably stare mournfully at posts about BookExpo and BookCon, wishing you could go. But never fear! Here in the UK, we have YALC. Short for the Young Adult Literary Convention, YALC goes on at the same time as London Film and Comic Con and young adult authors come from all over the world to talk on panels, sign books, and lead workshops. Publishers have booths selling discounted books and even giving away ARCs! Sounds like a dream, right? This years dates are the 26th to the 28th of July.

2019 will be my first year going to YALC, and I couldn’t be more excited. If you were already planning on going or are just intrigued, read on for some of the authors going this July that you should be excited for.

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YALC 2019 Authors — Bestselling author of ‘The Wrath and the Dawn duology’ and ‘Flame in the Mist’, anyone who has read Renée Ahdieh will testify that her books and magical and lyrically written, featuring unique and beautiful characters while set against richly created worlds. At YALC, Renée will be on a Friday panel called “10 Things I Love About YA Retellings” and will be accompanied by Karen Millwood Hargrave (The Deathless Girls), Sharon Dogar (Monsters), and Zoe Marriott (The Hand, the Eye and the Heart). Ahdieh also has a new novel titled ‘The Beautiful’ coming out in September.

Bex Hogan’s debut novel, Viper, released in April, and now Bex will be appearing on the “New Voices of YA Fantasy” Sunday panel along with several other authors, including Adrienne Young (Sky in the Deep) and Kesia Lupo (We Are Blood and Thunder). Viper is a swashbuckling fantasy featuring pirates and magical islands, and at YALC, Bex will also be leading a workshop on worldbuilding, so she’s really one to keep an eye out for!

Almost every Young Adult bookworm has heard of V.E. Schwab. Author of many novels, including A Darker Shade of Magic, Vicious, and This Savage Song, V.E. Schwab is one of the most anticipated authors to be visiting YALC this year. V.E. will be on Saturday’s “Mystical YA” panel with the likes of Melinda Salisbury (The Sin Eater’s Daughter) and Zen Cho (The True Queen). I’d bet there will be a pretty long signing line for V.E., so you might want to get there as early as possible!

Queen of contemporary Holly Bourne will be making an appearance at YALC on Friday to sit on the “Be Kind to Your Mind” panel. She’ll be joined by Akemi Dawn Bowman (Starfish), Amelia Mandeville (Every Colour of You), and other YA authors who write about mental health. As well as several other novels, Holly Bourne is known for her Am I Normal Yet trilogy which discusses themes such as feminism and mental health. She’ll also be leading a workshop on Friday titles “Is it Romantic or Just Creepy?” in celebration of her upcoming YA novel, The Places I’ve Cried in Public.

Natasha Ngan’s debut, Girls of Paper and Fire, took the world by storm. Set against a rich Asian-inspired setting and featuring a f/f love story, Girls of Paper and Fire is a masterpiece. Natasha will be appearing on the Sunday panel “Monsters and Their Makers” along with authors such as Samantha Shannon (Priory of the Orange Tree) and Kristin Ciccarelli (The Last Namsara). The cover for Natasha’s second novel, Girls of Storm and Shadow, was revealed a few days ago. If you’ve been on social media recently you may have seen it in all its beauty. Who knows, maybe there will be ARCs to snag at YALC! I sure do hope so…

These five are just a few of the awesome authors who will be at YALC! With a line-up featuring the likes of Juno Dawson, Malorie Blackman, and Derek Landy, you UK readers really don’t want to miss out on YALC 2019. You can find out more about the panels and other authors attending in our previous article!