New York City Teen Author Festival

New York Public Library – 42nd Street,
South Court Auditorium
5th Ave at 42nd St,
New York, NY 10018 

Time: 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Day Schedule: 

2:00 – Introduction

2:10-2:50: Crafting Reality

Explanation: Each of these authors writes “realistic” fiction – but, of course, reality has to be crafted in order to fit into the form of a novel. This will be a discussion about how you take the things that are true and translate them into a real-seeming fiction.

Ami Allen-Vath
Cordelia Jensen
Kody Keplinger
Sarah Darer Littman
Lois Metzger
Rajdeep Paulus
Randy Ribay
Jessica Verdi

Moderator: David Levithan

2:50-3:45: The Secret YA Lives of Adult Characters

Explanation: What if famous literary characters had secret YA pasts?

Tara Crowl
Gina Damico
Timothy Decker
Katelyn Detweiler
Corey Ann Haydu
JJ Howard
Kass Morgan
Sharon Huss Roat
Aaron Starmer
Tommy Wallach

3:55-4:40: Suspicious Minds

Explanation: Adolescence is naturally a time of suspicion – gone is the childhood assumption that adults know what’s going on, and always have your best interests at heart. These authors take these ordinary suspicions and heighten them by putting their protagonists in extraordinary situations. Here they will talk about writing about adolescent suspicion – both on the personal and societal levels.

Robin Epstein
SE Green
Lee Kelly
Alexandra Monir
Meredith Moore
Diana Renn
Tiffany Schmidt
Yvonne Ventresca

Moderator: Tara Altebrando

4:40-5:30: Perspective (Part 1)

Explanation: What perspective do we, as adults, bring to our novels when we write about teenagers? How do we balance what we know and what our characters don’t? Why do we find ourselves revisiting these years, and what do we learn (even years later) by writing about them? How do you acknowledge the darkness without robbing the reader of finding any light? In this candid conversation, we’ll talk to four acclaimed authors about being an adult and writing about teenagers.

Beth Kephart
Carolyn Mackler
Luanne Rice
Francisco Stork

Moderator: David Levithan

New York Public Library –
42nd Street, Bartos Forum
5th Ave at 42nd St,
New York,NY 10018

Time: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

1:10-1:40 – What Can YA Do About It?

Explanation: A discussion of how YA literature (and literature in general) can help social change, and the role this plays in works across a variety of genres.

Michael Buckley
Donna Freitas
IW Gregorio
Brendan Kiely
Daniel José Older
Marie Rutkoski
Scott Westerfeld

Moderator: David Levithan

1:40-2:30 – The Secret YA Lives of Historical Figures

Explanation: In the spirit of Hamilton, let’s look at different historical figures through a YA lens.

David Arnold
Sharon Cameron
Heather Demetrios
Jeff Hirsch
AR Kahler
Emmy Laybourne
Hannah Moskowitz
Melissa Walker
Sandra Waugh

2:30-3:10 – Relationships are Hard

Explanation: There is a mistaken idea that “first love” is a giddy,  simple thing, when in truth the relationships we form in high school can be just as hard and complicated as the ones we form as adults. Across a variety of genres, these authors explore “young love” and show that it is just as serious, and just as meaningful, as any other kind of love. Here they will discuss this.

Martina Boone
Selene Castrovilla
Lauren Gibaldi
Emily Ross
Adam Silvera
Jennifer E. Smith
Catherine Stine

Moderator: Aimee Friedman

3:20-4:10 – Building a World, One Page at a Time

Explanation: Each of these authors has constructed vibrant worlds for their novels – whether as offshoots of our own world, or as wholly separate worlds. Here we’ll talk about creating these stories, and the choices involved in putting together both the worlds and the characters who must navigate them.

Lisa Amowitz
Zoraida Cordova
Jaclyn Dolamore
Amy Ewing
Melissa Grey
Amalie Howard
Mackenzi Lee

Moderator: Andrea Cremer

4:10-5:00 – Perspective (Part 2)

Explanation: What perspective do we, as adults, bring to our novels when we write about teenagers? How do we balance what we know and what our characters don’t? Why do we find ourselves revisiting these years, and what do we learn (even years later) by writing about them? How do you acknowledge the darkness without robbing the reader of finding any light? In this candid conversation, we’ll talk to four acclaimed authors about being an adult and writing about teenagers.

Kerry Kletter
Alyssa Sheinmel
Nicola Yoon
Jeff Zentner

Moderator: David Levithan

March 19-A NYCTAF Evening of Treachery

McNally Jackson
52 Prince St.
New York, NY

Time: 7:00pm