YALC 2015 - Day 2

So, following on from yesterday's blog, here's what happened on Day 2 of YALC 2015:

Saturday 18th July 9am-6pm

Hooray, another day of YALC. Another day of amazing authors, talks, panels and even a wander into LFCC, to spy some film and TV celebs. And today I had my partner in life and crime with me, so even better!

 

Lovin' our YALC wristbands, though the guy took the piss a little with how tight he fastened mine.  

I expected higher numbers today, especially with it being the weekend and huge draws like Cassie Clare, Malorie Blackman, Holly Smale, Patrick Ness and Judy Blume, to name a few. I know. Wow!

So my slightly paranoid status had us sat in the main arena half an hour before the first panel. Well, you wouldn't want to chance it would you?

1st Panel 10.30-11.15 YA: The Next Generation

When the chair of the panel comes on and starts complaining how she feels old at 23, you know this could seriously harm your almost 32 year old self, especially as the panellists ranged from 15 years old to 24 years old and are all successful and published, and you haven't even any agent interest. The chair feels old? I could have mothered the youngest panellist. *Throws up a little*

Okay, so enough of my vomit. This was a fantastic panel, if somewhat terrifying that you can be so successful so young. Yet, why the heck not. If your writing is great then it should be recognised no matter how old you are. Side note: I would really like to be published before I'm 40 if at all possible. *Appeals to YA Literature Gods and Goddesses*

Chair Samantha Shannon and panellist Lucy Saxon who couldn't sit down due to her amazing cosplay. Good effort, I think all would agree. 

Left to right: Samantha, Lucy, Helena, Taran and Alice.

Alice Oseman: Author of Solitaire. Published at 19, now 20. 

Lucy Saxon: Signed with Bloomsbury at 17, now 20. Author of Take Back the Skies.

Helena Coggan: Author of The Catalyst, published at 15, still 15. 

Taran Matharu: Published after 3,000,000 reads on Wattpad. Author of Summoner: The Novice. 24.

Chair Samantha Shannon: Author of The Bone Season, now 23.

1st Question: How did you come about being published so young?

Lucy: Lucy told us that she had a lot of time off school after being diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. It gave her a lot of time to focus on her writing. Her parents knew an agent and within eight months she had a deal. 

Helena: Helena told us of entering writing competitions from the age of nine and that she wanted to write a book before she was thirteen. That didn't happen, but once she turned thirteen, she decided to do it. Her parents knew a non-fiction editor who sent it on to someone she knew and within a month she had a deal. 

Taran: Taran had a really interesting story, in that he had taken part in NaNoWriMo and then afterwards was uploading a chapter every day to Wattpad - a social platform where writers can share their work with other writers and readers. After only a month he had 100,000 reads, and after four months over a 1,000,000 reads. He talked about Wattpad being a great service due to the motivation it gave him, and of course that readers can share their comments. A journalist from NBC interviewed him about his success on Wattpad and then he was contacted by an audio book publisher. He sought advice from agents he followed on facebook and pretty soon had three US agents and 3 UK agents to choose from. He has already been translated into around ten languages. 

Alice: Alice too had started NaNoWriMo but had never finished, and deleted the story. But she started writing it again, as the story wouldn't go away and she realised, 'I really believe in this book.'

After five months she had finished writing it, then researched the traditional submission route, and once she had found her agent, they spent six months editing together. 

2nd Question: Has age affected your experience?

Lucy: Lucy admitted to having been 'seventeen for three years,' in the media. 'The younger you are, the more impressive it sounds.'

Helena: Helena told us that 'they pay attention to you quite a bit,' and expect lots of media coverage and interviews, which she admitted was very daunting. She also said she felt they 'judge you less harshly.'

Taran: He said that it has been a lot of fun, being a young published writer, as a lot of your readers are a similar age, so you meet a lot of people. He also told us that he was often asked if he was a 'proper writer,' or if he was just someone that bums around the house not really doing anything. He is proud to be a full time writer. 

Alice: She feels as a young writer that she is sometimes not taken a hundred percent seriously, but that since being published, 'the positives have outweighed the negatives.' She also agreed with Lucy that it can be a high selling point for a publisher, to have a young writer on their books. 

3rd Question: If the target age of YA is 12-18, does the author's age matter?

Alice: Alice said she found it easy writing about people her own age. 

Lucy: 'I'm gonna write the story I would like to write and I would like to read.'

Taran: 'I wrote it for myself.' He also added that the author's age doesn't matter and that the formative years stick out in any one's mind. 'Everyone has been a teenager.'

Helena: At thirteen, Helena felt that two years ahead - her main protagonist is fifteen, her current age - is all she could manage. She also posed a question of her own: Can teenagers write adult characters? 'If you're good enough to write, you're good enough to write.'

4th Question: How much of an influence is social media, and what is your favourite platform?

Taran: Wattpad. He talked of the motivation you can feel to give the readers what they want and to take into consideration their comments. He feels it is a very social experience, whereas now he is writing in a more solitary way, but admits that this does give him more time to reflect. He talked about being a role model for aspiring authors, giving advice and interacting with fans and other writers. 

Alice: Tumblr. This is Alice's favourite as it has its own culture, its own jokes and feels like quite a young website. She likes that you can share your real life too, post photographs and make it more personal. 

Lucy: 'All of them.' Lucy admits to spending way too much time on the internet. She's a huge fan of cosplay, she used to write Harry Potter fan fiction and then branched into original fiction. She uses Tumblr to feel connected to other authors. 

Helena: Helena is pretty much absent from social media. She said she likes twitter and facebook, but is not actually present on them. She says she 'doesn't want to get addicted.' And says maybe in a couple of years she would join up. She wants to get through school without the distractions, but also is worried that she could say something stupid and it could be immortalised forever. 

If only more people had that sense....

5th Question: Diversity and Feminism: is there anything you would change in your books?

Lucy and Alice both talked about the 'white washing' in their books, but also see ways to change in the future. They have been educated in the issues and know they can do better next time. Lucy would also like to explore more gender and sexuality roles in her work. 

Taran: He told us there is actually a lot of diversity on Wattpad, but then this wasn't backed up with the published books that are out there. He talked of the publishers and retailers not being diverse in their choices and acquisitions. He talked again about the role model he can be on Wattpad and that everyone needs to feel represented within literature otherwise it can be a very lonely place. He also told us of a lot of Muslim romance on Wattpad, but that there is none out there in the book shops. 

Helena: Helena told us of the three types of girls in YA: The ugly duckling, the naive duckling and the anti-social duckling. All three of these 'types' end up falling in love with a more knowledgeable male love interest. The end. She admitted that a lot of writers default to their demographic and find it difficult to break out of that. But she also agreed with Taran that to have nothing in common with anyone in fiction, would be horrendous.

6th Question: Any advice for writers out there? 

Lucy: 'Practise.'

'Keep writing.'

'Have faith.'

Taran: 'Don't keep it a secret. Share it.' And when reading, Taran urged us to analyse it and learn from others. 

Alice: 'Write something you want to read.'

Lucy: Lucy said, if you find yourself not represented in literature, then 'write yourself represented. You write you!'

Helena: Helena told us not to wait for a whole novel to form itself in your head like J.K Rowling and Harry Potter. She told us to work on our ideas, and try not to think about endings and what happens on the publishing side. 

Now for the audiences turn with the Q&A:

Why aren't there more young men published?

Helena: Helena sort of flipped this and answered from the point of view of the girls and why there are so many girls published in YA. She thinks it is down to role models for girls - young men have loads - but often girls have to make them up and YA is a great platform to do that. 

Taran: Taran thinks is could be that YA stems from children's which is 'almost entirely female.' but then he also talked about how publishing is still a male dominated world, with YA and children's being the anomalies. 

What about disability in YA?

Lucy: 'I've got plans.' But she also stated that she didn't want to bring her personal struggles with chronic fatigue into her writing. She also feels disabilities are misrepresented or unrepresented in all forms of media. 

Taran: Taran believes mental illness and disability need to be further represented in YA. He talked about one of his characters being a female warrior who had lost both legs but gets about by riding on a Griffin. 

Helena: Helena said that mental illness definitely needed better representation, and that often disabilities are something authors might need to work around, especially in fantasy writing when a lot of battles take place. 

A great opening panel, really interesting to hear how they started their journeys. I have to say I was slightly terrified of Helena. And only because, to be so poised and articulate at such a young age, is just out of my realm of thinking. I couldn't be so poised now and I'm double her age and a bit more. So really I'm just jealous of them all, but then you have to take a step back and say, it will happen in its own time. This was meant to happen for them at this time in their lives, and that is wonderful, but I just have to be patient and keep working my ass off. 

2nd Panel 11.30-12.15: Shadowhunters

As the last panel was so long, I'm going to keep this brief. I love the Shadowhunter series. I love Cassie Clare and the characters she creates, and so I was particularly excited about this. 

Our interviewer, the wonderfully colourful and hilarious Sarah Rees Brennan.

Cassie and Sarah really getting into the questions. 

Cassie was kind enough to tell us about her new series: The Dark Artifices, set five years after the end of City of Heavenly Fire. And she also gave us some insight into the sequel series to The Infernal Devices called The Last Hours. Cassie then treated us to some tales from the Shadowhunter set, talking about her favourite actors and characters. 

I felt a little bit sorry for Sarah at points, as she was so pumped up and probably used to an equally pumped up American audience. Why are us Brits so reserved? I'm certain most of the audience were screaming inside, but on the outside probably came across as dazed or uninterested. Bless her though, she kept going and never let that enthusiasm falter for a second. 

Here is a brief selection from the audience Q&A:

If you could choose one bloodline, what would it be?

Cassie: Blackthorn

Sarah: Sarah didn't want to be a shadowhunter, she wanted to be a downworlder. 'And also a panther.'

Which downworlder would you be?

Cassie: Warlock. They live forever, don't have to drink blood and can still go outside. 

Sarah: Vampire, so she can be 'super foxy forever.'

'I'll drink Jace like a smoothie.'

Which character would you be stranded on a desert island with?

Cassie: 'Magnus Bane as he would find a way to magic us out of there.'

Sarah: Gideon Lightwood.

Which rune is your favourite?

Cassie: Fearless, because you're not just fearless in battle but in all parts of your life. 

Is it difficult to switch points of view when writing?

Cassie told us the hardest thing was matching up all the times. So if it is such a time in Idris, what time is in in New York, and of course, 'what time is it in hell?' She said the logistics were often the hardest part as she actually enjoys adding points of view and writing from different angles. 

'In hell it's always 5am.'

A really fun author interview. Now I just have to figure out how the hell I'm going to fit all the new series on to my dwindling shelf space. Damn you Cassie and your large books and long series. Have pity for the folks in tiny flats in London. ;-)

3rd Panel 12.30-1.15pm: Being a Girl

An eagerly awaited panel on my behalf, I just about had time to stand up and have a walk around, to stave off the numb bum, before Feminism in YA.  And what a treat we had with such an array of fabulous female writers to talk us through it:

Chair of the panel: Anna James
Malorie Blackman: Author of too much stuff to mention. She is the former Children's Laureate.
Holly Smale: Author of the Geek Girl series.
Hayley Long: Author of teen fiction titles and new non-fiction: Being a Girl.
Laura Dockrill: Author of MG fiction and new YA book: Lorali.
CJ Daugherty: Author of the Night School series.

 From left to right: Malorie, Hayley, Holly, Laura, CJ and Anna. 

1st Question: What do you think is a feminist book and how do you make sure your book is feminist?

Holly: Holly doesn't believe there needs to be purely feminist books, she believes that women should be treated as equally as men in everything, as that's what feminism is: equality for both sexes. Holly tries to write girls, 'as amazing as they are in real life.'

Laura: Laura suggested that feminism in YA could also explore tight knit groups of girls, looking out for each other and lending support. 

CJ: CJ said often in her books she tried to take away from the notion that girls get into trouble and boys rescue them, and make it more about girls rescuing each other, or one character rescuing themselves. 

Hayley: Hayley said it was important to create three dimensional characters with good roles for girls, 'not just stereotypes and supporting roles.'

Malorie: Malorie talked about writing 'girls I grew up with. Girls I thought I was.' She also stated that these girls 'don't have to be superheroes.' They should be flawed and they should be realistic. We shouldn't be promoting 'one view of girls.' We should be exploring all facets of what it means to be a girl and not trying to put girls into a box.

Holly: Holly added that it was about honesty and truth.

2nd Question: It's very topical at the moment, but is the term feminism still needed?

Hayley: Hayley thinks it is something at her very core and she doesn't feel the need to call herself a feminist, despite being one. She said, 'It's about being me.'

Malorie: Malorie talked about the term being very much relevant and needed.  She said, 'There's still not that equality. That's why we're still talking about it. There's a way to go on this.' Malorie mentioned how the media is still hell bent on projecting women as merely something to look at, rather than showing believable characters and qualities. 

Laura: Laura talked about the fact that women are still judged on their ability to be a woman, by motherhood and how well they will raise children. 

Holly: Holly talked about dispelling any negatives against the term feminism. And that it is not about angry, men-hating women. It is about equality. She mentioned anti-suffragette posters that were used as anti-feminist propaganda. And she also revealed how the main two questions she is asked at events are still: 'Are you married? Do you have children?'

CJ: CJ talked about teens learning about gender roles and hopefully absorbing these ideals.

3rd Question: When you write are you consciously thinking about gender?

CJ: CJ told us that she started out wanting to write a boy character, but soon gave up and decided it had to be a girl. She also told us about giving her characters roles that they don't currently have in the real world: 'My first act was to admit girls to Eton.' And in literature you can do this. You can have the first female prime minister, and then girls are reading about these things and thinking, I could do that. 

Holly: 'I've been an angry feminist since I was four. It's inherent to me. It's part of my voice.'

She admitted that of course one book won't change anything, but that we have to keep chipping away with every book. Comedy plays a huge part in Holly's writing and she feels that 'humour is inherently feminist,' as you are using your brain, your voice and your strength. 

Hayley: Hayley told us feminism 'is in my blood.' She talked about fighting against the rules when she was younger: 'That's not fair. I want to wear trousers. I want to be noisy.'

Malorie: 'Don't let anyone pin their labels on you.'

4th Question: How do we challenge the stereotypes?

CJ: 'Male characters are allowed to be flawed.' CJ told us that often her female fans are hardest on her female characters, especially when they make a mistake, but that they forgive the flaws of the male characters.

Hayley: 'Girls can be too hard on each other.'

Anna: Anna added that it is often, 'how we've been taught to see other women.'

Laura: Laura spoke proudly of her mother and how strong and supportive she has always been. She talked about it being important to write 'real girls.'

Holly: Holly talked about how society has created feminine and masculine and that we are all mixtures of both. She talked of words used in the media to describe books written by women, as being derogatory and literally meaning, 'without weight.' 

CJ: CJ also added that a big struggle for female writers if there is a female protagonist or a female on the front cover of the book, is that often half the population of YA readers - the male half - won't even pick it up.

Holly: Holly also added the point that when J.K Rowling released Harry Potter, she was advised not to be Joanne, but J.K, as they thought it might alienate the boy readers. 

Say what?

5th Question: Where can YA go next in Feminism?

Malorie: It has to 'keep challenging and keep talking about it'. It has to 'challenge perceptions.'

Laura: 'School visits,' are a good place to start. Introduce these ideas to them young. 

Hayley: Hayley spoke of often the boys enjoying her school trips the most, as they are given the opportunity to read something not always accessible to them, something which may even be seen as taboo to them. 

Holly: Holly then turned that on its head and made the point that girls wouldn't bat an eyelid at reading male characters. 

Now over to the floor for some audience Q&A:

Young Girls are starting to reject the term feminist, asking is there anything left to fight for in feminism?

Holly completely kicked ass here, so much so that I didn't even manage to write anything down. I just had to stop and listen. She was on fire!

Holly kicking ass!

Hayley: Hayley thought that maybe it could be the label that confuses people. 

Malorie: Malorie talked about women never being equal until childcare is free and women can actually go back to work after having children without having to sacrifice their jobs, their positions or their training. She also said that most CEOs and heads of companies are still predominantly men. 'We are not equal!'

Do you think the next big thing in YA could genderlessness?

Laura: Laura talked about us all being 'cockatils of men, women and beasts.' She said we should celebrate our differences. 

Holly: She doesn't feel gender needs to be taken away, but the ideals of femininity and masculinity need to be thrown out as they were made up by society. They don't really exist.

Malorie: 'Make sure boys and girls have access to everything!'

What kind of male characters do you want to write about, and how do you go about writing male characters?

Malorie: 'Half my books have male protagonists.' She reiterated that we should be writing 'realistic men, like the men I've encountered.' She talked of getting your facts straight and 'finding the truth in your characters.'

Hayley: 'Males are not aliens.'

Laura: You don't ask this question about fantastical creatures: 'How did you get into the brain of that zebra?' 

Holly: They should be written with a 'mixture of masculine and feminine qualities.' 

Thank you to all the ladies speaking in this panel. Lots to think about there and just thinking about some of the points raised here, makes you realise how much society and media influence the way girls and boys, women and men are seen and heard. Lots to consider. Thank you again!

Tried to get in on the official photo op. Not quite. It's off centre, but every one's smiling. 

After three straight panels in a row, we had to go for a walk, and we headed for LFCC. Refusing to queue for the stairs - yes queue for the stairs - we took the lift. 

HIGHLIGHTS OF MY AFTERNOON BREAK.

•   Coming out of the loo behind Malorie Blackman, who then bumped straight into Patrick Ness.
•    Being in a lift with Judy Blume
•    Getting to see, and photograph two of the Musketeers from BBC Musketeers. Oh my. 

 Tom Burke AKA Athos

Luke Pasqualino AKA D'artagnan

• Jodi Lyn O'Keefe from The Vampire Diaries and Prison Break totally busting me for taking a sly picture of  her, by taking one of me. 

 

 Jodi Lyn O'Keefe

Busted! I did actually strike a pose for her. I'm sure she'll treasure it. Ha ha.

• Sneaking a little peak of Neve Campbell, 90s legend. 

SCREAM!

• And various Game of Thrones sighting: Pod, Red Lady and Hodor. 

Now back to business, and don't worry this is the last event now: the author talk between Judy Blume and Patrick Ness. For this we were transported downstairs to the Super Stage which had just had a talk by Michael J Fox. 

Again, I'm going to keep this brief, and use my favourite quotes and questions from the talk, as well as some nice pictures:

Patrick losing his shit. 

Hunting for YALC freebies for Judy Blume. ;-)

My favourite quotes and answers from the talk: 

• (When dealing with expectation) 'You just have to get rid of it. When you write, you have to get everybody off your shoulders.'
• (On Forever) 'I wanted to write a book where two kids do it and nobody dies.'
• 'I love bad language. It's satisfying, like tap dancing. (Judy then tap dances.) It feels good.'
• Patrick talked of Judy's books being very personal to him and being a 'ladder to adulthood.'
• Her new book is published as an adult title but some of the main voices are teenagers. It is based on a true event from 1951 in her home town.

Q&A from the audience:

What was it like when you were first published?

'I didn't know anything. I didn't know anyone. I just did it.' She talked about her belief that she would die young, which spurred her on and she had all this creative energy and a 'renewed zest for life.'

What did you read as a teen?

'Anything I could get my hands on.' Judy told us of raiding her parent's book shelves. 

Who do you read now?

Judy told us that whilst she is writing a book, she doesn't read anything, as she starts to have self- doubt that she couldn't possibly write something that good. She did tell us that she recently read: We are all Completely Beside Ourselves, by Karen Joy Fowler. And urged everyone to read it. 

How did you feel when your books were banned or censored?

'I was mad!'

She talked about 1980 being the big turn around in banning books and that she works closely with the National Coalition Against Censorship. She also mentioned how books are often only banned after they become popular and they realise the kids like them. 

Why haven't your books been made into many films?

'I have a bad rep in Hollywood.' She said, 'it is too easy to get it wrong.' She also talked about child actors often being 'cute instead of real.'

But she did admit to being quite open to her books being made into films. 

It was such a pleasure to see both these authors in conversation and to have one author - Patrick Ness - so totally shell shocked to be in the position of interviewing one of his all time favourite authors. Books you read as children and teens tend to stay with you for life. The voices of the authors, the characters they create, and how they make you feel, never really leave you. 

What an amazing two days of YA love. Sadly I couldn't make it to Day 3 - hooray, you all cry, I don't have to read another one of these obscenely long blogs - as I ran the very sweaty 10 Km in Olympic Park and finished in the stadium, which rounded off a jam packed and very exciting weekend, nicely. Thank you to the organisers. Thank you to The Olympia for letting YALC move there. Thank you for YALC's separate floor and queue - long may that continue. And no doubt, I'll see you next year.

Thank you for reading. 

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