It was such a joy to attend the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this year! This is one of the biggest book celebrations of the year and it’s so exhilarating to see so many people all in one place to just love on books. Imagine seas of tents filled with booksellers and authors and readers, it’s incredible!
One of my favorite things about being at this festival is meeting readers, especially youth! I signed so many books for young kids who were thrilled to see queer superheroes in a novel, and the fact that all the books at Interlude Press are queer was just an extra bit of excitement! The faces on these kids when they realized every book they were picking up and looking through was just priceless. Some kids made stacks. Some kids took pictures to find them later or request them at libraries. It was such a great feeling.
There were also so many parents that stopped by too, or people who knew the perfect person to gift one of these books to. So much joy and love in reading, I loved it so much! All the panels were incredible, and I’m so glad to see so many discussions especially around writing for young adults.
I also was invited to be one of the speakers at a panel at the Last Bookstore! Hosted by Shades and Shadows, TRUTH IN POWER: GENRE FICTION was all about writing in our current political climate. It was an amazing, powerful discussion and I was honored to be a part of it.
Shades and Shadows is a nonprofit organization that curates speculative fiction events throughout Los Angeles. You can check out their work and support them at their website!
CB Lee 