YALC 2019 | Access is Important!

Last year I did a general review for YALC which included looking at the best things about YALC 2018, some problematic panels, and then a whole rant about the awful accessibility. I returned this year for YALC 2019 and although I am pleased to report that there have definitely been some improvements, there are still access issues for disabled attendees and some downright awful behavior towards disabled attendees from able-bodied ones.

Rather than doing one huge post for YALC 2019, I decided to split them up into my 2019 haul and this accessibility post to allow for more space for each thing. Accessibility is quite often an individualized experience, although some things are common across different disabled people, so I would encourage you to check out other attendees posts. So far, I’ve only seen a great one from Jenn but if you know of any others please free to point me in their direction so I can include them here as well!

SFX Book Con 2 | Rockets, Racism, and Reality

“SFX, the UK’s biggest selling sci-fi and fantasy magazine, has teamed up with Foyles once more to prove that some sequels are better than the original.”

YALC 2018 |Awesome Authors, Amazing Books & Awful Accessibility

I return from my first ever YALC!

Last week I posted about my plans to attend the YA Lit Con in London for the first year and wanted to do a little round-up because, unsurprisingly, I picked up a lot of fantastic books, met some great people and attended some interesting panels that I wanted to share with you all.

Unfortunately, not every aspect of YALC was as great as it could have been and, quite frankly, the accessibility was appalling. I posted about it a lot on twitter at the time but wanted to be able to go a bit more in-depth about what actually happened and what could have been done differently to make the entire experience enjoyable.

YALC 2018 | The Final Countdown + Plans

This year will be my first year at YALC and I am so excited for many, many reasons. For those who don’t know about YALC (like me last year!), it’s a YA Lit Convention happening in London this weekend! Lots of authors will be attending to talk on panels and sign books, there are lots of stalls giving away review copies and selling bookish merch, and lots of book bloggers will be in attendance too!

4 days to go!

THUG Event & SIGNED giveaway

For anyone who’s even heard about THUG, you’ll know that it’s a phenomenal book and one that has been dubbed a 21st-century classic, for good reason.

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.