J.W. LYNNE
AUTHOR OF BESTSELLING NOVELS WITH TWISTS, TURNS, AND SURPRISES
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YALLWEST 2018!

~ A photo essay and review by J.W. Lynne (California, USA)


YALLWEST is an annual book festival held in Santa Monica, California, for people of all ages who love young adult and middle grade books. Having enjoyed every YALLWEST since the very first one (in 2015), I couldn't wait to go to YALLWEST 2018!


At 9AM on Saturday, May 5th, when YALLWEST 2018 opened its gates, booths were stocked with free ARCs (Advanced Reader's Copies) of soon-to-be-published books, along with free book-themed luggage tags, pins, portable chargers, t-shirts, and other goodies.
 
 
Some booths used a prize wheel to decide which goodie you got.
 
 
There were fun photo ops, like the Darkest Minds photo booth.
 
 
About thirty minutes after the festival opened, the booths were a flurry of activity. The early-bird freebies disappeared very quickly, however those who arrived later weren't out of luck. Many booths had "ARC drops" and/or giveaways scheduled throughout the day.
 
 
At 10 AM, the Scholastic booth offered a free (very yummy) gourmet donut, along with four ARCs! Even sweeter, each book was handed out by the book's author! How cool!
 
 
Next, I checked out a panel of television writers and producers (Alison Tatlock, Sarah Fain, Liz Craft, Rich Hatem, Britta Lundin, and Geoffrey Thorne) who discussed fictional and real-life teen heroes.
 
 
After a quick trip to my car to drop off my morning haul and pick up the books I wanted to get signed, I joined the 1PM signing line for E. Lockhart and then the 2PM signing line for Gayle Forman.
 
 
It was nice to have a personal moment with the authors, and to walk away with my newly-signed books as a memento.
 
 
Then I was off to slip into a panel where authors Brandon Reichs, Rhoda Belleza, Christine Thompson, Marie Lu, and Neal Shusterman discussed writing about the future.
 
After the panel, I stopped by Penguin Teen's unique ARC drop. Festivalgoers were invited to select one of three dream vacations. They were given an ARC based on their answer, along with a luggage tag and a small bag of pretzels "to take on the trip."
 
NOVL opened up a green-screen photo booth offering a great YALLWEST memento.
 
The afternoon keynote was a conversation between Veronica Roth and Sabaa Tahir chatting about what influences their writing.
 
I left YALLWEST 2018 with a bunch of ARCs and some fun swag (a t-shirt, a cool bookmark, a deck of cards, Post-it notes, nail polish, a portable charger, a candle, a luggage tag, and a yoga mat) ...
 
and tons of memories!
 

YALLWEST 2018 was held on May 5th at Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California, USA.

*Jen received priority admission to the festival and was offered a complimentary ticket to all ticketed talks.


 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jen is also known as J.W. Lynne, a best selling author of eleven novels. Click on any of the titles below to see the book on Amazon!

THE UNKNOWN: Eight kids learn the shocking reason why they were kidnapped.

ABOVE THE SKY: A strict society is hiding shocking secrets.

THE DARKNESS OUTSIDE
: Ten families are locked in a bunker to take a simulated trip to the moon.

KID DOCS: An experimental program teaches kids to be doctors.

WILD ANIMAL SCHOOL: A girl falls in love at an exotic animal ranch.

WHAT HE DIDN'T TELL ME: A traumatized girl meets a boy with a horrible secret.

IF I TELL: A teen wonders if her father is a serial killer.

Besides reading books and dreaming up stories to write, Jen's favorite activities are singing along to musical theater soundtracks and hiking in California's beautiful parks.

**Jen's books are available on Kindle Unlimited.**
 
 
Heading to Los Angeles for YALLWEST?
Check out Jen's L.A. Bucket List for great ideas of things to do while you're in town!


Jen's reviews and photos of other YALLWEST book festivals:
YALLWEST 2016 Day 1
YALLWEST 2016 Day 2
YALLWEST 2017
YALLWEST 2019
YALLWEST 2022

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, YallWest 2020 and 2021 were not held in-person and were rebranded by the organizers as YALLSTAYHOME (Yall Stay Home), a virtual book gathering that took place largely online. The next YALLWEST will likely be in 2024!

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Descriptions of great YA books in ten words or less
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Go on a blind date with a YA book
 
 
YALLWEST 2024 tips:

Follow YALLWEST on Facebook and Twitter to be the first to know the details about the 2024 festival, including the complete author lineup and schedule.

Before you go, look over the schedule and program and plan out your day.

If you want to be among the first people to walk through the gates when the festival opens, arrive early. For YALLWEST 2023, about 30 people were in line at 7:30 AM (the festival was scheduled to open at 9 AM) and the line grew quickly after 8AM.

If there's an ARC of a soon-to-be-published book that is on your must-read list, stop by the booth where it will be given away as soon as you arrive at the festival to make sure you know the rules to get that specific ARC.

If there's an author who you'd like to have sign your book, review the signing schedule carefully. Lining up to meet certain authors (generally those marked on the schedule with an *) may require a wristband. Check the rules to see when those wristbands will be distributed.

If there's a panel that you MUST attend, arrive at the panel early. At YALLWEST 2023, I saw lines for some popular panels beginning more than 20 minutes before the panel was scheduled to start.

A few events (generally the "Keynotes" and "Smackdown") require tickets that you purchase online in advance.

Be prepared to wait in long lines for almost everything.

Pack a refillable water bottle. There are drinking fountains at the school where you can fill your bottle throughout the day.

Dress in layers. In Santa Monica, California, the weather tends to be cool early in the day and in the evening, but temperatures can get hot during the day.

Wear comfortable closed-toed shoes. The Santa Monica High School campus is not very large, but you will be surprised how much walking you will do, often on crowded walkways.