National Book Festival 2018 Recap

Saturday was the National Book Festival in DC, one of my top events every year. I especially looked forward to it this year, since there were several authors I wanted to see and we were going to celebrate my birthday that night. Like always, I took notes on the sessions we saw and now I'm going to recap the whole thing for you.

Like the past few years, it was held in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. We got there a little early to have time to look around the exhibit floor before the first session. We got our free Scholastic books, and while our younger siblings did activities, me and my oldest siblings explored.

The first session of the day was Chris Grabenstein, author of the Mr. Lemoncello's Library series and the Island of Doctor Libris. He was hilarious and dorky, the perfect combination. It turns out he did stand-up comedy as a past career, which explains a lot. Here are a few of the things he discussed during his talk.

• Most stories start with "what if?". What if a crazy millionaire donated a library to his childhood town? What if is an excellent starting question.

• He didn't publish his first book until he was fifty. Which was super encouraging to me. And he has sixty-two books in the Library of Congress, so I'd say that's not bad. There's hope for all of us.

• How does he avoid writers block? He lets his first draft suck, because it's just for him. It's classic advice, but something I whole-heartedly agree with.

From there me, my brother, and my sister went up to the Teen room to listen to Alexandra Bracken, author of the Darkest Minds trilogy, speak. We got there early and went in while the last speaker (some weirdo) was speaking so we could get good seats. Before the talk began, I saw Alex and got my picture with her. I also asked a question at the end and that used up my bravery for the day. Here are a few of the things I learned from her session.

• Shes a lover of Star Wars and Mountain Dew. Her father was a Star Wars collector and he passed his love down to her.

• She's published a year a book since 2010 and published her first book in college, very different from Chris. She also did NaNoWriMo, which means she's awesome.

• Alex said that when you're a professional author, you're always working on three novels at once. Drafting one, editing another, and publishing a third. Good to know.

• Character is the most important part of a story. When you don't connect to the main character, you won't enjoy the story.

• Writing a duology is a fine balancing act. Having just finished a duology, I agree. You have to split the story in a weird place compared to a trilogy, and character arcs are trickier.

• Finally, the question I asked is what is her top advice for aspiring authors. It was read everything. You can learn from any type of book, even if it isn't the same kind as you're writing.

Then we went for lunch at &pizza (if you're ever in the DC area, you should go. It's so good), McDonald's for soda, then back to the convention center to rest and visit the bookstore. One of the most disappointing things about the day is that I had set aside $20 in case I found anything in the bookstore, and I didn't. Phooey.

After that, we went over to see Brian Selznick, author of The Invention of Hug Cabret and Wonderstruck. His was so full, we had to sit on the floor, but it was a good session (except learning that he's gay). He talked mostly about how he illustrated the new Harry Potter covers, but he also gave an interesting look at his art process, including physically copying and pasting his art together.

The last author I thought about going to see was Leigh Bardugo, but I was too tired by that time, so I sat in the signing line with my sister instead. She got her Brian Selznick books signed and was very happy.

Overall, it was a great day and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, even if I was exhausted at the end. If you're ever in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area at the time, you should go. It's completely free and there are always good authors.

Have you ever been to a book festival? Who is the favorite author you've ever seen? Tell me in the comments.

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