YALC Haul and Giveaway

If you read this post the other day - or if you don't live under a rock - you'll know that London was overrun with bookworms from July 17th-19th due to YALC, otherwise known as the Young Adult Literature Convention.

I had to go. And, of course, I came away with a lot of stuff. Eight tote bags full of stuff, in fact - most of it free! If you want to know more about the day, you can read my event recap here, but today I'll be showing you the books I bought, the books I got signed, and the freebies I picked up, some of which I'll be giving away in this post.


Before the big day, I already had a vague idea of what books would be available to buy and so I made a list of the ones I wanted. There weren't many as I was on a tight budget, so I only noted down the ones I really, really wanted to get. They were:

• When I Was Me by Hilary Freeman
• Counting Stars by Keris Stainton
• Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa
• How to be Bad by E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski and Lauren Myracle (signed)
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (signed)

Unfortunately, I completely forgot about the list which was right there on my phone and so I only bought Counting Stars and Fans of the Impossible Life. I'm glad I got those, obviously, but I'm really disappointed that I didn't get the others. And they were on the same stand as Counting Stars so how I missed them, I don't know! I really, really wanted those signed copies, as I doubt I'll ever get the opportunity to get them signed in person.

Not on my list as I already had a copy was The Baby by Lisa Drakeford, but I ended up buying a signed finished edition as I loved it so much.

While I didn't buy many books - only three, what?! - I got a lot signed. I only attended two signings at YALC, but between them, Cassandra Clare and C.J. Daugherty signed thirteen books! Can I just point out the messages C.J. wrote? I love it when authors write things other than their name, but especially when the message is personal! 

And now... the book swag. Not only was there a freebies table at the YALC entrance piled high with stuff, but every publisher stand had freebies too. IT. WAS. AMAZING. I am a big fan of free stuff, as you can tell.

That's about a quarter of my loot. LOOK AT IT ALL. Such pretty, much yes, very wow. Don't you worry, though - it's not all for me! I picked up lots of duplicates with a giveaway in mind. Here's the selection I'm giving away:

There will be one winner and it is open internationally! Click the arrows to see all of the prizes. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway