Every day, I would see lucky London bloggers tweeting about the latest signing they'd gone to, or the latest launch, and I was constantly wondering: how do they do that? I knew how, obviously - they lived in London so they could go to events whenever they liked, because there's always something bookish going on. In contrast, I'm pretty sure the two bookshop events I chaired at the beginning of the year were the first YA events our area had seen in a decade. And, y'know, the London bloggers were adults (mostly.) And most of them probably didn't have anxiety. But when I was asking myself how they did it, I think my actual issue was that I just couldn't imagine it; I couldn't imagine going to loads of events and meeting more authors than you can even remember when asked. Because... what an amazing scenario?!
And now, mostly thanks to YALC and my new railcard, I kind of can - not as much as bloggers who live in the city (or any city, really - literally everywhere else is busier and more bookish than where I live) but still much more than I could a few years ago. Up until July 2014, I'm pretty sure I'd only met one author, the lovely Cathy Cassidy, whilst other bloggers were meeting 20 or 30+ per year. Or per month. I don't make a habit of counting how many authors other people go to see, but you know what I mean.
Since July 2014, I have met...
- Rainbow Rowell
- Carrie Hope Fletcher
- Cassandra Clare
- C.J. Daugherty
- Kass Morgan
- Chris Russell
- Sophia Bennett
- Keris Stainton
- Laure Eve
- Sophie Kinsella
- Keren David
- Perdita Cargill
- Honor Cargill
- Lauren James
- Holly Bourne
- Sara Barnard
- Harriet Reuter Hapgood
- Paige Toon
- Emma Moss
- Lauren Laverne
- Simon James Green
- Tom Fletcher
- Jacqueline Wilson
And at panels or other events, I've seen but not necessarily met...
- Juno Dawson
- Sally Green
- Veronica Roth
- Sarah Rees Brennan
- Holly Smale
- Malorie Blackman
- Simon Mayo
- Nadia Shireen
- Dave Rudden
- Clare Balding
- Annie Try
- Samantha Shannon
- Robin Stevens
- Ruby Wax
- Sarra Manning
- Sarah Crossan
- Annabel Pitcher
- Liz Kessler
- Lisa Williamson
- Ed Vere
- Adrian Edmondson
- Natalia O'Hara
- Lauren O'Hara
- Emily Barr
Weirdly, it's almost perfectly equal, although I've probably missed some... whether I have or not is going to bug me for the rest of my life. But I'm so thankful to have been able to meet or watch all of these awesome and inspiring people, and I just wanted to thank them all, along with various event organisers and publicists, for bringing the love of reading across the country and inspiring the next generation of authors. I feel so inspired by simply being in the presence of these word wizards - here's to seeing (or meeting!) many more!
Which authors have you met?
Wow! You've met some seriously cool people. I know quite a few people who would probably melt into a puddle of happiness if they met Rainbow Rowell. Really awesome that you've got to meet so many great authors. :)
ReplyDeleteOk, you asked :). Here goes: Kelley Armstrong, Leigh Bardugo, Diana Gabaldon, Deborah Harkness, Susanna Kearsley, Emmy Laybourne, Guy Gavriel Kay, Jamie McGuire, Nick Cutter, Jennifer Hillier, Brad Smith, Claire Cameron, Chris Hadfield, Andrew Pyper, Frances Itani, Sean Michaels, Eric McCormack, Amanda Lindhout, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Lev Grossman, Will Ferguson, Lisa Genova, Anne Rice, Margaret Atwood, Kathy Reichs, Lawrence Hill, Lori Lansens, Nadia Hashimi, Sally Christie, D.J. McIntosh, Andre Alexis, Erin Bow, Patrick deWitt, Paula Hawkins, Pierce Brown, Linwooid Barclay, Anderson Cooper, Justin Cronin, Jodi Picoult, Emma Donoghue, Miriam Toews, and Samantha Shannon. That's most of them, and I also have autographed books by authors I haven't actually met (George R.R. Martin and Neil Gaiman for example). I LOVE going to author events, and now that my kids are grown I have more time to go to them. They really are fun aren't they? I live in Ontario, Canada, north of Toronto, so a lot of the authors I have seen are Canadian, and I must say we have some really amazing writers over here :). By the way, if you ever get a chance to meet Pierce Brown (Red Rising), definitely go because he is hot!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteI definitely wish I could meet at least this many people! I know what you mean about all of these loggers going to so many signings and author events. :P I feel like my area isn't too bookish either. Like I live near a large city, but maybe I haven't researched enough?? Probably only met about 2-3 authors in my life. XD
ReplyDeleteI've been considering starting up a book blog, but I am at a loss as to what the most effective and legal way to include cover images would be. Many people frown upon directly linking to images (on Amazon, Goodreads, etc) because it uses their bandwith and the copyrights are questionable. Do you have any recommendations as to how to host/link cover images? Blogger and Wordpress both allow you to host images, do you recommend using that method? Any information is a appreciated. Thanks~
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