Tag Archives: book festivals

The YALLWEST 2025 Recap

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Today is all about YALLWEST 2025!  This was my 2nd time going; my first time was back in 2019.  You can find that recap here. I also did their virtual events during COVID, and it was fun make the trip up to Santa Monica and to attend in-person.  It took me a few days to organize my thoughts, but it was really fun, and I’m glad I went.

Initial Thoughts

I got there about 9:30, and my intention was to walk around and check everything out.  Since my last/only in-person trip was 6 years ago, I wanted to check everything out before everything started at 11.

That was actually the most frustrating part of the day!  It was incredibly crowded and near impossible to walk through, so I looped around as best I could and got some coffee while I waited for the first panel to start.  It did get better as the day went on but it was pretty frustrating as someone who just wanted to walk around and check everything out first.  It seemed pretty disorganized to someone who wasn’t trying to get arcs, and in my opinion, it’s a matter of time before someone gets hurt just trying to navigate that area, whether you’re in line or just trying to walk around.  I’m not sure what the solution is, but I think the set-up they had needs to change.  Along with crowd control, and making sure the lines aren’t blocking basically the whole sidewalk.

The Panels

I did one panel at 11, Manuevering the Map, which was moderated by Marisha Pessl, and featured Kristen Ciccarelli, Tracy Deonn, Akwaeke Emezi, Hafsah Faizal, and Laura Goo.  I loved hearing the authors talk about how they created their worlds.  Tracy Deonn uses a spreadsheet to keep track of the lines of Arthur, while Hafsah Faizal uses email drafts for ideas.  Faizal also started with just vibes for A Tempest Of Tea.  And Akwaeke Emezi’s ideas start with daydreams and expand out from there.  That panel had a giveaway, so I ended up a pretty cool tote bag and a couple of arcs.  While I don’t seek them out, I’m not going to complain if they are freely given to people going to a panel.

The other panel I went to was at 4, Holding Space For Defying Gravity.  It was moderated by Jill Tew, and had Lily Braun Arnold, Chloe Gong, Tahereh Mafi, E.L. Starling, and Joseph Andrew White.  I have to say, E.L. Starling’s upcoming book sounds great, so I can’t wait to check that one out.  This panel was all about dystopia, and the one thing that really stuck out from that panel was when Tahereh Mafi was talking about hope, and how much we put on the next generation to solve things, but that the adults need to take on some of that responsibility as well.  At that point, we ran out of time, but that was a great note to end on.

The Signings

I did four author signings this year!  The Kristen Ciccarelli and Tracy Deonn signings were the main reason why I went up to YALLWEST this year.  I got The Rebel Witch signed when Kristen Ciccarelli made a stop at Mysterious Galaxy, but I didn’t realize I needed a copy of Heartless Hunter until I got to the event, and the store was sold out.  So when I saw she was going to be at YALLWEST, I grabbed a ticket once they were available, and I was set.  I was able to get the Legendborn Cycle signed as well, and hopefully when book 4 comes out, I’ll be able to get that signed.  Ciccarelli and Deonn were back to back (2 pm for Ciccarelli and 3 pm for Deonn), so I was able to get in line for Tracy Deonn once I got Heartless Hunter signed.

I also did two non-ticketed signings: I got If We Were A Movie by Zakiya N. Jamal and Throwback by Maurene Goo signed.  The Maurene Goo signing was at 2, so I got in line for her first, and then headed across campus for the Ciccarelli signing.  I figured the line for Maurene Goo would be shorter, which gave me plenty of time to get in for Kristen Ciccarelli.  Plus, it meant I could get in line for Tracy Deonn’s signing at 3, since I was already there.

The Rest Of The Day

I had quite a bit of free time in between the Zamika Jamal signing and the 2 pm signings, so I got some lunch, found a dry place to sit, and read while eating lunch.  I was not expecting rain, so finding a dry place to sit was challenging, but it was possible.  There were a ton of food trucks, and picking one was hard.  But I settled on Poutine Brothers, and got the Crispy Chicken Poutine.  It ended up being the perfect lunch for a cloudy, rainy day.  I did consider the In-N-Out Truck and the taco trucks, but I can have both tacos and In-N-Out at home, so why not go with something different?  I also got strawberry boba later and it was really good!  I stopped at the YALLWEST merch table, and got a tote bag and a notebook, and started the long drive home.  With a break, of course, because I hate driving, and I just really needed to get out of my car.

Final Thoughts:

  • I was a little disappointed with the vendors/booths this year.  Other than a couple of library booths, a voter registration booth, festival merch, and two bookseller tables (Barnes & Noble and a comic book store), it was all sponsors, arc giveaways and tickets for sponsor-run events.  For reference, in 2019, Owl Crate and Book Beau had booths, but this year, there were no book boxes or book inspired/book adjacent booths.  I hope those sort of booths come back in the future.  For the record, there’s nothing wrong with going for the arcs and giveaways, but it’s not for me, and a little more variety would be nice.
  • I kind of think the festival has outgrown the venue, at least as it was set-up.  I felt like, 6 years ago, there was a good variety of booths, and they were pretty spread apart.  But this year, it felt like there were too many people for a really small area.  A majority of the booths were set up on one walkway, and the venue is a pretty good size, but maybe the festival is limited as far as what areas of the school they can use.  I hope that’s something they consider in the future.
  • The signings and panels were really fun, and that part was put together pretty well.  I thought the process for ticketed signings were so much better than it was 6 years ago!  It felt much more organized, and in my opinion, that was a really good change.
  • Planning my day made it a lot more fun and a lot less overwhelming and stressful.

Overall, it is a really good event, and they had a ton of great authors and really interesting panels.  I got to do everything I wanted to do, and I’m glad I went.  I would go again, and I’ll definitely be checking out the schedule for future events.  Maybe one year, I’ll even check out out Fierce Friday.  Watching the stories come out of the Million Lives Festival on Sunday was surreal.  There are a lot of articles about it at this point, especially if you haven’t heard about what happened, but this USA Today article sums it up pretty well.

That is all for today, but I’ll be back soon.  Until then, happy reading!

The YALLWEST 2019 Recap Post

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Hey everyone!  Today, I’m going to ramble on about yallwest.  I had a lot of fun, and I knew I had to talk about it with all of you.

I drove up from San Diego, and while I was glad I didn’t get any traffic on the way up, I was also glad when I got there.  After being in my car for over 2 hours, it was really nice to get out of my car and be able to walk around.

I got a few books signed- I was really excited about getting Girls Of Paper And Fire by Natasha Ngan signed, and I was super-excited about getting The Hate U Give and On The Come Up signed.   I didn’t think to actually get pictures with them, and I honestly didn’t feel like taking a picture of the actual signed pages.  But it was great meeting them, and all three books are great, so it was nice to get them signed.

I also went to a couple of panels.  I went to one that was sci-fi vs fantasy, and it was really fun.  There were definitely some surprising answers to some of the questions asked, but it was really interesting to hear the panel talk about what they like about both sci-fi and fantasy.  Veronica Roth moderated, and Jay Kristoff, Robin LaFevers, Nafiza Azad, Melissa Albert, Tochi Anyebuchi, and Brandon Reichs were on that panel.  I’ve heard that Jay Kristoff is really tall, but I didn’t realize how tall until I saw him on the panel.  I’m 4’10, so everyone is tall from my perspective.  Anyway, I really loved Nafiza Azad’s answer about why she loves fantasy, and it makes me want to read her book even more.

Oh!  I ended up with an ARC of The Tenth Girl.  They were giving them away to the people who went to the Sci-Fi Vs Fantasy panel, and it looks interesting.  I don’t know if I would have picked it up otherwise, but I’m excited to read it.

Right after that one, I went to a panel that focused on writing mysteries and thrillers.  I don’t read a lot of mysteries but it was still really interesting to hear the panel talk about writing and where they got the inspiration for their current project.  Alexia Bass, Gwenda Bond, Sara Farizan, Karen McManus, Matthew Modine, and Gretchen McNeil were on the panel, and it was moderated by Peter Stone.  I’ve only read Gretchen McNeil and Sara Farizan and while I didn’t love their books, I definitely liked hearing everyone talk about how they write.

There’s a lot going on, and as a first-timer, it was really overwhelming.  I didn’t really know where to start or go first, so I wandered around feeling a little lost and confused.  I was okay by the time I ended up leaving, but it was very much deer-in-the-headlights.  At least for a while.  It was pretty well-organized, though, and putting something like this together can’t be an easy task.

I’m definitely appreciative of all of the work that went into it, and I very much appreciated all of the authors who came out and the volunteers who took the time to be there answering questions and keep things going.  I’m glad yallwest is around and close enough for me to go to.

Now that I know where to go, it’ll be easier for future festivals, but for the first time?  It was a little hard navigating, and even with a map and program, I had a hard time with figuring out where everything was.  It’s user error, though, because I can be directionally challenged sometimes.

I didn’t buy a lot- I already had copies of the books I wanted signed, and that actually made things a lot easier.  That’s something I’m definitely doing again next year.  Even though Mysterious Galaxy had a booth right next to the signing area, it was a lot easier for me to not worry about needing to buy the books I wanted signed.

I did get this really cool bag from the Book Beau booth.  It’s a travel size pouch, and it’s super cute.  I would definitely buy a couple bigger sizes from them and in different patterns.  I just fell in love with it, and it’s just so pretty!  Not that I don’t love what I got from them, because I do, but all of the samples they had were really cute.  I kept seeing people walk around with them all day, so I was glad when I actually saw where they got them so I could get one for myself.

I also made a stop at the Owl Crate booth, and got a tote bag and a signed copy of Pride by Ibi Zoboi.  I ended up moving my books from my bag to the tote bag, which made it a lot easier to carry it around.

The only other things I ended up getting were an enamel pin and a water bottle…which got a lot of use, because I ended up getting really thirsty throughout the day!  At least there were water fountains so I could get more water.

I had a lot of fun, and I’m definitely going back next year.  It’ll be easier now that I know where things are and what to expect.

Here are my takeaways from this year:

  • I’m wearing/bring sunscreen.  I didn’t realize I’d be outside pretty much all day, so I ended up with some pretty nasty sunburns on my arms and my face, so sunscreen is a must for next year!
  • I’m using a backpack next year.  Walking around with a yarn bag full of books (I left the yarn at home this time) meant my arms and shoulders were killing me by the end of the day, so a backpack will be a lot better for me.
  • I’ll definitely be buying any books I want signed/personalized ahead of time so I don’t have to worry about buying them there
  • On a related note, I really need to remember to have my own sticky notes with my name on them if I want them personalized.  It’s a lot easier than trying to flag someone down so I can get my books personalized
  • The drive home was pretty rough.  I was tired, sore and sunburned.  I did stop about halfway home to stretch my legs, take a bathroom break and eat something, and that was a good idea.  It’s something to keep in mind for next year.  I’m glad I left when I did, though, because I wasn’t sure I could have made it until everything was over
  • I’m totally printing out the schedule for next year.  It’ll be easier than looking at it on my phone

Overall, I had a lot of fun, and I’m glad I went!