I first attended a panel of fantasy authors, including Shannon Hale, Jessica Day George, J. Scott Savage, Brandon Mull, Brandon Sanderson, and James Dashner. It was a lot of fun to hear their thoughts on the future of fantasy, particularly in middle grade and young adult. Unfortunately, the fire alarm interrupted the event, making it difficult to hear and concentrate. (No worries, there was no fire, just an unattended young mischief-maker. I'm sure if I had kids, they would have been equally as mischievous.) Also unfortunate was my lack of forethought in bringing a camera. While I would have loved to snap some photos, I am not the most photogenic person. I might not have even posted a photo of me with any of the authors, so you aren't missing out on much.
The highlight, of course, is meeting the authors as they sign your books. I have a really hard time striking up conversations with strangers, let alone strangers whose books I adore. Our conversations were not exciting enough for me to post. However, here are all of the books I got signed:
I will probably have to go six months before I buy another book to make up for my splurging. All in all, it was a lot of fun and I simply love having signed books.
Do you crave having books signed or do you not really care, as long as the book is good?
Oh, and stay tuned, because I am giving away one of these signed books on my blog shortly!
by Markus Zusak
by Jerry Spinelli
by Rudi Wobbe (haven't read it yet, but this is nonfiction about Helmuth Hubener and his friends who distributed anti-Hitler propaganda)
by Gail Carson Levine
and 
