An Author Goes to the LA Times Festival of Books
 The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is held on the USC campus. One entrance is across the street from the Metro Expo Line station. |
| The Los Angeles Times Festival of
Books is one of the largest (many would say it is also one
of the best) book festivals in the United States.
It has become a must-go event for kids, teens, and adults
who love reading literature. Although most of the attendees
are from Southern California, the festival attracts authors
and book lovers from across the entire country. On April 20th and 21st, 2013, I went to the
Festival for the first time since becoming an author. For me, one of highlights of the Festival was the author panels. Many of the author panelists shared that they don’t write much of an outline before they start writing their books. Stephan Pastis (Timothy Failure: Mistakes Were Made) enjoys being surprised as he writes. Rachel Cohn (Beta) said that she feels like the characters talk to her. And Michelle Gagnon (Don’t Turn Around) noted that there’s a name to given to writers, like her, who fly by the seat of their pants, without writing an outline: “pantsers.” I guess that makes me a partial-pantser. Many authors mentioned that they had no formal writing training, and many of them initially had other plans for their futures or other careers before they became writers. Katherine Applegate (The One and Only Ivan) was going to be a veterinarian. Chris Raschka (Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle) was enrolled in medical school school, but decided not to go at the last minute. Tim Federle (Better Nate Than Ever) was a Broadway performer who later coached children in the Broadway cast of Billy Elliot. Stephan Pastis used to be a lawyer. I am a doctor. I learned that a number of writers have an uncredited writing companion. Katherine Applegate has a lap-dog, and Kathryn Fitzmaurice (Destiny, Rewritten) has her dog, Holly. How did they find an agent? Some authors mentioned that they got their novel published without an agent, but quickly added that that doesn’t usually happen nowadays. When he was seeking an agent, Frank Viva (Along a Long Road) made a list of agents who represented the authors that he admired. It was very sweet to hear children in the audience ask questions of the authors. There was a young boy who felt that he wanted to be a writer and wanted to know how he could make himself keep writing when he always seemed to keep giving up. Gary Schmidt (Okay for Now)’s advice: Stop each writing session before you think you’re done, then you are ready to go when you start the next session. |
 Moderator, Rollie Weich, gets the conversation going with Katherine Applegate, Kathryn Fitzmaurice, Gary Schmidt, and Linda Urban. |
| Another highlight was visiting the many booths. Of course there were booths representing some of the popular local bookstores, like Vroman’s Bookstore, Skylight Books, Once Upon a Time Bookstore, and Mrs. Nelson’s Toy and Bookshop. |
 One of popular bookstore booths. |
| Booths that gave away gifts and prizes had long lines of eager attendees. The longest line was for Summit Entertainment’s booth where they gave away very cool Ender’s Game t-shirts, along with movie posters. McDonald’s gave away samples of their smoothies to a long line of sundrenched festival goers. Warner Bros.’ booth gave away snack-size bags of yummy graham cracker “Scooby snacks” and had a short puzzle quest. Adults and children who completed the quest were rewarded with prizes like baseball caps and small pillows. The Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo and the Tumbler from Batman were parked nearby and available for photos. Scooby Doo and Bugs Bunny also made special appearances to pose for photos. |
 The Warner Bros. booths had freebies for kids and adults, photo opportunities, and children's activities. |
| On Sunday
afternoon, the Natural History Museum set one of their
expertly-puppeteered dinosaur puppets loose to roam the
festival, frightening a few very young children, but
mesmerizing most of the children and adults. There were celebrity authors at the festival as well. Danica McKellar (Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape; who also played "Winnie Cooper" on the TV show, The Wonder Years) spoke on the Los Angeles Times Stage to a standing-room only audience about her books that make math more appealing to girls. |
 Danica McKeller spoke passionately about encouraging girls to learn math. |
| Daniel Handler (The A Series of Unfortunate Events series; AKA: Lemony Snicket) did a comedy show with his The Dark illustrator, Jon Klassen, that was just as entertaining for adults as for children. |
 Daniel Handler (AKA: Lemony Snicket) included the audience in his act. |
| Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to attend
everything. I missed what I later heard was a fun talk by
Carol Burnett (Carrie and Me: A Mother Daughter Love Story;
who also starred in The Carol Burnett Show). I had lots of fun at the festival. I left with new novels to read, and a bunch of fun freebies. I can’t wait until next year’s festival! |
I did this in 2013 in Los Angeles, California, USA. (I also attended the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2022.) |
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jen is also known as J.W. Lynne, a best selling author of eleven novels. Click on any of the titles below to see the book on Amazon! THE UNKNOWN: Eight kids learn the shocking reason why they were kidnapped. ABOVE THE SKY: A girl lives in a world where touching her soulmate is forbidden. THE DARKNESS OUTSIDE: A teen is locked in a bunker to take a simulated trip to the moon. KID DOCS: An experimental program turns kids into doctors. WILD ANIMAL SCHOOL: A girl falls in love with a boy at an exotic animal ranch. WHAT HE DIDN'T TELL ME: A traumatized girl meets a boy with a horrible secret. IF I TELL: A teen wonders if her father is a serial killer. Besides reading books and dreaming up stories to write, Jen's favorite activities are singing along to musical theater soundtracks and hiking in California's beautiful parks. **Jen's books are available on Kindle Unlimited.** |
 Moderator, Aaron Hartzler, talks with young adult (YA) fiction authors Sean Beaudoin, Elizabeth Eulberg, D.C. Pierson, and Amy Spalding. |
| Los Angeles Times Festival of Books 2024 tips: Follow Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Facebook and Twitter to be the first to know the dates when the 2024 festival will be held and to check out the schedule and program as soon as it is live. Before you go, look over the schedule and program and plan out your day. Some events require tickets that you can purchase online in advance. Pack a refillable water bottle. There are drinking fountains on the USC campus where you can fill your bottle throughout the day. Dress in layers. In Los Angeles, California, the weather tends to be cool early in the day and in the evening, but temperatures can get hot during the day. Wear comfortable closed-toed shoes. The USC campus is very large, and you will be surprised how much walking you will do, often in crowded areas. |