ALA Midwinter 2016 Recap

The ALA Midwinter meeting, hosted by the American Library Association, was so much fun. Because ALA Midwinter ended up coming to Boston, I didn't hesitate to attend the event. I live so close to Boston that it's a no brainer that I attend ALA Midwinter. The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center is an excellent venue for the event.

I ended up going with Elizabeth from Book YAbber and Marci from Reading in the Tardis. ALA is more enjoyable than Book Expo America (BEA) since it was more relaxed and calm. It wasn't as chaotic as BEA which is definitely a good thing! One of my favorite things at ALA Midwinter was attending all the book buzz panels. I love learning about the upcoming books from each publisher and what they are excited about. Let's say I added a lot of books to my TBR list and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. So many books and so little time!




I ended up going to ALA Midwinter last Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I have to say Saturday was my busiest day and Sunday felt more chill. Monday was nuts in a span of like four hours. I ended up meeting Elizabeth and Marci on Saturday and Sunday. We bumped into Rachel who introduced Elizbeth, Marci and me to Michelle who is so so nice. I definitely had a great time with all four! I was also fortunate enough to have coffee with Nicole from The Book Bandit who was my OTSP Secret Sister from the previous round. We ran into each other several times on the exhibit floor. I also bumped into Lauren from Love is Not a Triangle, Ellie, Ana from Owl Always Be Reading, Jenefer from I (Heart) Novels and Notebooks, Katie from Bookish Illuminations, Kim from Book Munchies, Malissa from Reads All the Books, Molly from Cherry Blossoms & Maple Syrup, and Melissa from Live, Love Read.

Marci, Elizabeth, Rachel and I were waiting for the David Levithan signing. Image taken by Marci.

I love meeting up with people to talk everything bookish and ALA was definitely the place to do that. I met up with friends and also met some new people. It was exciting to meet people I talk to online in person. Also, the publishers are fantastic. I enjoyed chatting with them about the upcoming books they are excited about. Meeting and chatting with authors was also fun!

Image taken by Donna (Becky's editor)

I was super excited to see Becky Albertalli again and I am ecstatic she won the Morris Award which she totally deserves. Everyone, go read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda now!

I also met Laurie Halse Anderson who is one of my favorite authors of all time so I was so excited to meet her and to get a copy of Chains signed. I read her novel, Speak, for the first time back in 2001 or 2002 and fell in love with her writing. When I first found out that she was coming to Boston, I knew I had to meet her. I waited for over 50 minutes in line for the signing and it was 100% worth it!

Elizabeth, Marci and I were in the front of the line to meet David Levithan who was signing You Know Me Well. I am super excited to read more Levithan books. I haven't read one since back in high school when Boy Meets Boy and the Realm of Possibility were published.

Image taken by Marci. I finally met Laurie!

I met Anna-Marie McLemore who wrote The Weight of Feathers and Ann Jacobus who wrote Romancing the Dark in the City of Light. Both are so sweet and I am glad I was able to meet both wonderful authors. Again, Elizabeth, Marci and I were in the front of the line. Elizabeth received a Eiffel Tower keychain because she said "I love your book" in French to Ann.

I also met Ronald Kidd who is coming out with Dreambender which is a dystopian Middle Grade novel. He is very nice and I am surprised there weren't more people in his line.

If you have the opportunity to make the trip to either the ALA Midwinter meeting or the ALA Annual meeting, definitely try to attend! Thank you to all the publishers, authors, literary agents, Boston Convention Exhibition Center and the American Library Association for making this event a successful one. I made such wonderful memories that will last a lifetime. 


Did you attend ALA Midwinter? If not, have you been to TLA, BEA, NCTE or other ALA meetings?