During the month of October, the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative will present Tampa Bay Teen Lit Fest. All events will be offered online beginning at 6:30 p.m. The festival will kick off on Friday, October 1 with keynote speakers Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. Kaufman and Spooner are bestselling authors who have written several books together, including The Other Side of the Sky, the Starbound series and the Unearthed series.
Other events will take place thereafter on every Thursday in October.
Tampa Bay Teen Lit Fest is an event that brings critically acclaimed writers of young adult fiction to one virtual space. Attendees will join the authors for live sessions where they will get to ask questions, hear stories and even win books from their favorite authors.
The theme on Thursday, October 7 is ‘Life’s Tricky Turns.’ Through books, teens often find that they are not alone. The panel will focus on the many real world issues teens face throughout their lives. The featured authors will be Dhonielle Clayton (The Belles), Candice Iloh (Every Body Looking) and Francisco X. Stork (On the Hook). The panel is moderated by blogger and librarian Nikki Shaw.
On Thursday, October 14, the panel will discuss and explore ‘Myth and Magic.’ They will share stories of various cultures, where each world is filled with its own unique twists. The featured authors will include Rin Chupeco (Wicked As You Wish), Nafiza Azad (The Wild Ones) and Tara Sim (Scavenge the Stars). The moderator will be blogger Lili.
On Thursday, October 21, join authors Thanhhà Lại (Butterfly Yellow), Debbie Rigaud (Simone Breaks All the Rules) and Romina Garber (Lobizona) for a discussion of ‘Forging Your Own Path.’ This panel will focus on teens struggling to come into their own, trying to do what is right for them in the face of adversity, destiny and sometimes the most difficult of all—family. The moderator will be blogger and librarian Emma Carbone.
Finally, on Thursday, October 28, the closing keynote will focus on ‘Athletes and Activism: Using the Podium to Speak Out.’ This panel will feature co-authors Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal, who have written I’m Not Dying With You Tonight and, most recently, Why We Fly.
For more information and to register, please visit www.hcplc.org.
