This month, the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative will present Teen Lit Fest. Teen Lit Fest will be offered on Friday, October 21 and Saturday, October 22. All events are virtual, and you can register to attend by visiting www.hcplc.org.
Rebecca Greer, learning experiences consultant, said, “We are excited to continue bringing talented young adult authors to our customers to learn about and interact with. There are no other festivals or events like this in the area — featuring authors who write young adult fiction. This festival is a mix of keynote speakers, writing workshops and an author panel where authors will answer questions about their experiences as published authors. We hope to have people see their favorite authors, discover new favorites and learn about writing and the publishing industry.”
Greer added, “As in previous years, all events will be virtual. We are focusing on Florida-based authors this year. Our keynote speakers wrote a book that is set in Florida. All authors featured in the panel presentations either live or have lived in Florida.”
On October 21 at 6:30 p.m., you can attend a session called Meet the Authors featuring two Teen Lit Fest keynote speakers, Mayra Cuevas and Marie Marquardt. The theme is Rebel Readers: Finding Hope in Books During Hard Times. In this keynote session, Cuevas and Marquardt will talk about the impact books have had during hard times in their own lives and how they found comfort and encouragement among the pages of their favorite novels. Their love of books led to a passion for writing and then co-authoring.
Then on October 22 beginning at 11 a.m., you can attend five workshops and a panel discussion.
First up is How Books Are Built with author M.K. England at 11 a.m. Next, you can attend Finding Your Muse with author Emery Lee at 12:10 p.m. Then, attend Building a World to Live in with author Amanda DeWitt at 1:20 p.m. After that, attend Bodies of Water with author Natalia Sylvester at 2:30 p.m. Finally, Teen Lit Fest concludes with an author panel discussion at 3:40 p.m.
For more information and to register to attend, please visit www.hcplc.org.
