Young Authors Give Back: Listen to the Tour Stop, Hear about the Fun, and Win a Giveaway!

This past Tuesday, a friend and I were lucky enough to attend a local YAGB Tour Stop featuring authors Erin Bowman (TAKEN), Susan Dennard (SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY), Sarah Maas (THRONE OF GLASS), and Kat Zhang (WHAT'S LEFT OF ME).

L to R: Kat Zhang, Susan Dennard, Erin Bowman, Sarah Maas

I really wanted my fellow bookworms unable to make the tour stop to feel like they're there, so I have some pictures, a full audio recording of the panel, and a swag giveaway for you!

Young Authors Give Back is a great idea. Not only are the authors doing local tour stops and signings, they're also doing writing workshops for kids and teens. They're giving back and fostering the love of writing, which is so important and overall very awesome.

The authors all attended the BEA Children's Breakfast (my wrap-up here) last week. Sarah J. Maas mentioned that Magic Tree House author Mary Pope Osborne spoke at the breakfast and read letters aloud. One was from a girl who had nothing, who wanted one book to own for herself. This struck a chord with her and her traveling authors, and they shared many of the books they acquired at BEA with the kids who attended their Center City writing workshop this week. This moment really touched my heart and made me love these girls even more. What a worthy cause!

Upcoming Tour/Workshop Stops:

6/5, MD: Workshop at Baltimore Public Library (6PM) - Register right from here!

6/5, MD: Signing at Baltimore Public Library (8PM) (feat. Jodi Meadows)

6/6, PA: Workshop at Carnegie Library (4:30PM) - Register with the library!

6/6, PA: Signing at Penguin Bookshop (7:15PM)
6/7, MD: Workshop at Coventry School (4PM) (co-sponsored by Mac's Backs Books/Lake Erie Ink)
6/7, MD: Signing at Mac's Backs Books (6:30PM)
6/8, OH: Workshop at Medina County Library (1PM) - Register with the library!
6/8, OH: Signing at Medina County Library (3:15PM)
6/11, MI: Workshop at Schuler Books (4PM) - Register right from here!
6/11, MI: Signing at Schuler Books (7PM)
6/12, IL: Workshop at 826 Chicago (6PM) - Register via the 826 Chicago website.
6/14, IL: Signing & Panel at Anderson's Bookshop (7PM)

Alexa Loves Books wrote about her fun with the authors last week, so check out her post as well!

And since you ALREADY know I'm crazy, does it come as any surprise that I painted my nails to celebrate all four authors before heading out to the event?

Check out today's Mad About Nails post for what went into this week's nail design if you're curious!

Surprise visit from author E.C. Myers!

There was also a surprise appearance from E.C. Myers (FAIR COIN, QUANTUM COIN), which was a lot of fun!  He stopped by to meet the authors and chat himself. We all had a great conversation, and he asked some good questions during the panel!

You're all in for a big treat!  I was lucky enough to record the entire panel for you. So if you can't make a YAGB Tour Stop, you won't miss out!

These girls are zany and awesome. During the panel, there was Doctor Who fangirling, great tips on writing fantasy, secrets about certain authors who kick when they sleep, and so much more!

They get along so well, and you can see why they're friends in real life. They decided to go on tour together this summer and put it together themselves since they're with different publishing houses. What a fun time!

Listen now!

(You would think with all the tour pictures I threw up onto the video, YouTube would have something with all four authors, since this video is for all of them, but the thumbnails are only offering headshots. Boo!)

YouTube Link

And while you're here, how about a giveaway?

I snagged this awesome swag from the event for one lucky winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway