Everything seemed to conspire to get me to go to this year’s Young Adult Literature Convention (YALC). I already had the trip to London booked for the week before the convention, so it was simply a matter of staying for the weekend. When the chance came up to have a stand at the convention and join other independent authors, I knew I couldn’t turn it down. Here are my highlights from my London trip – and ten years of YALC.
Novel research
Two of my sci-fi standalone novels are set in London, so it made sense to use the trip for research purposes. One of my characters sees London for the very first time and these are the places she goes.
Getting to YALC
As this was my first time at YALC, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
I opted to get to YALC by train. The venue has its own train station, called Kensington (Olympia) and getting there was quite easy. I would recommend downloading the Transport For London (TfL) app and using that to plan your journey – it makes life a lot easier. Also, shout out to the very helpful member of staff at the underground who saw me looking lost opposite a map and asked if I needed help! (I did.)
Once I got out at Kensington Olympia, I could see the venue immediately. For a big event like YALC and London Comicon, some of the roads were closed and there were helpful members of staff telling me exactly where to go and what to do. (Good job, as I ended up wandering the wrong way.)
As soon as I was in there, I got my bag checked in airport style security. I took a suitcase with me (containing all the items I needed to set up my stand). I also brought with me an empty water bottle, as I’d read you can get it filled up somewhere but I never located the place to fill it up. In the end, I got an eight pack of Highland Spring water bottles and drank them. I would definitely recommend bringing water with you in the first instance. The venue gets very hot (even for a chilly person like me!) and hydration is key.
The very first indie author zone at YALC
Thanks to the efforts of Helen at LiterallyPR, the tenth YALC was the first one to see a dedicated indie author zone. Independent authors from multiple countries came together to share their books and create their stalls. We had authors from the United States, France, Denmark, Scotland and England!
Having a stand was brilliant as it meant I had a base to leave bags and coats and somewhere to sit if I wanted ten minutes decompression. I would recommend, if you’re an introvert, that you take time to give yourself a breather. The venue is packed and can feel a little overwhelming. So find a quiet place for a snack and perhaps a read before you go back into the (very friendly) fray.
What I picked up
It wasn’t all about selling books. I also came back with three fabulous books and an incredible amount of merch from various amazing stalls.
I’ll do a more detailed blog post on all the merch I picked up later, but I will say setting it out for a photograph took absolutely ages!
The fun doesn’t stop
Just a reminder that our YALC debrief is happening tomorrow (Friday 22 November) at 12:00pm and there’s still time to get yourself a ticket. I’m not sure how many of us are going to make it, but we are excited to see you there!
And, of course, YALC itself will be happening again next year! The dates have already been announced; will you be coming this time?
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