I’m so happy I was able to attend one of my favorite SoCal book festivals again this year!
I have been to every single YallWest since its inception in 2015, but missed it for the first time last year because I was on a cruise ship in Miami, FL that same weekend, partying it up with the Backstreet Boys (it was amazing, surreal, and I have no regrets going even though I’m still trying to pay that credit card off). So, combine that with the fact that I would be attending for the first time as press this year, it goes without saying that I was ecstatic to be returning!
The night before the festival was spent packing my new backpack (because I decided to pack lighter this time by only bringing a backpack and not a rolling bag), going over my schedule for the fifth time that week, and borderline obsessively rechecking relevant social media accounts for last minute announcements that I may have missed. (This obsessive checking would continue throughout YallWest, FYI.) The morning of, I was tired from only getting about 5 – 6 hours of sleep, but I was excited! Then I was stressed and anxious because my dad was dropping me off at the festival before he went to work and he was taking SO LONG so I was freaking out that I was going to be late. Thankfully, everything worked out once I arrived and met a few online friends who so graciously allowed me to join them even though it wasn’t previously planned. I’m new to this whole “press” status thing, and nearly went to the wrong entrance had I not been obsessively checking everything the night before, so I was very grateful to have fellow press bloggers/reviewers to hang out with and ask questions.
After receiving our press badges, we were finally allowed into the festival about twenty minutes after 9am and we immediately made a beeline for the Fierce Reads booth. They were having ARC drops throughout the day but they all required tickets that were going to be distributed first thing in the morning. I made that priority #1 because they were dropping an ARC for “Rage” by Cora Carmack and – as a long-time fan, member of the Stormlings “Roar” Street Team – I NEEDED IT.
And, I’m happy to report that I got it.
The day went by in a blur of power walking all around the campus, trying to hit as many ARC drops as I could, attend a few signings, and I even found some time for a lunch break. I also attended my first ever YallWest panel (excluding the Smackdown at the end of the day which I don’t really consider to be a panel anyway). The “YallWest Juvenalia (Now Feat. Open Mic)” panel featured several authors including Christine Lynn Herman, Emiko Jean, and Jill Scharr who shared their earliest/worst/funniest attempts at writing fiction, and at the end the audience was given the chance to share theirs as well. At the end of the panel they gave out several ARCs but the one I attended the panel for was “Patron Saints of Nothing” by Randy Ribay. I had to rush to Margaret Rogerson’s line afterwards but it was so worth it because I’m incredibly excited to read a YA book that is centered around Filipinos and relevant to the world today, and is also written by a Filipino author that is new to me.
For the sake of my sanity, I only made three ARCs my main priorities and the others were considered bonus acquisitions. Those three were “Rage” by Cora Carmack, “Sorcery of Thorns” by Margaret Rogerson, and “Patron Saints of Nothing” by Randy Ribay. Two out of three wasn’t bad! As I said previously, I acquired “Rage” with my ticket and “Patron Saints of Nothing” from the panel I had attended.
I really, REALLY wanted “Sorcery of Thorns” though, so it’s disappointing not getting it only because – for some reason or other – the Riveted booth decided it would be FUN to turn the orderly line into a miniature Hunger Games. Not as bad and terrifying as the line for wristbands for Cassandra Clare in 2017 was, but still chaotic, anxiety-inducing, and completely unnecessary. Instead of going down the line that had already been formed, the woman handing out the post-its (which guaranteed you a copy) decided to stand on the raised platform surrounding a tree, holding up the post-its, which then caused the line to dissolve into a mob that sort of resembled Walkers on The Walking Dead when they converge on a meal. She then proceeded to hand out said post-its looking progressively harried, eventually shouting for people to step back and when (unsurprisingly) they did not, moved to the other side of the mob to quickly distribute the remaining ones there.
I guess after that mess they quickly learned how to not distribute ‘tickets’ for an ARC drop/signing, because when I returned later for Mary H.K. Choi’s “Permanent Record” signing/ARC drop, you had to ask them for a ticket.
SPOILER ALERT: there was no mob of Walkers. Shocking, I know.
To make life easier on myself, I only brought four books from home to get signed: “Bloodleaf” by Crystal Smith, two paperback editions of “Caraval” by Stephanie Garber, and “An Enchantment of Ravens” by Margaret Rogerson. The only one I needed a wristband for was Stephanie Garber (no surprise there) and thankfully it was super easy getting that. They had an actual table where you pick-up wristbands for signings! I really liked that. The only complaint I have is, the booths should have been labeled or have some sort of sign because I had to rely soley on asking the info desk for directions and when that failed, I asked a volunteer and they thankfully pointed me in the direction. It was a roundabout way to getting to the wristband table, but I found it. I still had to ask if I was at the right booth though because, you know, there was no indication it was the wristband distribution table.
Crystal Smith Signing
The signing for Crystal Smith went very smoothly; once I found her I didn’t have to wait long until it was my turn to meet her and get my copy of “Bloodleaf” signed. She was so nice and funny! Before taking my photo with her she jokingly asked if I wanted to wear the crown prop she brought, and OF COURSE I wanted to wear a crown even if it was only for a photo. It was surprisingly heavier than I expected.
Margaret Rogerson Signing
Margaret Rogerson’s signing was a sort-of unofficial signing because it was mainly for the “Sorcery of Thorns” ARCs, but thankfully we were allowed to wait until after everyone had their ARCs signed to get our copies of her other book signed. I only brought my hardcover copy of “An Enchantment of Ravens” because I completely forgot that I have an ARC of it as well, but I’m just happy I finally got to meet her. She was so nice and looked absolutely lovely in her dress! I hope she has more events in SoCal because I’d definitely like to meet her again.
Randy Ribay Signing & Mary H.K. Choi Signing
I attended two other signings that were unplanned: Randy Ribay and Mary H.K. Choi. Since my schedule was already so packed, I told myself that I would only go to these signings if I managed to acquire ARCs for these two authors, and thankfully I did! It was nice chatting with Randy and telling him about how exciting it is to see more Filipino authors getting out there and how I plan to support them and their work. He referred me to his website where he has a great list of Filipino authors and I look forward to seeing that list grow!
Mary H.K. Choi’s signing went without any hiccups, as previously mentioned. This was my second time meeting her (the first was at the 2018 LA Times Festival of Books) and she’s always been so kind and funny. I’m excited to have an early copy of her next book, “Permanent Record”!
Stephanie Garber Signing
Stephanie’s signing was closer to the end of the day and since I knew the line would be crazy long, I decided to hang out near the Riveted and HMH booths before heading over. While there, I managed to snag a few pins, a Malec poster, and an ARC for Brittney Morris’s debut, “Slay”. By then the line had diminished significantly, and I only had to wait for about half an hour or so before it was my turn. Stephanie was a ray of sunshine as usual, and she adored the small paperback copies of “Caraval” I brought for her to sign.
Overall, YallWest was super fun and I am so glad I took measures for self-care this time around. It definitely paid off when I came home later that evening feeling tired but accomplished and without major shoulder/back pain – something I kept stupidly trying to get used to when going to these types of festivals.
Thank you to all the authors, publishers, volunteers, and everyone else who made this year’s YallWest possible and amazing! Also special thank you to all the friends I made/met up with; I hope to see you all again next year!
Thanks so much for reading! Now I’m off to read one of the books I picked up at the festival then bed. Until next time!
My Fangirl Chronicles 