ALA Trip Report (part 3 of 3)

Monday

7am - Wake up rested. Yay! Sort through various loot from ALA (the American Library Association Annual Conference) and consolidate it in backpack. Very pleased to see all books fit in backpack. Then remember I haven't packed my toiletries. Or clothes.

7:05am - Re-pack.

8:30am - Check out of hotel. Go to hotel restaurant for breakfast. Discover bagel costs $4. Flee before ordering.

9am - Arrive at convention center. The lovely Penguinites let me stow my luggage at their booth -- if not for them, my arms would have fallen off. Not good for typing up blog posts. Or novels.

9:30am - Decide to take field trip... Okay, this part of the day was absolutely awesome. I go to the nearby Barnes & Noble... and they have Into the Wild! My first official non-local store sighting of Into the Wild in the wild (please excuse the pun). I'd heard reports but hadn't seen with my own eyes. But there... on the shelf... three lucious, lovely copies! Snoopy Dance of Joy!

INTO THE WILD in the wild

I sign all their stock, after which they put "autographed copy" stickers on them and arrange them face out.

INTO THE WILD tamed by my pen

Call husband and dance along DC sidewalks.

11am - Back at the conference... meet the lovely people at ALSC and YALSA, who dub me honorary member and give me ribbons to attach to my name badge.

11:15am - Visit the sweet and awesome people at the Mirrorstone booth, who dub me honorary member and give me more ribbons and also teach me the super-secret Mirrorstone hand signal.

Stacy Whitman, Me, Tiffany Trent, Nina Hess, and Shelly Mazzanoble

I heart the Mirrorstone posse. They're all so cool. And their books rock too. (Just read Shelly Mazzanoble's Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress -- HILARIOUS. Once you read it, you'll want to move to Seattle purely so you can play D&D with Shelly and her friends.)

Noon-ish - Lunch with the wonderful Tiffany Trent.

2pm - More talking and chatting, including with Bruce Coville and Sue Streeter from Full Cast Audio. I also meet and totally gush like a fangirl at Jean Craighead George, who graciously pretends not to notice I'm making a fool of myself.

3pm - More hanging out with Simone and Shannon, who I wish lived in New York so I could see them more often.

4pm - Say good-bye to the Mirrorstone posse and the Penguin folk and head home after one final photo:


(In case you missed the beginning of this trip report, here are links to part 1 and part 2 of my ALA adventure.)