NY Comic Con 2008 Trip Report

Last weekend, I attended New York Comic Con, the second largest pop culture conference in the country. The exhibit hall spanned the bulk of the Javits Center in NYC and included booths specializing in books, comic books, graphic novels, manga, movies, anime, TV, and video games.

I loved it.

I was there for three days, and I never did manage to walk down all the aisles. This actually has less to do with the size of the convention and more to do with the fact that I'm easily distracted by shiny things. And there were lots of shiny things. And lots of books. I told myself not to pick up too many books so I wouldn't cut off all circulation in my arms when I tried to lug my bags home. But who can resist the lure of free books???

Anyway, here are a few of the highlights from my weekend:

- Friday night, hung out with many super-cool and super-awesome people before, during, and after Cassandra Clare's signing, including Cassie Clare, Holly Black, Theo Black, Barry Goldblatt, Karen Wojtyla, and Paul (from S&S). Heard many hilarious anecdotes and got to read a couple pages of a draft of Holly's next novel, The White Cat. It's AWESOME.

- On Saturday, thanked Terry Brooks. Eleven years ago, I attended his signing at the MIT Coop Bookstore. He was the very first real author I'd ever met, and he was extraordinarily kind. He talked to me for forty-five minutes about writing and the writing business. He encouraged me and inspired me, and I have been wanting to say thank you ever since. This Saturday, I got the chance to tell him what an impact his kindness had on my life. And I got to give him a copy of my book!!!

- Also on Saturday, hung out with fellow Razorbill author Sam Enthoven (read his trip report) and his girlfriend Laura. Much as I love their cool London accents, I wish they lived in NYC instead of London so that I could see them more often. They're very awesome. (I also got to see them last night -- I dragged them both to Teen Author Drinks Night, a monthly get-together of YA authors in NYC. As always, lots of fun, and this month I got to meet the super-fabulous Jennifer Barnes for the first time.) Also on Saturday, had a great breakfast with Jeri Smith-Ready, author of the wicked-cool novel Wicked Game. (Breakfast itself wasn't so exciting -- just an ordinary blueberry muffin -- but the company was wonderful. Jeri's totally great.) Last but not least on the name-dropping list: the sweet and uber-talented Shannon Hale (read her trip report). Visited her during her signing and gushed at her about how brilliant her Book of a Thousand Days is.

Somewhat blurry picture of Shannon Hale, Me, and Holly Black

- Sunday, did my signing at the Penguin booth. Sunday was Kids Day at NY Comic Con, so I got to sign for a mix of kids and grownups. I love, love, love signing. Makes me feel like I'm sharing a story with a friend, even if it's someone I've never met before and will never meet again. Also, it's just plain cool. :) Several of my writer friends stopped by, including Keith DeCandido. Keith is an excellent writer who I've known for a decade. Through the years, he's always been so sweet and encouraging. So it meant a lot to have him there.

- And last but certainly not least, I had a great time chatting with the awesome folks at the Penguin booth. Lisa DeGroff was the superhero who worked the booth the full weekend and organized my signing and a million other things. I don't think she stopped moving once all weekend! And I had lots of fun hanging out with the fabulous editorial team from Razorbill: Jessica Rothenberg, Ben Schrank, and Laura Schechter. It was so cool of them to be there. And as an extra bonus, I got to see the super-nice Anne Sowards from Ace (who just happens to be a fellow member of the Curly Mafia).

Laura, Lisa, Sam and Me (with our new books!), Jessica, and Ben

A fun, fun, fun weekend all around.