Tonight, tonight, it’s coming tonight, hot damn, tonight!
Ten points if you can name that tune. In the meantime, clear your schedule right now.
Ever since I started working at McNally Jackson, I’ve been trying to get YA onto the store’s schedule of events, and I am about to get my way at last! Tonight, Tuesday March 27th, the NYC Teen Author Festival makes it’s first-ever station stop at my beloved home-away-from-home, McNally Jackson Books. This is the Mutual Admiration Society Reading, and it is seriously, not to be missed.
Your panel for this evening:
Madeleine George, reading from The Difference Between You and Me
Ellen Hopkins, reading from Perfect
Jennifer Smith, reading from The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
John Corey Whaley, reading from Where Things Come Back 
And the incomparable David Levithan, moderating and reading from Every You, Every Me
If you know anything about YA, then you know this is a rock-star panel. If you don’t know anything about YA, then whether you are a teen or a creature somewhat more aged (but still desirous of excellent literature), I can think of no better introduction.
This is how it happened:
- 1) David Levithan stops by one day last year when I had some of his books on our summer reads table.
- 2) Kate strikes up conversation and delivers her “Look how awesome this store would be for YA events” stump speech.
- 3) Kate stalks Mr. Levithan mercilessly by email.
- 4) Mr. Levithan is awesome.
- 5)…
- 6) PROFIT. (TEEN AUTHOR FESTIVAL EVENT AT MCNALLY JACKSON FTW!)
So come by tonight. How can you not? LOOK AT THAT PANEL!! Plus I will have a bag of cookies. Don’t ask me why, just listen to what I’m saying: ask me for one and I’ll give you one. So: round-trip subway fare to Soho: $4.50. A cup of Stumptown coffee from the McJ Cafe: $2.00-$4.25. A night of rock star authors, secret cookies, and helping Kate to vindicate nearly two years of asserting that YA events are THE WAY OF THE FUTURE?
Priceless.
52 Prince Street, between Broadway and Lafayette, in Soho; get there via the N, R, B, D, F, M, J, Z, and 6 trains.
