YALLWest and Festival of Books 2015

April is full of book related events. This year was no different. YALLWest took place last weekend (April 11th and 12th). It was the first year of this particular event. There is also a YALLFest that takes place on the East Coast in South Carolina and I've heard that it is very unorganized. I have to say that YALLWest was no different. It was very unorganized. I go there at 11 AM and stood in line right away for Tahereh Mafi's signing. RIGHT after I got out of line for that I got in line for another signing… and then another. The signings were stacked one after the other with no time considered for super popular authors and the fact that they would need more signing time than others. I planned on getting to the EpicReads table to score an ARC of Emmy and Oliver by Robin Benway (but… the signing lines took too long so I didn't get one). I did get to meet a couple authors I really wanted to, but overall I found that it was not organized like it should have been. One of my complaints was that for some authors there was a three book limit to get signed and that wasn't mentioned at all until the actual signing. 

LA Times Festival of Books is my favorite book event to go to. It is WAY more organized and calm. This year I went on only Saturday (April 17th) and met TEN authors (compared to YALLWest where I met… 4?). FOB is always very crowded, but honestly it is so calm and more organized. Not only that but there are tons of authors that go… anywhere from Fiction to YA to celebrity authors. It is a wide variety of authors and exhibitors. There are booksellers from independent booksellers and independent authors/editors. There is a lot to see. 

I had TONS of fun this year. I met one of my favorite authors of all time (Sarah Dessen) and it was amazing. One of the ways to meet your favorite authors without a line is to go towards the end of the signing time. I went to one (I got the time mixed up) at the end of the signing time and was able to just walk up to the table to get my books signed. Authors that were my top priority to meet were the ones that I lined up for early… other authors it was totally casual and could just walk up to the table at the end of their signing time. 

I would honestly recommend to anyone to go to LA Times Festival of Books. It is a great way to meet authors who are local and who fly in for the event. There is a lot to do and see plus it is at a gorgeous campus (USC). You can bring as many books as you want and there is no limit to how many authors will sign. You get to talk to them in a casual way and not feel rushed… also no fangirls who are crazy. It's an event surrounded by authors and other people who have the same love for books.