San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) was just about 2 weeks ago. It is a huge convention in San Diego that happens once a year. It's a convention with a little bit of everything. There is something for comic book fans, movie buffs, television junkies, and of course book worms. Now I've attended conventions in the past such as anime conventions and New York Comic Con, but there is nothing like SDCC. It's like the convention of all conventions. Just to get a ticket is a hard thing to do (Side note I wasn't even able to get a Saturday ticket). And the guest list every year just seems to get bigger and bigger.
Now I can't act like everything is all fun and games at SDCC. If you want to get into the big movie or television panels, you either have to camp out overnight or get in line at the crack of dawn to get a seat inside. And the exhibit hall is so crowded that you have security barking in your ear left and right telling you that you can't stand here and you have to keep moving.
But the perks of SDCC outweigh the hardships. As a book lover I enjoyed my time at SDCC. My favorite book publishers had booths in the exhibit hall, and many had book giveaways and author signings. Also there were a few author panels in the convention center.
The first signing that I went to was Heather Brewer's on Friday. She was giving out free copies of Soulbound and autographing them. Heather was so nice when I asked her if I could take a picture with her, and then told me that she hoped that I like her book.
Heather Brewer and Myself
After her signing I discovered that Penguin was having book giveaways at the top of just about every hour. Sadly I would have known this if I had checked Penguin's twitter. Their entire SDCC schedule was posted a few days before the convention. And as a note to anyone who plans on going to SDCC, you should schedule everything you want to do ahead of time. I missed out on quite a few panels, signings, and giveaways because I didn't research thoroughly. I am still kicking myself because I missed the Simon and Schuster panel on Thursday due to double booking my schedule.
Later that day Marie Lu was signing both Legend and the yet to be released Prodigy. The Legend copy was actually an SDCC exclusive. I haven't read the series yet, but I've heard such great things about it from a few friends. And just like Heather, Marie was more than happy to take a picture with me.
Marie Lu and Myself
About a week before SDCC, I had decided to forgo going to a television panel in order to go to the only book panel that I was able to make it to during the convention. I am so happy that I made this decision. The What's Hot in Young Adult Fiction panel was so informative and overall very cool. The authors in the panel were Leigh Bardugo, James Dashner, Kami Garcia, Tahereh Mafi, Melina Marchetta, Lish McBride, Myra McEntire, and Scott Westerfield.
This panel was definitely different from any previous author q&a's I've gone to in the past. Some of the topics of discussion were self publishing, dystopian novels, violence in novels, and the worst writing advice you've ever been given. Now what made this panel different was the questions from the audience. Most q&a's I've gone to usually will have readers asking questions about specific things in an author's book, but at this panel the questions were about writing advice by aspiring writers. In fact the moderator Nathan Bransford made an announcement about not using your question to pitch book ideas.
After the panel was a book signing. I was so excited to meet Myra McEntire. I adore the Hourglass series, and on my plane ride to San Diego I was able to read about half of Timepiece. She also happens to be a huge fan of the tv series Doctor Who, which I am a fan of. When it was my turn to get my book signed I totally "geeked out" on her about Doctor Who.
Myra McEntire and Myself
Unfortunately the Ya panel book signing coincided with another panel I wanted to attend, the Foes Beyond Fur and Fangs. Maggie Stiefvater was a part of this panel, and I'm a huge fan of the Wolves of Mercy Falls series so it was a bit of a bummer that I missed the panel. On the bright side I was one of the first people in line for that Foes Beyond Fur and Fangs author signing and I got a huge surprise when I found out that they had a few copies of Maggie's upcoming book "The Raven Boys" for giveaway. Luckily I was able to snag a copy.
Maggie Stiefvater and Myself
Overall I'd have to say that my time at SDCC was enjoyable. I met lots of great book lovers. Including one girl who said, "We read the books before they become movies." I couldn't help but smile at that statement. I'm still deciding whether or not I will attend SDCC next year, it overall depends on if I can get a ticket. But do I have to say that everyone should experience SDCC once!
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