Blue Willow Brings Authors to TeenBookCon

The April 10 Greater Houston TeenBookCon proved that "yes indeed, Houston can put on some great events," said Cathy Berner. As the events coordinator and children's/young adult specialist at Blue Willow Bookshop, Berner was one of the festival's organizers.

"We had four hundred people for our first year, and that was a thrill," Berner said. "It exceeded our expectations for an inaugural event." The festival, the first of its kind in Houston, was inspired by a similar event for teens in upstate New York. Berner and TeenBookCon co-chairs Aria Tatelman of Duchesne Academy and Lisa Stultz of Alief Hastings High School began organizing in September.

"Blue Willow's big thing was bringing the authors in," Berner said, while the librarians organized volunteers and logistics for the event, which was held at Alief Hastings High School. "The publishers were very generous in sending good people," so Berner was pleased with the combination of new and established authors and graphic novelists who were present. The festival, which was free and open to everyone, featured three author panels, autographing tables, and lunchtime entertainment.

One of the highlights was Sharon Draper's keynote address. "She was almost like a preacher," Berner said, explaining to the teen attendees that they fact that they chose to read was much more important that what they read.

In addition to watching "the enthusiasm of teens to meet their favorite authors," Berner said, Blue Willow, the official bookseller at the event, also saw it as a chance to make connections of its own. "There were a lot of librarians who we had never had the pleasure of meeting," but now those librarians have a relationship with the store that will continue through future TeenBookCons. "It was so worth it."--Sarah Rettger