My last blog post was on the 1st of October, which seems like a lifetime ago. Saundra Mitchell actually checked in to see if I was okay, which I thought was very caring. I am okay, just very busy. My library is hopping, which is awesome. I have a toddler who is also awesome and hopping. And I’ve been working on some projects whose awesomeness is TBD. Since I’m an inconsistent and ambivalent blogger as it is, it was easy to let this go by the wayside.

However I wanted to check in because less than two weeks from now I will be Albuquerque, New Mexico for the YALSA Teen Lit Symposium! I am going to be a part of two author panels, one on LGBTQ lit and one on Body Positivity and Fat Acceptance. I am very, very excited about these, not the least because the other authors are so awesome. For the LGBTQ panel: Malinda Lo, Kirstin Cronn-Mills, Lauren Bjorkman, and Michael Cart; this is part of the pre-conference On Beyond Stonewall, organized by Cart and Christine Jenkins. For the Fat Acceptance panel: Madeleine George, Susan Vaught, and Allen Zadoff; that one will be moderated by Angie Manfredi, a fantastic librarian from New Mexico.

And then, to cap it off, this introvert is going to speak in public one more time:

Malinda, Kirstin, Lauren, and I will be joined by Alexandra Diaz to speak about LGBTQ issues with teens at Alamosa Books.

Then I will curl up and sleep for days. No! Then I will enjoy the rest of the conference which sounds like it is going to be so cool. What I’m most excited about it is meeting other librarians and authors — the ones listed here, the ones presenting other sessions, and the ones in attendance. There’s something energizing about being around so many other people who are excited about YA lit.

I hope that some of you can make it to New Mexico, and I will see you there.