The 215 Festival

Vendors still wanted for Book & Record Fair; invite friends on Facebook here.

As promised, this year’s 215 Festival (Nov.1-4, 2012) will be hosting its first-ever YA Saturday! — its first-ever Young Adult Lit full day event — alongside the ever-popular Lovingly Bound Book & Record Fair. For the YA Lit fan, this is a big deal, with a truly stellar lineup, but there’s also plenty for everyone to check out on the Book & Record Fair side. We’re gonna have a LOT of new 215 info this week, so stay tuned and follow the 215 Fest on Facebook and Twitter.

Full lineup info and bios after the jump.

A Fine Double Header Afternoon!
Lovingly Bound
Book & Record Fair
& Y.A. Saturday!
featuring Maureen Johnson,
Robin Wasserman and a full lineup of
Young Adult Lit authors!
Saturday, November 3 · 12-6pm
Underground Arts
1200 Callowhill Street · Admission is free.
(More info @ 215festival.org)

IN THE MAIN SPACE:
A wide array of book and record sellers, independent publishers, zine folks and craftspeople!

IN THE THEATER SPACE:

1:00pm: Tiffany Schmidt
1:30pm: Mighty Writers
2:00pm: Maureen Johnson & Robin Wasserman
3:15pm: Laura Van Der Berg
3:45pm: Josh Berk
4:15pm: Elisa Ludwig

ABOUT SATURDAY’S READERS & WRITERS:

Name: Maureen Johnson
Latest book: The Name of the Star (The Madness Underneath, the sequel, comes out in February)
Link: maureenjohnsonbooks.com
Bio: Maureen has written 10 books for young adults, such as 13 Little Blue Envelopes and The Name of the Star. She was also named one of the top 140 people to follow on Twitter, and has been known on occasion to scream about monkeys.

Name: Robin Wasserman
Latest book: The Book of Blood and Shadow
Link: robinwasserman.com
Bio: Robin has written many books for young adults, including The Book of Blood and Shadow and The Cold Awakening trilogy. She may or may not be Maureen Johnson’s partner in crime.
Name: Elisa Ludwig
Latest Book: Pretty Crooked
Link: www.elisaludwig.com
Bio: Elisa is a YA author and freelance writer based in Philadelphia and one of the original founders of the 215 Festival. Pretty Crooked is her first book, to be followed by Pretty Sly in March 2013.

Name: Josh Berk
Latest book: Guy Langman: Crime Scene Procrastinator.
Link: joshberkbooks.com
Bio: Josh is the author of The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin and Guy Langman: Crime Scene Procrastinator. He is also a librarian, and lives in Pennsylvania.

Name: Tiffany Schmidt
Latest Book: Send Me a Sign
Link: http://www.tiffanyschmidt.com/
Bio: Tiffany is a YA writer/ reader, living and creating mischief in Doylestown, PA. Married to St. Matt, mother of impish twin boys, and chaser of mischievous puggles. Send Me a Sign is her debut novel, and her second novel, Before Sunrise, will be out in Winter 2014.

One Teen Story is presenting:

Name: Laura van den Berg
Latest book: What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us
Link: http://www.lauravandenberg.com/
Bio: Laura is the author of One Teen Story’s third issue. Her stories have or will soon appear in Ploughshares, One Story, Boston Review, American Short Fiction, Conjunctions, Best American Nonrequired Reading 2008, Best New American Voices 2010, and The Pushcart Prize XXIV.

One Teen Story, published by One Story, is a literary magazine for young adult readers of every age. Each issue will feature one amazing short story about the teen experience

http://www.oneteenstory.com/

PLUS: Figment Writing Contest – The 215 Contest
Link: http://figment.com/
Info: Figment is a community where you can share your writing, connect with other readers, and discover new stories and authors. Whatever you’re into, from sonnets to mysteries, from sci-fi stories to cell phone novels, you can find it all here.

Figment’s contest for the 215 Festival’s YA Saturday: write a story that takes place in the Philadelphia area, 200 words or fewer. Prizes include: a book pack provided by Quirk; possible publication in the Apiary literary magazine; books or swag from other fest participants/sponsors. Open to anyone in the US or Canada (excl. Quebec) 13 years or older. Figment users will vote on their favorite entries, then select the top 10 or 20 to be read by Figment VIP, Madeleine Richardson Graham. Top stories will be read at YA Saturday!

Name: Mighty Writers – Philly’s youngest YA writers will read their own work at YA Saturday.
Link: http://www.mightywriters.org/
Info: Mighty Writer’s mission is to teach Philadelphia kids (ages 7 to 17) to think and write with clarity, so self-esteem grows and success is achieved at school, at work and in life.