Left to right: Marie Lu, Nicola Yoon, Nic Stone, Kiersten White, M.J. Franklin
Sad you missed BookCon? Here are some more highlights! Check out more of our coverage here.
Fierce and Fabulous
“#1 asking for permission and #2 apologizing for taking up space. I’m not apologizing for taking up space anymore. My main fear for writing the two girls in this book is that I would make them too soft. I don’t want them to apologize for taking up space, I don’t want to subconsciously write female characters who are shy, who are soft, just because I’ve been taught that’s what women are supposed to be.” Nic Stone
The Enduring Appeal of Fairytales and Myths
“There’s so much darkness in the world,” author Rena Rossner said. “I think fairy tales help us process that … It trains you to think it’s possible to save the world.”
That darkness is what inspired her to retell the Goblin Market “set in the shtetl in the time of the pogroms” in her upcoming book The Sisters of the Winter Wood. She interwove Russian and Ukrainian mythology into her retelling (including swan people and bear people).
The Goblin Market is a little-known epic poem by Christina Rossetti (we recommended the beautiful Folio volume in our Winter 2017 gift list). It was a childhood favorite of Rossner’s.
She also said that she was inspired to write the book “because I work as a literary agent, I was kind of aware of what’s out there, and there weren’t enough stories about siblings and sisters.”
Left to Right Glynnis Macnicol, Yahdon Israel, Veronica Roth, Daniel Jose Older
PBS surveyed 1000s of Americans to determine a list of America’s favorite books. Panelists argued the merits of those books as they were pitted against each other. 50 Shades of Grey vs. The Great Gatsby, Jurassic Park vs. The Handmaid’s Tale, Pride and Prejudice vs. Atlas Shrugged.
“Let me make the case for Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs!” Daniel Jose Older. The Handmaid’s Tale was voted the winner.
“I didn’t like it (Pride&Prejudice) when I had to read it for AP English. But now after time, the fact that the institution of marriage is the only thing that allows these girls to keep what’s theirs is deep. But then, on the pop culture level, I was like the Bennets are the Kardashians. When you think about the book through a pop culture lens it became easy for me to transmit it to other people.” Yahdon Israel.
Vote for your favorites here: https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/vote/#
Left to Right: Kody Keplinger, Adam Silvera, Stephanie Garber, Jason Reynolds, Brendan Kiel, Jen Doll
Yet to Be: Bravery
“I think a lot of people equate bravery with fearlessness. But as a very fearful person I think fearlessness takes away from being brave.” Stephanie Garber
“For some of us it’s (anxiety) hindering but for me its been propelling. My fear of not actualizing whatever it is that I want my life to become is what pushed me obsessively. Sometimes it sits us down other times it propels us into the air.” Jason Reynolds
What were your favorite parts of Book Con this year? Let us know in the comments section below!
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