Highlights and Inspiration from the Bay Area Book Festival 2019

What a weekend!

I got to be on a panel, moderate a panel, and be a contestant on a Young Adult edition of Literary Death Match!

It was two days full of wonderful people, kid lit folks and readers, and inspiration. Here are some of the moments still resonating for me:

When a book is well-written, everyone can identify with the main character. —Tania De Regil

Stumbling on my own photo in the printed festival program!

The theme of creating books we didn't have for ourselves for this new generation - from my own story about "Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill", to my wonderful co-panelist Cindy Pon, whose all-Asian casts continue to be groundbreaking (and such good reads — I loved "WANT"!

The wonderful Mina Witteman, who organized the wonderful children and teen programming.

The theme rising again in the panel I moderated, with amazing panelists Atia Abawi and her refugee story, "A Land of Permanent Goodbyes", to e.E. Charlton-Trujillo's "Fat Angie: Rebel Girl Revolution" (the second book in what's going to be a trilogy!)

A whimsical "forest" for the youngest readers

And that very same theme echoed in the words of Mylo Freeman, who told the story of how, ten years ago, a teacher told her about a young black student who refused to play a princess in the class play because she thought a princess couldn't look like her. That inspired her to create the best-selling “Princess Arabella” series—for which she's now writing book 14!

An exuberant performance melding rap, history, and young people's empowerment by the Alphabet Rockers

The kindness of our children's literature community. I loved how for the "Seasons, Sounds and Sandwiches" panel, Picture Book authors Meg Fleming, Tim McCanna, and Alice McGinty held the microphone for each other as they read sections from their picture books. It was such a kind and selfless moment, a "here, let me help you tell the audience about your book" generosity, that made me so happy.

What a hoot! My fellow Literary Death Match co-stars, (left to right): Gordon Jack, Zoraida Córdova, our brilliant and hysterical host Adrian Todd Zuniga, me (!), and Cindy Pon.

How my panel with Cindy Pon was moderated by a teen reader, Riya Kataria, a high school junior who had read both of our books and did a wonderful job! (And how great is a teen book festival event that centers teens? Super-Great!)

My panel with Cindy Pon and the wonderful teen moderator, Riya!

The faith that our books make a difference. As Alice said on the motivation for her "Pancakes to Parathas: Breakfast Around the World" picturebook, "I wanted to make the world feel smaller."

Kid Lit friends Alice McGinty (left) and Meg Fleming

And most of all the super-engaged audience of readers!

I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to be part of the Bay Area Book Festival 2019. Thanks to Mina and all the festival organizers!

The light in me recognizes and celebrates the light in you,
Lee

Come See Me Tomorrow at the Bay Area Book Festival on May 5, 2019

I'll be in conversation with Cindy Pon,

Someone Like Me: Seeing Ourselves in the Books We Read
Saturday, May 4, 12:45 PM, Florence Schwimley Little Theater
Cindy Pon, Lee Wind, moderated by Riya Kataria

When you open a book, do you see yourself in its pages? Do the characters look or think like you? Cindy Pon fought hard to publish one of the first Young Adult fantasy novels with an Asian protagonist on the U.S. market. Lee Wind’s queer history book was canceled by the publisher for being too controversial, but he found a way to publish it anyway. The two dig into why kids (and adults) need diverse characters and how they fight against the bias and blindspots of the publishing world.

and in friendly competition with Cindy, Zoraida Córdova, and Gordon Jack as part of the festival's YA Literary Death Match!

Literary Death Match
Saturday, May 4, 2:30 PM, Word Power Stage
Zoraida Córdova, Gordon Jack, Cindy Pon, Lee Wind, hosted by Adrian Todd Zuniga

Four authors. Three (teen) judges. Two finalists. One Champion (and all kinds of hilarity in between). Watch these young adult writers perform their most electric writing in five minutes or less as they compete for the coveted Literary Death Match crown. Hosted by series co-creator Adrian Todd Zuniga

**UPDATE as of 3pm Friday, May 3, 2019**

And as a last-minute replacement, I'll also be moderating the YA panel, "War Zone: Coming of Age in Times of Conflict."

War Zone: Coming of Age in Times of Conflict
Atia Abawi, e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, moderated by Lee Wind
Sunday, May 5, 2:15 PM - 3:30 PM, Florence Schwimley Little Theater

What do you do when your world is suddenly turned upside down? Growing up is hard enough, but these teen protagonists must cope with loss and navigate violence completely out of their control. Atia Abawi’s “A Land of Permanent Goodbyes” follows Tareq, a kid forced to flee his home in war torn Syria. e.E. Charlton-Trujillo’s “Fat Angie: Rebel Girl Revolution” features Angie, a high school sophomore mourning the death of her sister in Iraq. The three writers will discuss how they write about teenage trauma and resilience, and why these tough-to-write stories are so valuable to readers who need to find hope within their pages.

You can see the full Festival schedule here.

I'm grateful to Mina Witteman and the other festival organizers, and excited to meet young readers at the festival!

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,

Lee