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YA Midwest

@yamidwest

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YA Midwest 2026: Saturday, July 25th!
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Finally sharing a recap of my first time at YAM! Thank you to @andersonbookshop for having me. I loved participating in all of my panels! The author community is incredibly warm and welcoming, and I left the event with many new friends. I wish I’d taken more photos. I also brought my tween daughter along for a special mother-daughter trip. I scored some serious “cool mom” points by introducing her to authors whose books she’s read. I cannot forget the readers! I was SO touched meeting readers who had already finished Goldenborn and came to YAM to say hello. 🥹. And it was lovely to meet those who grabbed a copy of the book after attending a panel. I’m so grateful! A 10/10 experience capped off with a mother-daughter lemonade toast!
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They say never meet your heroes… unless your heroes are authors… then yes! Go meet them!!! I had an incredible time at @yamidwest hosted by the wonderful @andersonsbookshop 📚❤️ So much creativity and inspiration packed in one quick day. I can’t wait to dive into these reads! ✨
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I was a panelist at @yamidwest this weekend! I got to meet so many amazing authors, like @kealakendall, @writeinbk @byalexcrespo @meganshepherdauthor @what_eats_owls @bydonmartin @kaitlynabdou @byalexcrespo @marimancusi @ryan_souflee @markellegrabo and so many more! I can’t tag everyone in that big picture — I am but one woman! This was an awesome day and I’m so grateful to have been part of it!
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I had an absolute blast at @yamidwest last weekend and I’m still reeling from all the incredible authors and readers I got to meet. Thank you @andersonsbookshop for putting on such a fantastic event. And thank you to @sourcebooks @sourcebooksfire @sbkslibrary for including me in the fun. It was a day I’ll never forget 🖤
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Just got back from a wonderfully bookish weekend that included a day at @yamidwest with my friend and AMAZING fellow narrator @audiobookbrenda - FOLLOW HER! 🫵 My TBR may never recover but it was such a great day of meeting new authors & narrators and hearing their insights on how they craft the incredible stories they so graciously share with all of us 💖 #narrator #bookstagram
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My full haul from @yamidwest on Saturday! YA Midwest is a YA festival hosted by @andersonsbookshop. They use one of the Naperville schools as the venue, and this year’s happened to be at my own, which was very fun! There’s a keynote followed by 4 breakout sessions, and then the last hour and a half is dedicated to author signings. Something I love about this event besides being in community with other readers, is getting to hear so many authors speak on different topics during the panels. The sessions are held in classrooms, making the experience feel more up-close and personal. Each of the sessions is moderated by an Anderson’s staff member, and there is often time for audience questions at the end. There is a book fair set up with all of the authors’ books plus additional popular titles! This event costs $25 and includes a signed copy of the keynote speaker’s book. Educators can get CPDUs from the event as well. It’s such a steal for such a great experience! I always discover new authors and books at this event, and this year was no exception! Swipe through to read more about each book, and add them to your TBR. 😊 #bookish #bookworm #reader #bookcommunity #bookstagram
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I truly had such a phenomenal time at @yamidwest . Four panels, inspiring keynotes, amazing authors, wonderful readers, and all the books you can imagine. Basically my happy place. #yamidwest #authorlife #bookstagram
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This weekend was my first time at @yamidwest, and I am so grateful for everyone who attended my panels, stopped by my table, brought a book to sign, or just said hi 🥹 Thank you to the readers, volunteers, and to @andersonsbookshop for the wonderful weekend and to @getunderlined for championing my Hawaiian gothic (I can’t believe I ended the weekend with only one copy of TWFU left?! 😭💕) If you got any pics of us, my book, or the panels, please tag me so I can see and share them! To get there on time I had to be up + ready before 6am LA time 😅 To start the festival I made a visual pronunciation guide for my name 😌 For my first panel I got to be on a thriller/mystery panel with *the* Tiffany D. Jackson, Megan Davidhizar, Rebecca Stafford, Alex Crespo, and Ari Tison (Ari + Alex aren’t pictured here, but I’m so excited to read Alex’s A FEAST FOR THE EYES and Ari’s TOGETHER WE SEE!) ofc I was v chill about meeting Tiffany and to be sitting next to her my books in the bookshop 🥹🥹 I can’t believe we almost sold out of my Hawaiian gothic! Thanks for joining us this weekend!! 🫶🏼 (I am so grateful for everyone who said hi and told me that @erinentrada shouted out my book during @litpalooza 😭 💕)
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Chicana en Chicago! Had a great time at @yamidwest and exploring The Windy City! I was still deciding how to express to @writeinbk just how much her books have meant to me and my students when she said she had read and loved ESTELA!!! 🤯. Incredulous, thrilled, gracias! My favorite of hers is Monday’s Not Coming, go read it! Got to meet and sit on a panel with the talented and gracious @makwa_giniw and we took a photo for @rosemary.brosnan ❤️. Currently reading his excellent Rez Ball- go read it! Had a fabulous and stimulating brunch with the esteemed @iamdazeher and finished her expansive, personal, absolutely essential new book, Citizenship, at the lake- go read it! Hopped on a bus and a boat; saw Cyrillic graffiti which made me yearn for Ukrainian food- still thinking about the cabbage salad and sauerkraut-mushroom varenyky from The Magic Jug on last slide; devoured a pecorino cake with fried capers, balsamic blueberries, pistachios and olive oil gelato at Lula; saw a bunny and was freaked out by cicada volume and awed by the lake that looks like an ocean! Forgot to take a picture with new friend @frozenfresa- hope we cross paths again! And reminder: my book is available at SFO!
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When the June and July @gmabookclub YA authors get a chance to meet at @yamidwest and gush about @k8hodgson and her entire team! 💕🫶🏾📚 Wonderful to meet you @ivmariebooks ! Congratulations on Ruinous Ends!! 🎉🥳💫 And thank you @yamidwest for having me this weekend. What a wonderful celebration of YA literature! ❤️ If you’re new here, my YA fantasy, Goldenborn, is out now! It’s a GMA Book Club pick recently featured in Forbes! Goldenborn is perfect for fans of: 🔥 Supernatural Murder Mysteries 🔥High-stakes Investigations 🔥 Forced Proximity Slow-burn Romance 🔥 Ghanaian Mythology Woven into the Plot 🔥 Trickster Gods - Anansi 🔥 Ancient Family Secrets 🔥 African Vampires & Monsters When supernatural murders threaten AfricaTown, a teen detective must face monsters from West African folklore, an unexpected attraction to the new detective on the case, and a deal from Anansi—the trickster god with an agenda of his own. Come for the mystery. Stay for the agonizing slow burn. Welcome to near-future San Francisco.
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✨YA Midwest✨ 🤍 my book haul from this past weekend (minus some of the ARCs that i brought with me and the Fairyloot edition). it was incredible to walk around to different panels and listen to so many stories, take in some writing advice, and treasure the life lessons YA stories carry. i wouldn’t want to spend my weekend any other way!! 🤍 thank you to all the amazing authors that were able to take a couple minutes out of their day to chat with me🥹 @jenstjude @beccacoffindaffer @bydonmartin @frozenfresa @brijett @kaitlynabdou @fa_davidson.author @writeinbk @ashwrites @ivmariebooks and thank you @andersonsbookshop for hosting!! 🤍 tags 🏷️ #bookconvention #yamidwest #yabooks #yabookrecs #bookhauls
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Between @yamidwest and @fieldmuseum, this weekend was one of highlights of my year! This year was the 4th I’ve gone to YA Midwest and I always love the diversity of authors and the topics of the panels, I can’t wait for next year! Got to see @jamiepacton and chat, I already started an ARC for Homeward for a Spell and can’t wait to pick up a physical copy when it releases next month! Some of the swag I picked up! After reading the description of the moonshadow necklace from Vermilion Emporium I wanted to try to make my own. It might not have actual magic but it glows in the dark which is close enough✨ Got to stop by @megandavidhizar’s table to say hi and picked up another copy of Silent Sister Picked up some books from some new to me authors and some I loved but didn’t have a physical copy of yet!
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