Northern YA Litfest 2023 in Preston

As you may remember, I've been to Northern YA Litfest three times before, in 2018, 2019, and 2022. I really support it especially because it is held in the north, and I always have a really good time. This year, they didn't get the funding that they have had before, but decided to have a smaller conference, combining the YA and the children's stuff into one day. I think in general, you could tell there was less money and there were fewer volunteers, but in all, it was still a brilliant day and they had still done really well and I was glad to have gone. We will see what happens next year!

Lee and I set off around 8am and got to Preston about 9.30 even though the rain was really heavy on parts of the M62 (also I really hate the M62). I managed to pick up some proofs from the table which is always exciting, and I looked around some of the stalls. There weren't many but the ones there were were very cute! 

We headed into the "Getting Into Publishing" panel first, which was interesting even though I don't really want to get into publishing! I talked to one of the panellists later and it turned out she grew up in Wakefield like I did! Too weird! Next was "Demystifying the Author Journey" which had Danielle Jawando as one of the panellists. I really enjoyed one of her books last year so I really liked listening to her. She signed my book afterwards which was great too. 

Next was the "Being You" panel which was brilliant - I really enjoyed that one. Sara Barnard is always good and her new book sounds amazing. I bought it and got her to sign it afterwards. It is always a pleasure to see her on a panel. I will have to pick the book up soon! 

The cafeteria wasn't open this year, which was a shame, but I guess it's because it was out of term time. Lee went along to Tesco and got us some sandwiches which we ate in the atrium. That did mean that we were slightly late for the next panel, which was a bit annoying - it wasn't our fault, it was just because of lunch! 

The panel was "The Strange and The Sinister" which included Laura Steven and Cynthia Murphy, both of whom I was really excited to see. It was a funny and fun panel. I spoke to them both afterwards and got books signed. I only bought three books this year which is some kind of record for me! I did also buy some merch - you can see those photos at the end of this post. 

The last panel we saw was You Cannot Be Serious, which again was really funny. I spoke to Dee afterwards and she was lovely. We did another scan of the stalls and stuff, but decided to leave around 3.30. I think there might have been another panel afterwards, but the information wasn't really given, so we didn't know. But! We were glad to get home early and we ordered Chinese food for tea. 

I was wearing my Be Gay Solve Crimes t shirt which is to do with Robin Stevens, and there was someone else there in the exact same t shirt! There were many amazing outfits and some people were really dressed up for Barbie! It was so much fun. I had such a good day, as usual. 

In the very first panel

In the second one

Here's me and Danielle Jawando

And here's the Being You panel with a panel leader in a Topsy Curvy dress which was SO good

There's me and Sara Barnard. My necklace came from Black Heart Creatives in their closing down sale

The Strange and The Sinister panel. We had to sit a bit further up for this one, but this in general is a really accessible room and space for me

The last panel we saw

Here's my outfit when we got home

Here's the books I got! The first five were proofs and the last three I bought, all of which I'm very excited to read

And finally here's the stickers and pin I bought. The pin says "Hello I am a blogger" which I love!

World Book Day 2023

My book club decided to have a social get together on World Book Day, which we've never done before but would like to make into an annual event! Lynn very generously offered to have us all over to her house. She said she would buy bread and if we could all bring a salad we would have a faith supper. I at first had a prior engagement but then my friend had to cancel, so I could make it to the social! I decided to take mozzarella salad with cucumber and tomatoes, and some pesto to go along side. I didn't put the pesto on as I know not everyone likes it. 

I got to Lynn's about 7pm and was actually the first there although others were very close behind me. Everyone brought something delicious and the vast majority of it was vegetarian which was very exciting for me. Even the quiches were both veggie! Someone also brought some 'nozeco', some alcohol free prosecco, so I had some of that. We helped ourselves to food and sat round Lynn's table to eat. It was so lovely! We had sunken rhubarb cake for pudding with sour cream.

Lynn had also suggested that we each take some books to swap. I am always getting rid of books so I took a bag full. I managed to only come home with one in return, which was a loan from Paula anyway. Go me! We chatted and had coffee. I didn't leave until around 10.30pm! It was so nice to get together and not talk about books! 

All of us at the table before dessert, the picture was taken by Lynn's husband

Look at this beautiful spread! It was so good, I love a faith supper

And here's the rhubarb cake which I wasn't sure about but ended up really enjoying

Northern YA Lit Fest In Preston in May

It's back! We're back! Back in person at a conference! I was so excited to go! 

I went to Northern YA Lit Fest in 2018 and 2019 and had tickets for 2020 when it had to be cancelled due to the pandemic, so I'm a big supporter of the festival and was so excited to be back. It actually took place over two days, with the second day focussing on middle grade and children's books and authors. However, I know I wouldn't be able to cope with this, so I opted to just go on the YA day. I asked Lee to come with me to carry books and generally be helpful, but actually as the festival was less well attended than previously, I probably would have been fine by myself. But no worries, he enjoyed himself. 

We set off around 8.10 and managed to get to Preston by just after 9.30, meaning we had plenty of time to get checked in and walk round the stalls. There were some good stalls, but I'd have liked a couple more I think. There was also some confusion as to which events were being held where, which could have been avoided by signs or by it being printed in the programme. I had signed up to the two panels featuring agents, as I'm trying to get agented myself, so I headed there. Lee didn't think they sounded too interesting, so he got himself a hot chocolate and sat in the break out areas playing on his Switch. 

I first of all watched "The Publishing Process" which was engaging and interesting, and then watched "Getting Your Pitch Right" which veered off subject slightly but was still fun to watch. There was a lot of talk about Heartstopper and how it has hopefully shown that YA is very sellable, which I liked. 

By this time it was 12 and there were some signings. I had taken some books that I've already read for signing, and bought a bunch more from the stalls. I spoke to Cynthia Murphy and she signed my journal as I read her book but it was from the library so I didn't have it for signing. The signings were a lot better this year, but again that's maybe because there were fewer people there. Queues weren't stupidly long and moved quickly. I was impressed!

There's a canteen right off the room where the stalls are, so we went in there for lunch. It was cheap and seats were plentiful so that was good. Before long it was 1pm and it was time to watch "The World We Live In" which included Simon James Green who was very funny and who also talked about having a school visit to a Catholic boys school cancelled recently, which was sad. It was good. Then came Living, Loving and Laughing which was very good, we both enjoyed that one. Two of the authors managed to sell themselves to me so Lee hotfooted it back to Ebb and Flo book stall to buy their books for me for the signings which were next. I also got copies for my friend Sam for her birthday, and both authors put a birthday message to her in the books which was lovely of them. 

It wasn't obvious who everyone was at the signing tables and obviously, as there were different panels/workshops going on, you may not have seen everyone in the room. Signs on tables could have helped here. As it was I had to google C G Moore to check what he looked like before taking over my copies of his books for signing. 

The last panel at 4pm was one about fantasy, and I found it interesting even though fantasy is not really my genre. Accessibility and accessible seats were a lot better this year, which I'm glad about. At 5pm I took a last look at all the stalls. There were far fewer proof copies this year which is a shame but not really something to worry about. I had bought many books! I had a really good time. 

I had done some research beforehand into good vegetarian food in the area and found RK Dining which is Indian street food that is all vegetarian or vegan. This was extremely exciting to me! It was just down the road from UCLan where the festival had been held, and we got a table easily. The problem was there was too much choice! I went for samosa chaat to start with then masala paneer which came with three rotis so I didn't get rice. I also had a mango lassi. Lee went for a mixed starter (where he let me try everything) and Bombay potatoes, which also came to roti. That cost us the grand total of £25 which was a bargain! 

There's a deli attached to the restaurant so we bought some stuff there to have for tea later in the week which is a treat too! I would recommend the place if you're in the area, it's quick, authentic, and delicious!

My dress, if you're wondering, is the Mary Poppins dress from Carolina Dress Room. I have worn it before but not for ages, and I thought it would be cute for a literary festival. I got a lot of compliments on it. 

I can't wait until next year! 

In the agent events are the beginning of the day

Living, Loving and Laughing

Me and Simon James Green!

The Fight For What's Right

Samosa chaat

Lee's mixed starter

Mango lassi, it was so good! 

Masala paneer

Lee's Bombay potatoes

As I said I did take a few books to get signed that I already owned, which aren't pictured, but there are all the books I bought (most of them are now signed). The middle one at the bottom is a proof I was given!

Secret Santa and Book Hauls

As you know, I like to join in with Secret Santas, I just did two in 2021 to keep costs down, but I got some lovely gifts so I was happy about it. This is just a quick post!

OddSocksAlex sent me these, I've never read any of them but I read the middle one at the beginning of January and I LOVED it

Lucy sent me these, I'm intrigued by all of them

She also sent me the above gifts, all of which are lovely! I love scented candles and wax melts so those are always welcome, and I really like the lighter! I've never had one before, I usually use matches, but I'm really appreciating it!

These are the other books I got for Christmas, I'm making my way through them. You can as always see my book reviews here on my other blog

And here's some books I got in the Waterstones sale just after Christmas, none of them were more than a fiver. I couldn't read any of the blurbs, so just went with my gut really!

Trip to The Bookish Type in Leeds

 At the end of June I went to Leeds to meet my friend Leanne and to visit The Bookish Type, which is an independent queer bookshop in Leeds. I can't remember where I first heard of it, but I've been wanting to go, so I said that on Twitter and Leanne replied saying she'd love to go. I haven't seen Leanne or her partner and child since Christmas 2019, so it was well overdue and I was really looking forward to it. I went into Leeds a bit early and ate some lunch by myself in Costa, having parked in the Merrion Centre, before I went upstairs to meet Leanne. The shop isn't huge, but it does have soooo many books. They're all nicely categorised, too. First on the left was children's and middle grade, so I spent some time looking at that. I was pleased to see the Murder Most Unladylike series on the shelves! 

I was thrilled to see so many books that I've already read, and books by friends of mine. It was so lovely! I picked up three books and some badges. 

The YA section was big - two shelves - and I asked the person behind the counter if I could take some photos of it. I always do this in bookshops as I don't want to annoy anyone, and I also don't want them to think that I'm taking photos of books I want so that I can buy them online later as I think that's rude IF you have the money to buy in store. The person said yes and I said I was a YA blogger and was really impressed by their selection. There were books about teens of all races, with other intersections like disability, and not just contemporary YA but fantasy and so on too. The person thanked me for the compliments and said they didn't always know what to buy, but tried to focus on British YA and not have solely American YA. 

Leanne bought a book for her little girl and then three books for herself. We went for coffee afterwards and spent quite a while catching up. I set off home around 4.10 and didn't get home until 4.50 - I've forgotten what being in queuing traffic is like! I used to work in Leeds and I honestly don't know how I did it! 

Here's the YA shelves what I got:

Look how vibrant and colourful they are - absolutely gorgeous. The person behind the counter and I had a discussion about how queer YA has come on so far since we were teens. This is one of the reasons I love it so much! It just didn't exist 20 years ago when I was a teenager!

The book on the left is a sequel and I read the first one ages ago and have been meaning to buy this one. The other two just looked good

La! If you've seen It's A Sin, you'll know why this has become popular. I have a t-shirt too. The others are inclusive badges and I am an inclusive queer. Thanks!

Shopping in Barnsley

A new independent bookshop was opening in Barnsley in the middle of December, so I asked my friend Sarah to come along with me on the day it opened so spend some money locally and support a new business. Barnsley doesn't have the best town centre, and in recent years the only place to buy books has been The Works. In the spirit of putting my money where my mouth is, I wanted to go and support the shop, and I'm planning to go back every couple of months to spend some money. I bought three crime/thriller books and Sarah bought four books and a reading light.

Afterwards we went to Frankie & Benny's which is just out of the town centre. It was quite busy for a Monday afternoon. We shared some mozarella sticks, and then I tried one of their vegan burgers which I liked while Sarah had a chicken burger. Then we both had the hot cookie dough dessert which was really nice!

It was a lovely few hours out with Sarah. We swapped Christmas presents and chatted and it was lovely!

The ouside of the bookshop

The YA shelves in the bookshop 

And some more

Strawberry lemonade - it was delicious!

Mozarella sticks

Vegan burger and fries

Hot cookie dessert

The books that I bought - can't wait to get to them!

Evening with Elly Griffiths

At the beginning of November I got tickets for Lee and I to go to an author signing by Elly Griffiths in Derby. I love Elly Griffiths (you can see my reviews of her books here) so was really keen to go, even though it meant driving to Derby. It was the closest place she was going, so we decided to go anyway.

We set off nice and early and had to wait a bit to get into the Waterstones, so we went to Costa for a drink first. Once we got into Waterstones we were greeted warmly and offered some wine or some juice.

Elly talked for a bit first, then read an extract from her new book The Stranger Diaries. She then let us ask her questions - I asked whether she answers to Elly now (her real name is Domenica de Rosa) and she said she does, even though her friends and family call her Dom. There were about fifteen people in the audience and we had a nice discussion about who would play Ruth or Nelson if the Ruth Galloway novels were ever televised.

I bought myself a copy of The Stranger Diaries and I had taken all the other books by Elly that I could find, so I got those all signed and had a lovely conversation with Elly. She follows me on Twitter so she knew who I was, and it was a real honour to meet her. I love the Ruth Galloway novels because they mix crime fiction with theology and myth, which I love. My favourite is The Janus Stone, which Elly said she was glad to hear because it's one of her favourites!

After the event we went to Yo Sushi for food; it was just closing so not everything was available but we still had a nice meal. When we got home there was a fracas going on in the shared yard outside our house, which wasn't nice at all and really ruined an otherwise lovely evening. But I'm really glad we went and that I got to meet Elly!

I wore this Scarlett & Jo dress because it's comfortable, and paired it with my reddish cardigan from George at Asda. I've been trying to wear some of my pin badges more often, so I wore this nautical star.

I also took this photo of all my signed books - don't they look lovely?

Elly while reading from her book

Me and Elly

A close up of the pin badge

All my books signed!

Books of the Month - June

I read nine books in June which was loads! It means I am, at the halfway point of the year, ahead of my Goodreads reading challenge. I set it for 60 books in the year, and at the end of June I'd read 34, which I'm pleased about. I loved loads of the nine books. As always, my reviews are over here on my book blog.

Being on holiday did mean I read three books, but even before that I was making the effort to sit in the garden and read in the sunshine. It made me feel so much better in general - I really do thrive in the sun.

Here's some of the books I read: