The Class of 2k13 had the first ever “Class of” panel at ALA Chicago, and I really do think it was a success. We have Polly Holyoke (THE NEPTUNE PROJECT) to thank for conceiving of the idea that a group of authors could be forward enough to send ourselves to ALA (typically publishers send their authors, and choose who goes), and then for pushing the project through to its fruitful endgame.
And what a game it was…
We wanted to offer something a little different for all the librarians who might be tired of talking about databases and Common Core Standards. So we thought – hey, librarians know stuff, and they like knowing stuff. Let’s give them a chance to show off!
Our concept – each author hosted a table, decorated to fit the theme of their book. When people were seated with the author of their choice, we let them know we were not only table partners, but a team. After a quick Q&A with the entire panel we jumped into a quiz bowl, where the winning team won Super Swag Bags which contained ARCs, among other things. But, just to be sure that no one was bummed out, we made sure every attendee got a swag bag, with our bookmarks and general swag, but no ARCs. Hey, we had to make the Super Swag Bags special, right?
Oh, and we thought having Veronica Roth (DIVERGENT) host the whole thing might help draw in some people. You know, just maybe.
So I decided to share some awesome pics of my fellow Class of 2k13 members and our panel, which was a rocking good time indeed. But… as all pictures go, some of them weren’t very good. In fact, some of them were downright funny (mostly those are my shots, you’ll see). And, because I can’t help but put a story together, I ended up making myself giggle.
And I like making other people giggle too. So, here are some things that happened at ALA… and some things that didn’t.
***THINGS THAT DID HAPPEN***
