Adult Panels

All I Need is One Mic

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Poets & Essayists discuss craft, inspiration, and community.

Panelists: Andrés Cerpa (Bicycle in a Ransacked City: An Elegy), Roya Marsh (dayliGht), Vanessa Mártir (Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture, Anthology edited by Roxane Gay) Moderator: Sarah Gonzalez, Publicist, Mil Mundos Bookstore

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Kissing Under NYC’s Stars

Romance novelists discuss the allure of romantic fiction set in New York City, and the issues that lovers face when trying to fall and stay in love in the greatest city in the world.

Panelists: Kate Clayborn (Love Lettering), Kwana Jackson (Real Men Knit), Ruby Lang (The Uptown Collection),  Zoey Castile (Happy Endings Series)

Moderator: Norma Perez-Hernandez, Assistant Editor at Kensington

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Unapologetic & Searching: Latinx Voices in Fiction

Critically acclaimed Latinx writers will discuss their unapologetic approach to writing and the ways that themes of searching, revelation, and discovery appear in their work. How did literary forebears, current events, and craft influence these decisions? What implications are there for the reader?

Panelists: Lorraine Avila (Malcriada), Melissa Rivero (The Affairs of the Falcóns), Ivelisse Rodriguez (Love War Stories)

Moderator: Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa (Daughters of the Stone)

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Unbreakable Time

Speculative fiction and fantasy writers discuss their approaches to writing the past, present, and future in worlds that shift perspectives about where we've been and where we're going.

Panelists: N.K. Jemisin (The City We Became), Victor LaValle (Changeling), Tochi Onyebuchi (Riot Baby), Alaya Dawn Johnson (Trouble the Saints)

Moderator: P. Djèlí Clark (The Black God’s Drums)

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Coming of Age

Whether it’s 1984 or today, coming of age is never easy. And when the familiar is questioned and new paths are presented, what’s a kid to do? Join as these authors discuss their books and how to begin to find your own places in the world even when it feels like everything is uncertain.

Panelists: Cheryl and Wade Hudson (Brave. Black. First. and We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices), Debbie Michiko Florence (Keep It Together, Keiko Carter), Ibi Zoboi (My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich), Jamia Wilson (Young, Gifted, and Black)

Moderator: Torrey Maldonado (What Lane?)

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A Kid’s Hero Journey

Being a kid is tough, being a kid called to adventure is definitely tougher. But these kids don’t shy away from danger, they take heed and are the heroes of their stories. Join these middle-grade authors as they discuss their novels and the journeys their protagonists undertake in familiar and unfamiliar worlds.

Panelists: Adam Gidwitz (Unicorn Rescue Society: The Madres de Aguas of Cuba), Claribel A. Ortega (Ghost Squad), Katie Zhao (The Fallen Hero), Tracey Baptiste (The Jumbie God’s Revenge)

Moderator: Ellen Oh (Dragon Egg Princess)

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Family, Friends, and Finding Yourself

These authors have beautifully articulated the struggles that young kids face in their novels. Join as they discuss the very real challenges, tough choices, and discoveries that their characters face in these middle-grade books on family, friends, and finding yourself.

Panelists: Janae Marks (From the Desk of Zoe Washington), Pablo Cartaya (Each Tiny Spark), Renée Watson (Some Places More Than Others)

Moderator: Shelley Diaz, New York and Brooklyn Public Library Youth Selector

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Remixing the Rainbow: Queer Authors of Color in Discussion

Queer authors of color discuss their work--from the craft of writing to how their identity does or does not impact what they write to their successes and struggles to launch and build a career.

Panelists: Aiden Thomas (Cemetery Boys), Arvin Ahmadi (Girl Gone Viral), Dhonielle Clayton (Everlasting Rose), George M. Johnson (All Boys Aren't Blue)

Moderator: Patrice Caldwell (A Phoenix First Must Burn)

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Black Enough: Celebrating Black Voices

Inspired by the Black Enough anthology, edited by Ibi Zoboi, this YA panel celebrates Black authors and their stories as they remind the world that they are not a monolith.

Panelists: Brandy Colbert (The Only Black Girls in Town), Camryn Garrett (Full Disclosure), Leah Johnson (You Should See Me in a Crown)

Moderator: Ibi Zoboi (Black Enough, My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich)

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Building Better Worlds

When the outside world seems as unbelievable as fantasy, young adult authors create new worlds from what they know. These speculative fiction authors bring lived experiences to worlds built from fantastical kingdoms, code, a magical circus, and Puerto Rico threatened by both natural and supernatural forces. Join them in a discussion about their inspiration for the worlds they build.

Panelists: Coco Ma (Shadow Frost), Ann Dávila Cardinal (Category Five), Elizabeth Lim (Spin the Dawn), Janella Angeles (Where Dreams Descend)

Moderator: Arvin Ahmadi (Girl Gone Viral)

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Beyond the Genre: When Worlds Collide

You know the genres, the tropes, the archetypes - but you‘ve never read stories like these before.  Worlds collide in this panel as young adult authors break down the conventions of their respective genres and share how each of their stories are connected by one thing: human connections and our need for them.

Panelists: Andrew Fukuda (This Light Between Us), Coco Ma (Shadow Frost), Swati Teerdhala (The Tiger at Midnight), Sona Charaipotra (Symptoms of a Heartbreak)