While many book festivals and fairs are now being canceled due to the growing spread of the coronavirus, the sixth annual North Texas Teen Book Festival was perhaps one of the last to take place as scheduled, at the Irving Convention Center in Irving, Tex., on March 6–7. The event drew more than 13,000 attendees, which featured a lineup of more than 80 authors who participated in keynotes, panels and breakout sessions, signings, and the NTTBF film festival showcasing YA adaptations of The Sun Is Also a Star, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and Let It Snow. The preceding Educator Day, hosted by Sam Houston State University’s College of Education, offered professional development training and programs for more than 800 area teachers and librarians. We’ve gathered a selection of highlights from the events. All festival photos: Joon Koo. All Ed Day photos: Thomas Escobar.
Authors (from l.) Jen Calonita (the Fairy Tale Reform School series), Peter Lerangis (the Throwback series), and Kwame Mbalia (the Tristan Strong series) discuss their action-driven books during the “Adventure Awaits” panel.
Festivalgoers gather around the I Heart NTTBF display.
The “Sweet & Salty” panel showcases a wide range of storytelling styles with authors (from l.) Lisa Greenwald (the TBH series), Robin Ha (Almost American Girl: A Memoir), Carlos Hernandez (the Sal and Gabi series), and Lyla Lee (I’ll Be the One).
Young readers line up to ask questions of their favorite authors during one of the 47 panels.
Bestselling author Julie Murphy (Dumplin’; Sweet Pea) chats one-on-one with a teen reader before the “All Bodies Are Beautiful” discussion.
(From l.) blogger Syd Shreffler in conversation with authors Tonya Bolden (Changing the Equation), Camryn Garrett (Full Disclosure), Tiffany D. Jackson (Let Me Hear a Rhyme), Jewell Parker Rhodes (Black Brother, Black Brother), Angie Thomas (On the Come Up), and Nicola Yoon (The Sun Is Also a Star) at the “Black Girl Magic” panel.
Books, books, books! Teens explore the titles available in the Barnes & Noble Book Sales area.
A panel celebrating Let It Snow and its Netflix film adaptation: (from l.) moderator Mandy Aguilar with co-authors John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle.
During the Last Kids on Earth “training camp,” kids participate in themed activities and hang out with series author Max Brallier (not pictured).
Roshani Chokshi surprises readers with a signing of her forthcoming novel The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves #2) at the Owlcrate booth.
One of the most popular events at NTTBF is the annual “Middle Grade Madness” party, an interactive panel with multiple authors performing bookish dares at the request of the audience. (From l.): Soman Chainani (The School for Good and Evil series), Max Brallier (Last Kids on Earth), Stuart Gibbs (the Spy School series), Pablo Cartaya (Each Tiny Spark), James Ponti (City Spies), Mike Johnston (Confessions of a Dork Lord), Lyla Lee (I’ll Be the One), Janae Marks (From the Desk of Zoe Washington), Sarah Mlynowski (the Upside Down Magic series), Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs (The Darkdeep series).
(From l.): Mintie Das (Brown Girl Ghosted), Rory Power (Wilder Girls), Libba Bray (The Diviners series), Tiffany D. Jackson (Let Me Hear a Rhyme), and Maureen Johnson (the Truly Devious series) discuss their YA thrillers.
Exploring captivating tales during the “Many Stories, Many Worlds” panel at Ed Day: (from l.) moderator Dr. Karin Perry, Hafsah Faizal (the Sands of Arawiya series), Anna-Marie McLemore (Dark and Deepest Red), Alex London (the Skybound Saga), and Ransom Riggs (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series).
Raina Telgemeier (Guts) chats with a teacher fan during the Ed Day signing.
Readers show off their signed books.
