In April, we celebrated the release of Band of Misfits: Adventure on the High Seas, an all-teen anthology published in conjunction with Teen Author Boot Camp‘s annual teen writers conference. We had a blast! The turnout was fantastic, and all but two of our twenty-six teen authors were in attendance. We couldn’t be more grateful for the community support, Provo Library for hosting and helping set up their gorgeous ballroom, the amazing NYT bestselling authors who shared the night, and Jeremy Willden, father of one of the teen authors, who generously took and shared these photos of the event.
Here are a few of the highlights:
Our teen authors:
(behind them, you can kind of see the finalists names on the screen)
These wonderful authors worked so hard on their stories. They went through a rigorous selection process and several rounds of edits, and they were nothing but hard working and delightful.
In addition to the 26 stories found in the anthology, the finalists’ stories are posted online for you to enjoy now. Feel free to leave them constructive feedback–and watch for all of the finalists and authors to someday pop up on bestseller lists!
We were so lucky to have an amazing foreword written by NYT bestselling author, Kiersten White. It’s a fabulous writer pep talk of sorts, fitting with the theme of our book. We suggest checking out the book just for her advice.
We brought 150 copies of the anthology…and they sold out almost immediately! We were blown away by the show of support for teens and their artistic pursuits.
Each of the authors was given a copy of the book, a cash prize, and a special lanyard to display their celebrity status.
As if that weren’t enough, NYT bestselling powerhouses Kiersten White, Maureen Johnson, Roshani Chokshi, and Matthew Kirby spent the evening signing books and mingling with fans. They were wonderful, and we’re so grateful they would share the spotlight with these emerging writers.
We were even joined by YA author Jo Schaffer, whose son Nathan has a story featured in the anthology. A creative, dynamic family to watch out for!
We had a costume contest as well as snacks, games, and writing activities scattered throughout the room.
MG author Darby Karchut came to present at the conference, and we put her and anthology editor Nicole Brouwer to work running the cash registers. What troopers!
And the rest of the night flew by, filled with autographs, mingling, and making new friends.
Some of us couldn’t even wait to leave the building before digging in:
Thank you again to Teen Author Boot Camp, Provo Library, The King’s English Bookshop, and all who made this event so magical. We’re sure it’s a night these teen authors will never forget.
More about Band of Misfits: Adventure on the High Seas.