Last year I attended the wonders of YALC for the first time, the young adult literature convention and it was AMAZING! I’d never really known what it felt like to be in a space filled with people who shared my passions and could nerd out with me. For these three days you can be completely in your element, you can meet new friends, find new books and experience new things. I attended it mainly on my own last year so I feel like I was able to really explore, giving me enough time to come up with a little survival guide for you all this year round.
I asked on Twitter if anyone had any questions so I’ll be addressing a few of those here too.
Book buying
So honestly, you’re going to enter the building, look around you and see all these amazing books for cheap. You’re going to see free books, or special deals. It’s going to be a bit overwhelming. But, do not, I repeat, do not, feel like you have to buy every book you see. I fell down this rabbit hole last year and ended up with a lot of books I didn’t really want.
ARCs
Main tip here, follow every publisher attending on Twitter. You do this and turn on the notifications and you shouldn’t miss any big ARC announcements. This is usually how ARCs will be announced, sometimes you’ll have to find things on the convention floor, others you will have to be at a stall at a certain time. It’s a tad stressful if there’s an ARC you really care about.
Meeting friends
In my opinion one of the best things about YALC is how easy it is to meet people and make friends. I hope to meeting up with a few friends I’ve met on Twitter this year round. If you’re going alone, you won’t be alone for long. This is the best possible way to connect and meet more of the bookish community, I love it!
Bags/Suitcases
I opted to bring a small hand luggage suitcase with me last year and I think that was a really smart move. The amount of people I saw running around with books stuffed in five or six tote bags made it clear to me that I was saving my back a lot of pain by bringing a suitcase. This year there are less signings I want to attend, so I may just bring the suitcase one day and a rucksack the rest. A bumbag is also a really good option, means your phone and wallet are in-front of you with easy access.
What’s in your bag
A little list of things I would have in my bag; my phone, portable charger, wallet (with cash), tissues, hand sanitiser, a few snacks, a bottle of water, a book to read in queues if I’m not making friends, headphones for the travelling if your hotel isn’t near by.
Clothing
Wear shoes you are comfortable walking around in, but also not ones you’re going to get too hot in. The same goes fo your clothes, everyone wants to look good to meet new friends and for photos etc, but make sure you’re not going to cook in what you’re wearing. It’s most likely to going to be pretty hot and the venue will be busy, so you won’t feel too much breeze.
Money
How much money should I bring is always a big question for YALC. I would take £100 personally, enough to not go too insane on the book buying, but also enough to be able to accommodate your bibliophile needs just fine. For the first few months of the year I saved £5 every time I finished a book, so I have a little YALC kitty together from that.
Food
You can bring in snacks and drinks or you can buy them inside the venue. Personally I brought a bottle of water and a snack with me to have, but really you can get a lot of free food once your walking around the convention floors. Lots of stalls are offering free sweets/chocolates etc. Failing the freebies, there’s so many places to pick up some food, my favourite being a quick takeaway Pizza Express.
Luggage
There is a cloakroom for bags that I believe is £1 for the day, but you can’t keep going back and forth with your bag, it’s a pay it and leave it there job. So if you have to check out of your hotel on the Sunday then don’t worry, you can easily store your suitcase at YALC and not have to lug it round with you all day.
Crowds
I’ve been asked if YALC is busy, I would say it starts off being very busy on the Friday, everyone is excited to be there and there are queues as you work out what stalls you want to see. But then it dies down, signings begin and people queue up, these lines can get quite packed though! The main rush is when there’s a sudden announcement of a limited amount of arcs and you see a flood of people run to a stall.
So that’s my tips for surviving YALC (I think), if you’re going then please drop a comment below and say hi if you see me!
