TeenBookCon 2023 is a Wrap!

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Authors Darcie Little Badger (r) and Daniel Nayeri (l) were the Keynote speakers at this year’s TeenBookCon.

Hundreds of fans of young adult books from Aldine and across Texas attended TeenBookCon 2023 to hear from more than a dozen authors. Aldine ISD hosted the event at Davis High School and provided Spanish translators so more students could understand their favorite authors. 

The annual free one-day event brings in popular young adult (YA) authors to speak on panel sessions throughout the day and participate in question and answer sessions.

Teens (and grown-ups) can sit in on panels throughout the day, ask questions of the authors, and grab some TeenBookCon swag.

This is the second year that AlSD has hosted TeenBookCon. Aldine ISD’s Marco Zannier Virginillo, program director for library media services; Lisa Stultz, director of library and media services in Spring Branch ISD; and Cathy Berner, children’s/young adult specialist and events coordinator at Blue Willow Bookshop, are co-chairs of TeenBookCon. They and the Blue Willow Bookshop team helped coordinate the event at the AISD campus. Zannier Virginillo also worked with Valerie Koehler, owner of Blue Willow Bookshop, when they needed a venue for the Bookworm Festival held in February at the M.O. Campbell Educational Center.

“I know I can reach out to Aldine ISD when I need assistance,” said Koehler. “The great thing about Aldine is that everyone truly loves books. There are no ‘ifs or buts.’ It is simply, ‘How can we help?’ It truly helps when organizing these fantastic opportunities for students to meet authors and illustrators.”

Zannier Virginillo noted that while the day is fun but hectic for the organizers, they get immense gratification seeing “students from the Houston area but also buses full of fans driving in from other cities near Austin and more.”  He loves seeing young adult readers engaged in listening, speaking with their favorite authors, and discovering new books to read.

View images from TeenBookCon 2023.