On Wednesday, the Annick offices--both in Toronto and Vancouver--were busy participating in our first virtual conference: School Library Journal's SummerTeen event. For regular conferences like BEA and ALA, one or two Annick staff members board a plane with our trusty red suitcase, set up our booth, spend a few days telling conference-goers about our great books (new and old), and then return to Annick to tell the rest of the team how it went. But for SummerTeen, no one needed their passport--and everyone at Annick was able to join in and watch the conference unfold.
Here's how it looked to enter the virtual conference (click to enlarge):
Visitors to the Annick booth could watch a few short videos (one about our list, one in which Daniel Lafrance and Sharon McKay discuss collaborating on the graphic novel edition of War Brothers); download sample chapters, catalogs, bookmarks, and lesson plans; find e-galleys of our books on NetGalley; and enter our giveaway. We also had two scheduled author chats in our booth: Shari Graydon (Made You Look: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know) and Chloe Shantz-Hilkes (Hooked: When Addiction Hits Home).
Back in the main auditorium, we had two authors participating in lively panels on diversity and multiculturalism (Karen Arthurton, It's Not All Black and White) and historical fiction (Elizabeth Stewart, The Lynching of Louie Sam).
There's no substitute for getting excited about books in person, but this conference was the next best thing. We hope the participants enjoyed the show as much as we enjoyed exhibiting--there may not have been tote bags (and how I do love a good tote bag), but on the other hand, there were no heavy materials to haul home!
2 Comments on SLJ SummerTeen Virtual Conference Wrap-Up, last added: 7/29/2013
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This was the first Summer Teen Conference I’ve attended, and one of the things that made me glad I had the opportunity to participate was learning about the book Hooked: When Addiction Hits Home.
Even though I'm now [obviously] an adult, this book is helping me view my childhood experiences through a different lens. Since I believe it will really help today’s teens realize they're not alone in their experiences, H:WAHH is now in my list for fall school booktalks, as well as a go-to title for reluctant readers because the personal stories are riveting.
Thanks, Kelli! Glad to hear that you found the conference useful, and that you discovered HOOKED. :)