L.A. Times Festival of Books Roundup

Tips from writers in young adult, memoir, and satire

Even though I’ve lived in the Los Angeles area for over a decade now, and actually grew up here, I’ve never been to the L.A. Times Festival of Books. Part of that is just inertia: I’ve never liked driving to L.A., say. But I finally went this year, and I’m so glad I did.

The Festival of Books has a gazillion exhibitors. But I wasn’t there for the exhibitors, really. I was there for some key panels. I went to one on romance in young adult fiction; one on satire, and one on memoir. These are all fields I’m actively working in, so I was lucky there happened to be great content that day! Here’s what I learned from each of the panels:

“There’s No Love Like Young Adult Love,” Ella Cerón, Marie Lu, Maurene Goo, Amy Spalding, Sarah Enni (moderator)

In this panel, about how these writers see and depict romance in their young adult works, I learned to see romance from a few new angles. The panelists pointed out, for instance, that romance in a YA novel isn’t just about seeing the relationship from the main character’s point of view, but also from the love interest’s POV; getting to know their motivations and interests. Here are a few quotes that resonated: