TeenBookCon took place Saturday, March 25, at Benjamin O. Davis High School in Aldine Independent School District, near Houston, connecting teen readers with some of their favorite authors. Cathy Berner, festival programming director and event coordinator at Blue Willow Bookshop, said, “This is truly one of the best days of the year for me and my colleagues, and the TeenBookCon spirit was back in force.” After a keynote speech from Darcie Little Badger and Daniel Nayeri, festivalgoers could attend a wide variety of panels, and the event culminated with a mass author signing. We’ve gathered photo highlights from the event.


TeenBookCon authors (standing, from l.) Brittney Morris, Darcie Little Badger, Yamile Saied Mendez, Tobias Madden, Emiko Jean, Daniel Nayeri, Wendelin Van Draanen, Mark Parsons, Sayantani DasGupta, Jumata Emill, Susan Dennard; (seated in chairs, from l.) Lizzy Mason, Jarrod Shusterman, Sofia LaPuente, Lamar Giles, Tessa Gratton, Justina Ireland, Sara Farizan; (seated on ground, from l.) Aria Tatelman, Trang Thanh Tran, Aimee Carter, Kiera Cass, Marco Zannier Virginillo, and Lisa Stults.


Keynoters Daniel Nayeri and Darcie Little Badger kicked off the festival.


Brittney Morris posed for a selfie.


Trang Thanh Tran listening to an audience question during the “We’re New Here” panel.


(From l.): Sofia Lapuente, Justina Ireland, and Tessa Gratton discussed collaboration in the “Writing Is Teamwork” panel.


Sara Farizan connecting with a fan.


(From l.): authors Emiko Jean, Mark Parsons, and Sayantani DasGupta appeared on the panel session “Why We Write.”


Yamile Saied Mendez talking with a reader.


(From l.): Kiera Cass, Emiko Jean, and Aimee Carter discussed their books and “Different Looks at Royalty.”


Lizzy Mason signing a copy of her new book.


(From l.): Trang Thanh Tran, Lamar Giles, and Justina Ireland chatted about “Blood and Treachery” in their YA novels.


Susan Dennard with a reader.


Sofia Lapuente and Jarrod Shusterman during the “Let’s Talk About Things” panel.


Tobias Madden during the book signing.


Blue Willow’s pop-up shop was busy all day long.


Jumata Emill poses with teens.