North Texas Teen Book Festival 2024 Recap

Today I got to take Thing 2 to the North Texas Teen Book Festival in Irving, Texas. It’s an amazing tween and teen festival celebrating all things books.

This year was a bit difference for us, for several reasons. One, we met up with Rachel Strolle, also known as Rec it Rachel. Rachel is actually joining TLT as a regular contributor and her first column will appear on May 1st. She’ll be talking books with us the 1st and 15th of every month. She was delightful and we talked books, because of course we did.

We watched Rachel moderate a panel on novels written in verse. On that panel was one John Schu, author of Louder Than Hunger. This book and author wasn’t even on Thing 2’s radar going into this session, but she was blown away by everything that he shared. Afterwards, he came and shook her hand and offered her a book. Schu and her shared a love of theatre, and I thanked him for writing this book that echoed parts of my own life. When she was younger, novels in verse and graphic novels were all she read, and every one of these novels in verse sounded amazing.

We then went and watched our friend Mary moderate a panel, because Mary is both an amazing human and an amazing moderator. Her love and contribution to the tween/teen book community always makes my heart happy.

Thing 2 and I then went and bought books, as one does at a book festival. She bought a signed copy of every Karen McManus book because as regular readers know, we do horror and mysteries in the Jensen house. She also bought a signed copy of Elastoe by Darcie Little Badger after hearing her speak on Mary’s panel.

Then it came time for me to moderate my Chills and Thrills panel featuring Terry J. Benton-Walker, Jumata Emill, E. Lockhart, Saraceia J. Fennell, Matt McMann and R. L. Stine. I loved having an opportunity to discuss with all of these amazing authors their books and the concept of thrillers/horrors in general.

One of my favorite moments came when I asked Jumata Emill about his books The Black Queen and Wander in the Dark. In these two thrillers, two main characters who are by all accounts archnemesis – they are certainly not friends or on the same page – are forced to work together to solve a brutal murder and uncover the truth. When I asked him about the intentionality of this, Emill went on to discuss how his hope is that teen readers can learn that you don’t have to like someone, but you can still find ways to work together for good. I was blown away by not only the insight, but the compassion that he had for teen readers. I’ve read both of these books and can not recommend them highly enough. Not only are they good mystery thrillers, but the tackle important contemporary social justice topics that teen readers today are wrestling with.

I also got to pick the brains of Terry J. Benton-Walker and Saraceia J. Fennell, who both edited and contributed to separate horror anthologies that turn traditional tropes completely over. Benton-Walker promised all that he’s unhinged and so is his anthology, The White Guy Dies First. Fennell talked a lot about how she likes to infuse horror with humor, so look for that in The Black Girls Survives in This One. I’ve read them both and highly recommend them. They are delightful in all that best horrific ways. I loved reading each and every one of these stories, but I especially loved the ways the subverted all the tropes in the genre.

You’ll also want to check out Benton-Walkers Blood Debts series, the second book Blood Justice was just released. It’s fantasy, but dark fantasy. So definitely still on theme and also highly recommended.

Next up, Matt McMann and R. L. Stine talked about writing series middle grade horror. We talked some about how one might research and add monsters, mythological or made up, into your books. It’s always so fascinating to hear authors talk about how human monsters are sometimes harder and more real because we know that they exist, we encounter them. But it’s also fascinating to hear McMann talk about how part of the appeal of horror is that it allows you to work through your anxieties of the world in a safe space. And that IS part of the appeal of horror (or thrillers or mysteries or anything dark really), we can process our thoughts and feelings in a safe space AND know that in the end, there are ways to survive. Middle grade readers love horror, and these are definitely entertaining reads that also find ways to make your think.

Stine talked about part of the appeal of the Goosebump series is that it’s written in a way that when tweens pick up the book, they are reading it through their own eyes, as if they ARE the main character. Again, this is part of the whole processing the world, even the scariest bits, in a way that encourages and empowers.

E. Lockhart then talked about how she writes about the very real human monsters and the evil that can be inside us. She also talked about wrestling with our own demons and how literature can help us do that. I love the complexities of these discussions and learning why authors write what they write, and what they hope readers can take away from it. We also talked about how her book, We Were Liars, was originally written as a stand alone but how it had become so popular in the pandemic that she went back and wrote a prequel, Family of Liars. Also, if you haven’t, you should check out her book Genuine Fraud. It’s a fascinating look into the human psyche as well.

This year, NTTBF was personal and special to me for a lot of reasons. I got to take my favorite teenager, and share our newly cemented love of horror with her. And I got to moderate a panel with some of the best authors of thrills and chills out there writing for tweens and teens today. And my kid got to see me do it. I’m not going to lie, the panel went far too quickly and I could have talked about their books with them for so much longer. There is nothing like hearing an author stand (well, sit) before young readers and just share their wisdom and the love of story with them.

Filed under: Uncategorized