After ten straight years of not attending due to ten weekend conflicts, I finally made it to the
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLg5cKFIeOrmLpSZjNG2linU40vrJhRv3OyTqH392u1b0iQr1CgIQ9rETVAdEepBoVH8IVs_S0SkW20iA56YmeQEms2L2TDX2G697-BZrpVRDPZX9LRuUoDpkfVYhK61QAKH_FvUpox4/s320/04-22-13-01festivalofbooks.jpg)
It's like
Comic-Con for book nerds - readings, signings, and treating writers like celebrities. Literary heaven.
I spent the morning volunteering at the
WriteGirl booth, recruiting new volunteers and spreading the word about their amazing work!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmpzZ9CzwFBHmoEJG_W25mkOdShUSGvOd1Gh4yMa4wRZnLnPVKLrxijk8CdOlXV2imroQptU6mtNhCnUhbha_nhwwdCGxj9FExsCH321Z_IfhjR_GZVqpkvzy-UY2Ekt9CS7nIyOXSmFc/s320/04-22-13-02writegirlbooth.jpg)
Our booth neighbors
Get Lit kept us entertained with spoken word poetry performances. All you poets out there should pick up one of their trendy t-shirts --
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8URFxbfEtC3yLtKc0-Qe-I9BaPCwO5rTGzYM1EYR7HUwbstnqqW3r2bRees4S3eckZA_I1gb_WTEdfVvv5x2mhYhVzEKPPyB3WFKMpCGfy0wpBMmxHmTEVPELH5pRJPDGwAupLks2sCk/s320/04-22-13-03getlit.jpg)
Around lunchtime, it was time for the
WriteGirl reading at the Hoy Cultural Stage. Our girls gathered --
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJYeQrWN5eWVYZxylS_Zmreoka1qPFRPe7WUbaKzFHd_KeBsepfVTsPZNHWdo1_0enFxm4c19ejshZUd5qjvmO6nAalHTRWdKXVnjP4Yw6qseVZ9VWqJnTH6BIZ-Jab46Ju-CZfQrgcE/s320/04-22-13-04gatheringatstage.jpg)
And I was asked at the last minute to jump in as emcee, a role I gratefully accepted. (That's me on the very right.) The teens were amazing, as usual!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEineKO9MjNMWl2VY4lsSEiHSjiaqZ5PCFAutY3kgHHzPds7Yog_ffn5nFE7HWjs7fUZf5nt4WJ6lRB_tcDvBC8FWp5r7nJnlB7QWdLUHioOqr_WCEp9HXfE3m-Ed1MdzpfMzY4IM0xYtwE/s320/04-22-13-05writegirlreading.jpg)
After the reading, Elizabeth Espinosa from CNN Latino - who
profiled WriteGirl on her show - shared some career advice with the girls --
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFvcit62bv35OWf3S_ghVuU0b-D9g2Zoo-3gkuUM_Qcfk2K2yrY0cqYAXep42oY7snIkqUOnYBT8GW484FDVZSSLnSw78UtY1tAH9Nnv79KliPVtYNZRIwUWsC3D2kmeUn5LJXIDB95w8/s320/04-22-13-06cnnlatino.jpg)
I only had a few hours left after the reading, so rather than try to catch one of the panel events, I spent the rest of the afternoon browsing the wonderful booths. Plenty of books for sale --
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik02hIcY83QNDMyMpAOalAxLZ0jJlcdE1reeRq0uiXjZjljv6HD1lyit3870U15PmzzD08kWc1wm5GUbc_hdBsz-yPvu-UqPHL1Zq6p-JS_WuCZesdpBtP0QqplZpYDJscAVyWmL8IcnM/s320/04-22-13-10books4.jpg)
I chatted with the guys at the
Oni Press booth about
The Sixth Gun pilot adaptation at NBC --
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_PLbwOU1algu563gIec8Rip7GvJ7SE3mqeu8oYGeS6rqPMrxxbI353sz8S7j-2zMvmRjVURfKCpuCY4GZ3C6Mf78m7k8P8jt0KUB9V8pB5RWOrILeOe6eVZ_e-wd9dDruKHaLUzCWwE/s320/04-22-13-11onipress.jpg)
And discovered the next book I want to read, a romance the guy at the Penguin booth described as "the perfect novel." Well then...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4h8lN97_QDhCLjGdb5B6dDrALNkZCTJ-8VpvizHGVo2h1krN5Bd3WypxrCjo4Mct-c3rKp1eOq7LUyf-fyRRfJXmw0FME23RaMYiN1sOCEWwBJkul_vhJM4BVGhrd0ihhwYA9LRo2-_c/s320/04-22-13-12newfave.jpg)
I also talked to small press publishers, writing organizations, and picked as many free books as I could find.
There was plenty of randomness among the booths, too. Like the Batmobile --
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFpGl4M_dkZ0gWOeLdNipCQE3DAlh48z1CfnlG85Qn32IcbXo0qEy4sXBTXElsvbS9iIkyi-DhhQM3snqygyUaibfvTq4U1b1gIojUtBn9kLjZ9c0hq9mSLykaUw3_IeZYNwqdj0vPPA/s320/04-22-13-13batmobile.jpg)
Though I was happy to see some familiar faces from the
Comic-Con circuit, like steampunk-y artist
Steamcrow --
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoTU_teLF-58TnZUd5ibmgbR7GXTZRms-aaJd7y2P1u7twz8XKXmraG44sOA1LORjcyapFDoSgrMPFpcoCn1QSkNJXk0zVHCU5Q4xv_L46GPE6IuK8psKogfVX6URyiW8VajqY0yGK_U/s320/04-22-13-14steamcrow.jpg)
I finished my day with a visit to the row of food trucks feeding the event. Picked the
BellyBombz truck - Korean wings and sliders --
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHoHy1RwByvi9t7ix08kV5vgEA-NCscd-9aUiw3Pv78i2NHEHDZaTFrWwvXbMabPvFDLe0N6p9g5ilW2R0YdEH82b2B1GCKbEYvzwp3L6lOv_CWPi4GYDzNvdWwtGRGsyili1qBonCFM/s320/04-22-13-15foodtrucks.jpg)
Opted for
wings with "Bomb Dust," their signature dry rub --
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi902_pC8C35-y4uZlNyc_29Utt4D4i0qB9Wlqg8dPcTnIAzhc3e3dbFDFj0BITuPaGI4JRmwpsALychGDnva9YPOyldhqKUZ8CJDBXc3K_R9_b2slD_seRI-8tQ-hHCVCI6fKGRYHhahk/s320/04-22-13-16bombdust.jpg)
Ate while enjoying some Afro Latin Jazz on the USC stage --
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCqVBvPeDdhtTICCEr4GnQfdwRBtfj0YnhCVhlySUxluzRKrqjhJI64lHDnBL6_2xuwVPjfmXCmg3v-gdb7UpF5PWTuaMRSIUbj_HqSjbZM4FH8nmpBqjL_aIDc2RGUTqoLUfgo1PRnk/s320/04-22-13-17uscstage.jpg)
All in all, a spectacular day of books, books, and more books. Can't wait for next year's festival!