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Young writers can look forward to a day of inspiration when the Peninsula Libraries hosts its 10th annual Young Adult Novelists Convention, or YANovCon for short. Thirteen authors will be on hand for Q&A sessions, panel discussions, workshops and book signings on Feb. 8 at the Redwood City Public Library.
Peninsula Libraries is a consortium of public and community college libraries based on the Peninsula. YANovCon focuses on books for young adults — that is, for readers around the ages of 13 to about 17 or 18 — as well as offering info, resources and support for young writers.
The event came about as the members of Peninsula Libraries sought ways to better engage young adults, said Redwood City Teen Services Librarian Sonia Delgado, who’s chairperson of this year’s event.
“(The libraries) wanted to do something for that audience. That is how they came up with the convention — to have something for them, to have authors come out and talk and hold workshops on how to write, how to get published,” Delgado said.
The event kicks off with a writing workshop for teens led by novelist Kara H.L. Chen.
New York Times best-selling author Abigail Hing Wen will be the event’s keynote speaker. She is the author of “Loveboat, Taipei,” which has been adapted into “Love in Taipei,” a film currently available on Netflix, and she is also an AI tech leader and film producer.
The event will also feature the announcement of the libraries’ 2025 Teen Short Story Contest winners. 2024 contest winner Alyssa T. Chang will lead a Q&A session at the convention.
The theme for this YANovCon 2025 is “Coming of Age in a Digital World.” Delgado said that the topic was chosen by planners because it reflects the issues that these librarians who serve teens and young adults see in their everyday work.
“The (convention) committee gets together, and we usually all come up with different topics to see what’s going on in teen life. Obviously, we’re not teens, though we are placing orders for them, getting their books, and seeing what’s relevant, and the current challenges that we’re seeing with them,” Delgado said. “The digital age has changed everything.”
Two of the event’s panels will explore issues related to the theme. Author LaLa Thomas will moderate “The Evolution of Friendships in a Digital Age: How Online Communities Support or Challenge Traditional Friendships,” a panel with fellow authors Jessica Parra, Grace Shim, Anna Gracia and Edward Underhill. Parra will moderate the discussion “Managing Mental Health in the Digital Age” with panelists Thomas, Carolina Ixta, Josh Garza and Dale Walls.
A third panel discussion focuses on writing. Gracia will moderate “Creating Authentic Characters: Bridging the Gap Between Reality and Technology in the Art of Storytelling,” with panelists Stacey Lee, Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Shannon Takaoka, Kara H.L. Chen.
“Something that I’ve heard since I started working with teens is that they feel neglected and they feel like they’re not heard. And I want this to be a space for those teens to know: ‘There are authors who are writing about topics that I am going through. I do have a space in the library where I can be safe and talk about topics that I would not be able to talk about elsewhere.’ And also, if you are a writer, you can come and learn from authors how they got published and how they dealt with certain topics,” Delgado said.
The convention concludes with book signings from all the event’s 13 authors. The Peninsula Libraries partnered with with Los Altos bookstore Linden Tree Books to have books on hand for purchase.
YANovCon takes place Feb. 8, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m at the Redwood City Public Library, 1044 Middlefield Road, Redwood City. Admission is free. The event is family friendly, but is best-suited for middle- and high-school age students. smcl.org/yanovcon.
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