Signing books at Barnes & Noble Chino Hills

March Events Wrap-Up

March was an amazing month for this debut author. After the madness of launching Symptoms of Being Human in February, I had a full month of events–two book festivals, a library appearance, and a panel and signing at my local Barnes & Noble store. So this post is a digital scrapbook of sorts, because I want to share this part of the author experience with you. (For moaning about edits, please see twitter.)

 NoVa Teen Book Festival

IMG_4275My first ever festival appearance was at NoVa Teen Book Festival in Arlington, Virginia, last month. Highlights included panel appearances with NY Times Bestsellers Julie Murphy (Dumplin’) and Tommy Wallach (We All Looked Up), meeting my author cousin-in-law, Randy Ribay (An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes), and finally getting to thank author Robin Talley (What We Left Behind) for her generous blurb for Symptoms of Being Human. But the best part by far? Meeting and listening to readers. So inspiring.

IT’S SNOWING
All the Authors at NoVa Teen Book Festival 2016
Me, Julie Murphy, and Kelly Zekas
Robin Talley & Me
Robin Talley & Me
Author Sandy Hall, Librarian Kim Dare, and Me
Author Sandy Hall, Librarian Kim Dare, and Me
Me & Hannah Barnaby
Me & Hannah Barnaby
Randy Ribay (my cousin-in-law) and Me
Randy Ribay (my cousin-in-law) and Me
The Sweet Sixteens at NoVa Teen
The Sweet Sixteens at NoVa Teen
Maggie Thrash & Me at NoVa Teen
Maggie Thrash & Me at NoVa Teen
Danielle Ellison & Me
Danielle Ellison, the festival organizer, & Me
Representing The Trevor Project!

Author Panel at LA Central Library

L-R: Mary McCoy, Aaron Hartzler, Jeff Garvin, Marisa Reichardt, Cordelia Jensen, Ingrid Sundberg.
L-R: Mary McCoy, Aaron Hartzler, Jeff Garvin, Marisa Reichardt, Cordelia Jensen, Ingrid Sundberg.
I think I’m reacting to Aaron’s analysis of Grease in this photo–but I don’t remember it clearly.

Thanks to author & librarian Mary McCoy for an inspiring and insightful panel at the LA Central Library last month. Mary was a great moderator. Marisa brought emotional weight and a beach vibe to the panel. Ingrid and Cordelia both inspired me with their commitment to artistic principles and creative freedom. I wanted to go home and write.

City of Commerce Book Festival

L-R Andrew Smith, Robyn Schneider, Me, Gretchen McNeil
L-R Andrew Smith, Robyn Schneider, Me, Gretchen McNeil
Students & Staff holding Author Signs outside
Students & Staff holding Author Signs outside
With Andrew Smith
With Andrew Smith
With fellow B+B Author Gretchen McNeil
With fellow B+B Author Gretchen McNeil
With Julie Berry
With Julie Berry
With Students, Staff, Author Julie Berry, and Author/Illustrator Jen Wang
With Students, Staff, Author Julie Berry, and Author/Illustrator Jen Wang
Representing The Trevor Project!
Representing The Trevor Project!

I was thrilled to participate in the inaugural Commerce Loves Reading Book Festival. Highlights included being on a panel with Andrew Smith (Winger, Grasshopper Jungle)–one of my YA writer heroes, and hanging out with fellow B+B author Gretchen McNeil.

YA Author Panel at B&N Chino Hills

L-R Jeff Garvin, Kali Wallace, Marisa Reichardt
Jeff Garvin, Kali Wallace, Amy Boylan (Customer Relations Manager), Marisa Reichardt
Signing books at Barnes & Noble Chino Hills
Signing books at Barnes & Noble Chino Hills
Signing books at Barnes & Noble Chino Hills
Signing books at Barnes & Noble Chino Hills

Traveling to DC was a blast, and sitting on panels around LA was a dream come true–but I was particularly excited about my last event in March: a panel and signing at my local Barnes & Noble store. This was the store I roamed weekly as an unpublished author, walking past the shelf where my book might one day appear–so it was a homecoming of sorts. Customer Relations Manager Amy Boylan made it a great one, and I was grateful that my fellow 2016 debut authors Kali Wallace (Shallow Graves) and Marisa Reichardt (Underwater) made time to come down. We were joined by friends, family, local students, and community members for a great Q&A about reading, writing, and storytelling.

What’s Next?

I’ll be at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Sunday, April 10 (details here.)
There are more events brewing for the summer–make sure you sign up for my newsletter so you won’t miss anything (and I’m running a giveaway for readers who subscribe by 4/15, so sign up now!)

appearances, SOBH, symptoms


Jeff Garvin

Author of SYMPTOMS OF BEING HUMAN and THE LIGHTNESS OF HANDS. Cohost of THE HERO'S JOURNEY podcast. Rock musician, D&D geek, aspiring revolutionary.

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