Bookish Things

20 Tips on what to expect at YALC 2019!

I thought I was late writing up this year’s YALC tips post but it turns out I posted it later last year. I’m nothing if not consistent with my disorganisation haha.

So YALC is coming up quickly and I’m SO EXCITED. A weekend surrounded by bookish people and books? Literally my heaven.

Here are my tips from 2016, 2017 and 2018!

YALC is the Young Adult Literary Convention held in London each year. It’s full of bookish fun and here is my guide to make sure you know exactly what to expect.

In past years there have been some weird, and frankly ableist, things you had to do to get ARCs. This isn’t the case anymore, it’s very chill and super fun. So please believe me when I say that you’ll be right at home with bookish people and it’ll be super fun!

Tips for YALC 2019

So here are some of my tips for YALC! This list isn’t exhaustive, so check out other people’s too like Beth’s and also Faye’s on dealing with anxiety at YALC!

Wheelie bags. Trust me on this – a small suitcase on wheels will be a GODSEND when you’re picking up books left, right and centre!
Be selective on books you pick up. Resist the urge to pick up free books that you don’t actually want to read. It can be super tempting when friends and others are getting excited about a book, but if it’s not a genre you like or a book you’re truly interested in, then resist!! The guilt when you don’t actually read it really gets to you, trust me!
Make a list of books etc that you want. Leading on from the previous point, if you know what you’d like, it’s easier to resist the urge to pick up ones you don’t! Lizzie and I are currently compiling a list of all the goodies, activities and ARCs that publishers are bringing, so keep an eye out for that list coming out next week.
Bring your own food and drink. It’s super expensive to eat in YALC or LFCC, and plus the food isn’t that great. There’s a tesco across the road from the YALC entrance, it does get cleaned out but it’s still a good option. Or bring your own packed lunch – that’s what I do!
Bring a refillable water bottle. Trust me – it’s way cheaper than buying water there. In LFCC Crush Juice Bars will refill your water for free, but I imagine most places will. I always just ask!
Don’t blindly join queues. The British love to queue, and YALC is no exception. Wherever there was a queue for more than a few people, others just joined in on the off chance, so make sure it’s actually for something and not just a group of friends having a chat! (This legit has happened so really make sure you double check!)
Follow all the publishers stalls on twitter and turn notifications on. Even though there aren’t ARC drops like previous years, they still let us know what’s going on on the day! I have a LIST HERE of publishers, I may have missed a few or added extra but it’s pretty comprehensive. So go through the list and turn notifications on and you’re golden (only turn them on when YALC starts though!
Bring a portable mobile phone charger YALC days are long and you’re on Twitter a lot and taking pictures – make sure you have back up power!
Don’t be shy! Authors LOVE their fans. See an author wandering about? Pluck up the courage to say hi!
Bring a few books with you that you want signed – I ended up buying duplicates of books I had so I could get the authors to sign them!
Take the freebies! Publisher stalls have lots of goodies to give out – don’t be shy! Go ahead and take them.
Take part in the competitions. Publishers do fun things to try and win ARCs or exclusive books, so make sure you take part. This is me and Jordan trying to win a copy of Killer T last year!
On Sunday there are giveaways ALL THE TIME and everything is either drastically reduced or given away for free so keep an eye out!
Explore LFCC! You never know what you may see.
Make friends! A few of us will be meeting up during the day, I’ll be tweeting when these happen so keep an eye out and definitely come and say hi if you see me!
Network make sure you chat to the publishers and those working the stalls. I made some great connections who really helped me get my blog off the ground a few years ago. Be friendly and introduce yourself. They quite often know you from Twitter so it’s definitely worth saying hi!
Keep an eye out for celebrities. Yes, I’m serious. The green room for the celebs is in YALC – I think they think we’re all too shy and bookish to do anything aha! Last year Jason Mamoa was walking around the whole time, David Tennant and Peter Capaldi were spotted too! The year before was Benedict Cumberbatch and also Natalie Dormer was spotted. So keep an eye out!
Take a portable fan. This is probably THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE. Last year was SCORCHING and this year is looking to be just as hot. I took a fan last year and it literally saved me.
Take part in workshops. They’re often very fun, and I’m running one! On Friday at 12pm I’m running a Build your own Bookmark workshop for my shop, so please come and say hi! I’m also on a blogger panel at 2pm that day so make sure you check that out!
Wear a lanyard & share pictures of your outfit! A lot of people wear lanyards with their social pictures on so people can tell who you are. Also a lot of people share images of themselves every day to show what they look like. Take part! I actually sell lanyards on my shop – but the time’s running out to get yours before YALC!
DON’T FORGET TO HAVE FUN!