YA Literature Symposium

YALSA's YA Literature Symposium is a biannual event, with the first one ever being held this year.

Topic: "How We Read Now."

Dates: November 7–9, 2008

Location: Nashville, Tennessee at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel.

Here is the list of programs, including preconference. I point your particular attention to this one:

Explaining and Exploring Fandom, Fan Life, and Participatory Culture, presented by Liz Burns and Carlie Kraft Webber. Yep, that's me and Carlie! (Carlie and I? how about, that's us!)

I'm excited; excited about the presentation, and excited about the YA Lit Symposium, excited to see other bloggers on the program list (hi, Mitali! hi Goddess of YA Literature!)

The event is conveniently located during a weekend; tho, if you're like me and just cannot say no to anything YA Lit, you'll also want to be there for the preconference on Friday.

Register before September 1 for the early bird rates for this event. (True confessions; I still have to register. I also still have to make airline reservations. I have, however, made hotel reservations.)

YALSA members get a discount; but here's the thing. If you join YALSA at the same time as you register, the total paid is the same as non YALSA members. (NonYALSA registeration rate = (YALSA registration rate + ALA/YALSA membership).

If you're going to pay the higher fee as a non-YALSA member, why not join at this point and get the benefits of YALSA membership?

Don't work in a library? There is a category for non-library types: it's the Trustee/Associate rate. This application (warning, it is a PDF) has the specifics.

As the conference gets closer, I'll post more; including, hopefully, having some kind of blogger get together.

If you think you're going, let us know; and if you have any questions/comments/thoughts on our fannish program, let us know.

Edited to add: The Program is up, in a PDF, with a full description of all programs and presentations along with times.

Our presentation:

A teen's experience with a book doesn't just begin on page one and finish with the book's conclusion. From birthday parties and proms to fanfiction and role-playing games, teens find many ways to recreate a book's universe in their lives, forming fandoms. Avid fandomers Liz Burns and Carlie Webber will demystify the weird and wonderful world of fandom and show you how to use the elements of participatory culture to plan interactive, teen-friendly programs for your libraries and classrooms. Included on the panel will be a representative from Narrate Conferences, Inc., an organization that plans Harry Potter symposia.