When you open a book, you can step into a magical world, embark on an epic adventure, and meet fantastical friends — and this weekend you can take a behind-the-scenes look at these stories.
YALL Fest, Charleston’s Young Adult Book Festival, is back for its 11th year this Friday, Nov. 11-Saturday, Nov. 12. Look forward to more than 70 authors and over 100 mainly-free events that will spark your imagination.
Venues include the festival headquarters at Blue Bicycle Books plus spots like Charleston Music Hall, the American Theater, and The Charleston Museum.
Read on for a handful of the events + authors to expect at this year’s festival.
Events
- YALLCrawl | Friday, Nov. 11 | 1-5 p.m. | Locations vary | Free | Select authors including Stephanie Garber, Adam Silvera, and Stuart Gibbs will sign their books in shops located up and down King Street.
- Opening Keynote | Saturday, Nov. 12 | 10 a.m. | Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St. | $9 | Kick off Saturday with Angeline Boulley, author of “Firekeeper’s Daughter,” and Soman Chainani, author of “The School for Good and Evil.”
- Making Magic: Worldbuilding Magical Worlds | Saturday, Nov. 12 | 11 a.m. | Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St. | Free | Learn about writing magical stories during a panel discussion moderated by Margaret Stohl.
- Banned Books | Saturday, Nov. 12 | 12 p.m. | American Theater, 446 King St. | Free | Discuss banned books in the ballroom during this panel moderated by Rose Brock.
- YA Smackdown 2022 | Saturday, Nov. 12 | 6 p.m. | Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St. | $12 | Come see your favorite authors on stage with host Nic Stone for games, laughs, and dancing during this YALLfest tradition.
Authors
- Ayana Gray | Ayana Gray is the New York Times-bestselling author of the “Beasts of Prey” trilogy, which is being adapted for a feature film with Netflix.
- Alex London | Alex London has published over 25 books including the award-winning cyberpunk duology “Proxy” and “The Skybound Saga” trilogy, an NBC Today Show pick.
- Angela May | Local Angela May is the New York Times-bestselling co-author of “The Islanders” and “Search for Treasure” with author Mary Alice Monroe.
- Ryan Graudin | This local writer started out as a YALLfest volunteer and has since published eight YA novels, including the Carnegie-nominated “Wolf By Wolf.”
Get involved
YALLfest needs dozens of volunteers to make each festival happen. If you’re a local interested in getting involved, visit the volunteer page to apply for possible opportunities and get contact information. You can also make a donation.
Before you go, see the full schedule of events and check out all of the authors at this year’s festival.
