Hachette YA Blogger Night Recap

Monday 17 August 2015




Tonight was a very special book event - the annual Hachette YA Blogger Night! I was invited to the first one last year which was fantastic, and this time it was just as amazing, if not even better. Not only was it a great opportunity to meet with other bloggers and YA lovers in person (matching twitter handles to names!), but also a time to meet the lovely Sophie Hardcastle and Holly Black. Ashleigh and Kim were wonderful hosts, and I think I speak for everyone when I say the night was a big success!

First of all, it's at events like this that the bookish community can really come together - and aside from the fangirling and general book conversations which occurred, the #DABNight hashtag actually trended at #1 across the country!




Sophie Hardcastle

After following the smell of popcorn from the elevator to the offices and then getting some snacks/socialising - it was time for one of the special guests of the night, Sophie Hardcastle to speak about her memoir. It was quite moving to hear her story of dealing with bipolar disorder and how she came about writing her book, and I am looking forward to reading it soon. I also got to meet Sophie and get it signed which was lovely too. 


26106807

Running Like China Releases 25th August 2015

What's new and coming up

One of the most exciting things about going to a publisher's is learning of all the books they're excited about, and what there is to look forward to!

1. Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver


I personally really loved this book when I first read it (and you can see just how much in my review). The best news? Lauren Oliver will be visiting Australia later in the year! 

2. Thunderwith by Libby Hawthorn


This was first published in 1989 but is making a comeback with a new jacket. I love Australian contemporary YA so this is definitely going on my TBR.

3. Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith


This is another one of those books set in a short period of time (12 hours), and I'm interested to see how it pans out since I've heard lots of good things about Jennifer E. Smith's novels. 

4. The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong


Now this sounds like a pretty intense thriller - and I'm up for it!

5. The Dead House by Daen Kurtagich


A psychological thriller that has interview transcripts, medical records and other interesting pieces of information woven in. I love multimodal fiction, and this looks like it's going to be a hit! The 'urban legend' sound of it almost reminds me of Night Film by Marisha Pessl.

6. The Raging Light by Estelle Laure


I can already tell this is going to be an emotional contemporary - definitely one to pull at the heartstrings I'm sure.

7. Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger


As a companion novel to the DUFF, this seems like it has the potential to be just as fun as its predecessor

7. Changers by Drew T Cooper & Allison Glock-Cooper


When I was hearing about this book tonight it did remind me of Every Day by David Levithan, but I can see where this will also have it's major differences. It's the first book in a four-part series, and I'm really looking forward to it. 

8. Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick


I recently read and reviewed Love May Fail by Matthew Quick which was really good, and so this new book of his definitely has now found its way onto my list of books to keep an eye on. Quirky contemporary with unexpected turns definitely is something I'd be interested in reading.

9. Mosquitoland by David Arnold


This roadtrip novel already seems to stand out from the rest just from its description, and so I am eagerly awaiting reading it for myself!

10. Court of Fives by Kate Elliot


Historical fantasy usually gets a big tick from me, so Court of Fives certainly has my attention.

SERIES



Yep, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is getting so much hype at the moment (and no wonder why - it looks amazing). Some people were lucky enough to win ARC's tonight, so hopefully they love it!


Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard, the sequel to Red Queen is a DEFINITE MUST-READ for me once it comes out! (next February). That ending was a killer so we must know what's next in store for Mare!


Hachette will be publishing the third book in the Reckoners trilogy! I haven't gotten around to starting this series yet myself, but now that I know about it - why not?

Author Spotlight: Louise O'Neill


I'm so glad this spotlight was on because it reminded me how  much I really want to read Only Ever Yours and Asking For It as well. Both are shaping up to be very poignant reads from the sounds of things. 

Author Spotlight: Ryan Graudin


This is another author whose work I really need to read! In particular, the new alternate-history novel she has coming out called Wolf by Wolf sounds absolutely fascinating. Definitely one to watch out for! We were shown a video with Ryan talking about it and reading the first lines, and just from that I'm hooked already.

Basically,

 
Keep your eyes out for those page-turners coming soon!

Holly Black


UNFORTUNATELY, my copies of The Darkest Part of the Forest and The Coldest Girl In Coldtown didn't arrive in time for the event today (though knowing my luck they're probably what's waiting for me at the PO). Even so, it was so exciting to see Holly Black in person (with her super-cool hair and accent). She shared some really interesting insights into how she researched fairies to use in her novels, and how her creative family background influenced her. 


There were references made to creepy doll searches, and even Robert Pattinson (though not necessarily in the same sentence). Aside from her infectious laugh, she also had some other things to share like the fact that she'll probably never write a contemporary novel, and her views on character relationships. It's always inspiring to hear authors speak about their works, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to have seen Holly Black in person! She's so charismatic, lively, and passionate - and those are characteristics which can make for a very talented author which she is.

Book People!

 Bloggers/Booklovers I met in person for the first time:


Bloggers it was lovely to see again:
The Haul

I got some books from Keely and Kat, as well as some goodies in the gift bag!


Overall

Thanks again to the amazing team at Hachette Australia for hosting the event again this year! I had an awesome time and can't wait it to come around again next year :)

24 comments :

  1. Whoa this sounds like it was a lot of fun!! It's a bit strange for me because quite a few of these books have already been published in the US under different publishers xD

    Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books

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    1. It was definitely a fantastic event! I thought I had seen a few of them before (Like the Jennifer E. Smith book) mentioned by other US bloggers so that makes sense. It's definitely interesting that books can be published in different regions with different companies.

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  2. IT IS MY DREAM to be able to go to a bookish event like this! I would so love that to be able to meet all the awesome blogging friends I've made.:) I loved seeing your thoughts on the event and seeing that you had a wonderful time.:)

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    1. One day hopefully you will Keionda! Thanks for stopping by :)

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  3. Ooh, Changers does sound a lot like David Levithan's Every Day books--I can't wait to read that one! Gah, this looked AMAZING. One of these days I WILL attend something like this. ;) So glad you had a great time!

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    1. It really does - so I'm interested to see how it is similar/different when I read it. Hopefully you can come to an event sometime Kara :)

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  4. Sounds like you had a WONDERFUL night, Eugenia :) Next year I'll definitely come, haha. AND SO MANY AWESOME BOOKS COMING OUT.

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    1. I did :) It would be great to see you at another bookish event soon! There are so many books to look forward to for sure *adds all to TBR*

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  5. This sounds like a such a fun and wonderful night! It would have been such an amazing night to get to met some fellow Aussie bloggers AND hear from Holly Black too. Gah! I'm so jealous! But at least I have about 10 new books to add to me TBR now. Some of those look really, really good. Oh, and I cannot wait for Lauren Oliver to come to Australia. :)

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    1. I hadn't even heard of all the books coming out yet so it was a great experience to have those to look forward to! I can't want for Lauren Oliver either - I LOVED her Delirium series and Vanishing Girls! :)

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  6. It was SO great meeting you Eugenia!!
    And that elevator really smelled like popcorn, didn't it?

    There are so many books that they talked about, and I just need all of them.
    I was planning on mentioning specifics, but I'm technically supposed to be doing a rather tedious maths assignment right now...*sighs*

    And Holly Black was hilarious wasn't she?
    My favourite bit was where she said "If you say you'll never do something, that's what you'll probably do next" and then went on to say she would never do a contemporary.

    And I cannot wait for Lauren Oliver to come out! I LOVED Vanishing Girls! (And Delirium, and Panic).

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    1. It was great to meet you in person too Cassie!
      Oh my gosh yes it did - it was cool that there was a popcorn machine!
      Holly Black was truly wonderful - she has such a charismatic sense of humour. I couldn't really get into Panic myself, but I loved Oliver's other novels (and still need to read Rooms), so I'm definitely looking forward to her coming here!

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  7. Sounds like a great evening! I've just reviewed Mosquitoland over on Reading Lark. A couple of the others are now up on Netgalley and I've requested them. Great to see so many good books on the way!

    Thanks for the recap for those of us in the other states :)

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    1. Ooh I'm definitely going to check out your review Nicole :) It had been on my radar for a while, but seeing at the event brought it to the forefront again. You're very welcome!

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  8. This event sounds incredible and amazing, like every book bloggers dream!!!! You also picked up a wonderful goody bag. Holly Black was so lovely when I met her and absolutely hilarious. I'd love to go to a big publisher event like this, it looks like a lot of fun. I'm glad you had such an amazing time and got to meet some other bloggers.

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    1. It was Charnell! Book events are a great place to meet up with other bloggers and see authors in a lovely setting! I hope you get to go to an event like this too sometime, I'm sure you'd love it :)

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  9. Looks like you had a wonderful time, Eugenia :D I hope I'll be able to go to events like this in the future! Also, The Reckoners trilogy is AMAZING, I highly recommend it, especially as Calamity is going to be released soon. And gah how lucky are you to be able to meet Holly Black all the fellow bloggers!

    Aentee at Read at Midnight + The Social Potato

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    1. Yes! It would be great to see you at an event sometime :) Thanks for recommending The Reckoners - I hope to read it soon!

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  10. OH MY GOOD I NEED ALL THESE BOOKS. Seriously all of them. There's some books coming I didn't even know were were getting but now I'm SO EXCITED AAAHHHH

    Glad you had a great time! So jealous of you btw (I'm stranded up in Brisbane)

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    1. I didn't know either until the event so it's all very exciting! Hopefully there'll be some fab book events coming in Brisbane for you! :)

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  11. It looks like such a great event, and sooooo many books eeep!

    - Wattle @ Whimsical Nature

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    1. So many books indeed! Time to make some space on my shelves...
      Thanks for visiting Wattle :)

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  12. This seriously looks like the BEST. EVENT. EVER. I'm dying to read Six of Crows. Can its release date come sooner?! Thanks so much for sharing! :-)

    Julia Anne @ Peach Print

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    1. It *was* a pretty fun event, I must say! Six of Crows has the whole blogging community buzzing - I can't wait to read it too :)

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