This past weekend was the third annual YALLWest in Santa Monica! I was really excited when I read about this in February, because I’ve never been to any book festivals before and this one is so close to where my mum lives. So when I saw on the website that anyone could sign up to volunteer, of course I had to. Also, I apologise for how long this post is… but I wanted to cover all of its awesomeness!
It started with a training hour last Wednesday at SaMoHi, which I’m really glad I went to otherwise I would’ve been super lost trying to navigate around that campus (it’s like a labyrinth. Seriously). And I learned very important skills like how to correctly flap a book for signings and got my awesome purple volunteer shirt!
Then on Friday evening I helped out at the preview event at the Santa Monica library, which was really fun. I met some of the other volunteers, who were all so nice – and we got to nerd out over books while manning the wristband booth. Although, I am still annoyed that I wasn’t outside when they were doing giveaways because they were giving them based on if you were wearing pink, or stripes, or had something Harry Potter-related etc. And one of them was if you had sparkly shoes – and my shoes were SO SPARKLY. And no one even had sparkly shoes on, so they accepted someone who had a little bit of sparkle. But, alas, I was inside and didn’t hear about this until later.
I don’t really mind not winning the giveaway… but I wanted recognition for my sparkly (albeit somewhat grungy…) shoes.
Although, it was, of course, worth it to be volunteering! Not only did I get to meet all of those wonderful book people, but I also ended up stationed in a corridor to open the door to the author green room – although I didn’t know that at first. I was just told to open the door if people knocked on it, so I was not at all prepared when the first person to knock was Victoria Aveyard. I may have fangirled a lot.
And luckily, after my volunteer shift was over, I still managed to get in line for the signings. I got my books signed by Victoria Aveyard, S. Jae Jones, and Roshani Choksi! (Who were all really nice!)
The strangest (and best) thing was that I also ran into a Twitter friend in real life – by complete coincidence!
For the Saturday, I had the morning shift. It started at 9, and I wasn’t expecting many people to be out that early. I obviously underestimated everyone’s dedication, because when I got there at about 8:50 there was already a long line right around the block (that’s why book nerds are the best).
I started out standing by the entrance and directing people – so I was especially grateful for the tour I’d had on Wednesday! I ended up doing a lot of different things throughout the morning, from taking snacks around to the various venues to helping with signing lines. Signing lines were especially fun, because not only did I get to meet some awesome authors, but I also got to see so many people excited about meeting their favourite authors!
I was also lucky enough to be able to sneak away and join the line for the ARCs of Leigh Bardugo’s Wonderwoman (*screams*). I got a free t-shirt, bag, AND Leigh Bardugo signed the ARC – she was so nice and took her time to chat with me (even asking about my history thesis and listening to my nervous ramblings!).
When my volunteer shift was over, I spent the afternoon hopping between panels and signings (and following around my lovely Twitter friend, Tamara!). I especially loved the panel on villains and anti-heroes, as it’s so relevant to what I’m writing right now – I took lots of notes in that one. I also got to meet Leigh Bardugo again, and she signed my SoC and CK books. She even wrote an Inej quote in SoC for me!
The last event of the day was the Author Smackdown, which was so much fun. It was general silliness and amusement with authors reading their writing from when they were younger, playing never have I ever, taboo, and other craziness. It was really great to see the authors in a different setting, and I laughed a lot. I think the highlight might have to go to Brandon Reichs and Shannon Hale re-enacting the scene in Twilight when Edward tells Bella he’s a vampire (gender-bent, of course).
I went home exhausted, and with a great haul of books and merchandise. I really loved the experience of volunteering, and I met so many lovely people – I’ll definitely be back again next year!
