Coco Zephir is a bookseller at An Unlikely Story, Plainville, Mass., where she works on the events and marketing teams. She sent this report about the recent Love Y'all Romance Book Fest, focusing on one of the hottest book genres.
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| Love Ya'll organizers (from left) Vania Stoyanova, Jo Schulte, and Preet Singh. | |
Love Y'all Book Fest, the annual conference that took place over Valentine's Day weekend, featured two days of panels, author signings, and experiences for readers to engage with their favorite authors in an intimate setting. This year's conference, now in its third year, drew almost 900 attendees and 80 authors, and began with opening remarks from the event's three organizers: Vania Stoyanova, author of Why on Earth; Preet Singh, events coordinator at Eagle Eye Book Shop, Decatur, Ga.; and Jo Schulte, author of The Whisperwood Legacy.
At the heart of the festival were four tables from local indie bookshops: Brave and Kind Book Shop, Eagle Eye Book Shop, Charis Books, and Read it Again Bookstore.
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| Opening keynote with Scarlett St. Clair (l.) and Kate Dramis. | |
The festival's smaller, intimate setting sets it apart from larger conferences. Ashley Jordan, author of Once Upon a Time in Dollywood, had previously attended the festival as a reader. "I was thinking right after I got my book deal, I can't wait to be on the panels and be attending as an author," she said. For Alexandra Vasti (The Halifax Hellions), Love Y'all was her first romance convention. "It was so lovely," she said, noting that the festival "celebrate[s] all the best parts of romance."
Love Y'all prides itself on being "a celebration of romance for all," and Kalie Cassidy, author of In the Veins of the Drowning and the upcoming In the Wake of the Ruined, agreed: "I love that this is a safe, positive, and happy atmosphere that they've built." Denise Williams (The Re-Do List) said, "I fell in love with everything about the energy of it.... Come to Love Y'all, come to Atlanta."
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| "The Spice-O-Meter: Exploring Romance that Turns Up the Heat" panelists Alexandra Vasti (moderator), Lauren Morrill, Lauren Connolly, Andie J. Christopher, Ava Rani, Emily Krempholtz, and Nadine Gonzalez. | |
Authors, influencers, booksellers, and librarians were on panels covering topics ranging from diversity in romance to how chemistry drives plot. Sponsored events from Berkley, Bramble, Dell, and Love Underlined also offered opportunities for readers and influencers to snag upcoming releases and other bookish goodies.
"We need as much love as we can get," Jordan said. A common thread throughout the weekend was why the genre is such an important touchstone for readers and authors alike. Vasti, who writes historical romance, said it's "really special for the way it can allow us to talk about things that are going on in the contemporary world, but with a different lens." Denise Williams noted that romance allows for representation: "Everyone deserves to see themselves on the page." Williams added, "Romance can tell us any kind of story and bring it back to a hopeful place."