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Sponsored by Underlined. The first 500 people in the door will receive a water bottle and sticker sheet from Underlined!

After 2 long years, YALLFest is back in real life! You will not want to miss the insane energy of the Charleston Music Hall as we kick off the Tenth Annual Festival with E. Lockhart (We Were Liars) and Adam Silvera (They Both Die at the End).

With two of the most popular books on TikTok, Lockhart and Silvera will discuss the twisty plots, intriguing characters, and lots and lots of tears that keep them at the TipTop of the bestseller list.

NOTE: Proof of full Covid vaccination or negative Covid-19 test is required for entry. Vaccination final dose must be received at least 14 days prior to the event (no later than Oct. 30). Negative test must be taken within 72 hours. 

Free wristbands, required for YALLFest 2021 admittance, will be distributed on site to all vacccinated / negative test attendees.

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With SFF books serving both as foundational blueprints for expansive universes (see: Dune, Game of Thrones, etc) and as significant parts of their expansion (see: Star Wars), how do you write for that? Moderated by Margaret Stohl with Jordan Ifueko, Marie Lu, Ransom Riggs, and Victoria Aveyard

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Realistic or Fantastic, what makes a villain villianous in 2021? What does that say about us? How has that changed over time? Moderated by Brendan Reichs with Ally Condie, Claribel A. Ortega, Lori M. Lee, and Michael Johnston.

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What does what we and our beloved characters fear say about our world? What can we learn from it? Moderated by Tiffany D. Jackson with Adam Sass, Ayana Gray, Cherie Dimaline, and Grady Hendrix

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If love is universal, why are love stories so often seen as pop genre pieces rather than literature? Moderated by Stephanie Garber with Abbi Glines, Julian Winters, Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, and Tashie Bhuiyan.

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How do the stories we love become the worlds we live in? Moderated by Michael Johnston with Elizabeth Lim, Jen Calonita, Melissa de la Cruz, and Soman Chainani. Sponsored by Disney Publishing Worldwide

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Writers are always writing about themselves, they just don’t admit it. True or false? Or maybe…Truth or Dare! Moderated by Ally Condie with Abbi Glines, Namina Forna, Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, and Stephanie Garber.

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How do stories become true? How do our truths become stories? Why does storytelling matter to a troubled world? Moderated by Nisha Sharma with Nandini Bajpai, David Levithan, and Rachael Lippincott

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Dark is the new content, or is it? Moderated by Amy Foster with Cherie Dimaline, Adalyn Grace, Grady Hendrix, and Neal Shusterman

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In 2021, some characters can get as sidelined as the rest of us. Moderated by Julian Winters with Jonny Garza Villa, Dustin Thao, and Margot Wood

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Is the journey from enemies to lovers the greatest story arc of all? Moderated by Eric Smith with Chloe Gong, Rachael Lippincott, Shelby Mahurin, and Neal Shusterman. Sponsored by Pique Beyond The Book

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From school to spellcasting, how do characters and writers move between the magic and the mundane?  Moderated by Justin A. Reynolds with Ryan Graudin, Claribel A. Ortega, and Lilliam Rivera

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Authors talk the craft of rising action. Moderated by Soman Chainani with Nandini Bajpai, Tashie Bhuiyan, Ayana Gray, and Elizabeth Lim

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What can the fantasy of hidden worlds teach us about the world we see around us? Moderated by Ryan Graudin with Kwame Mbalia, Mark Oshiro, and Brendan Reichs

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Everyone starts somewhere…authors read their childhood writing. Moderated by Marie Lu with Jen Calonita, Adalyn Grace, and Elizabeth Lim

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What makes some settings into characters, and others not? Moderated by Margot Wood with Tracy Deonn, Shanna Miles, Steven Salvatore, and Eric Smith.

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What can writing for graphic novels teach us about storytelling? What changes when images are involved? Moderated by Judith Stephens with E. Lockhart, Justin A. Reynolds, Lilliam Rivera, and Margaret Stohl

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Writers talk craft questions, in writing and in the writer’s life. Moderated by Victoria Aveyard with Amy Foster, Tahereh Mafi, Adam Sass, and Julian Winters

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Writers talk queer issues, in books and in life. Moderated by David Levithan with Jonny Garza Villa, Rachael Lippincott, Steven Salvatore, and Aiden Thomas.

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Writers talk mental challenges, in books and in life. Moderated by Adam Silvera with Tashie Bhuiyan, Mark Oshiro, Lilliam Rivera, and Margot Wood.

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Realistic or Fantastic, what makes a hero heroic in 2021? What does that say about us? How has that changed over time? Moderated by Judith Stephens with Jen Calonita, Charlotte Nicole Davis, Stacey Lee, and Nisha Sharma.

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You think 2021 was weird, check out 1912, 1926, 1927 and 1997. Moderated by Dhonielle Clayton with Chloe Gong, Stacey Lee, and Angie Thomas.

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The role of fandom and community in career and world building. Discuss. Moderated by Margaret Stohl with Melissa de la Cruz, Tracy Deonn, Marie Lu, and Aiden Thomas. Sponsored by Bloomsbury

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There’s nothing like propulsive conflict to make for a compelling story – and nothing like the real world for propulsive conflict. Discuss. Moderated by Nic Stone with Gayle Forman, Angela May, Mary Alice Monroe, and Mark Oshiro. Sponsored by Pique Beyond The Book

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Sometimes the best characters are the ones we like the least – why? Moderated by E. Lockhart with Jonny Garza Villa, Adalyn Grace, Shelby Mahurin, and Dustin Thao

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MG authors talk the importance of character connection in resolving their stories. Moderated by Gayle Forman with Lori M. Lee, Angela May, Kwame Mbalia, and Mary Alice Monroe.

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Writers discuss the books they haven’t written from the worst idea to the one that got away. Moderated by Melissa de la Cruz with Jordan Ifueko, Tahereh Mafi, Shanna Miles, and Steven Salvatore

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Now that Dune is a household name, has the Fantasy of Fantasy been lost? Would the Simarillion exist in the era of Slurpee Cups? Discuss. Moderated by Ransom Riggs with Charlotte Nicole Davis, Namina Forna, Michael Johnston, and Aiden Thomas

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The book world was electrified by the announcement of six high-wattage authors joining forces for an interlinked novel, and this summer’s release of Blackout did not leave fans in the dark! The six stories of teens finding love during a power outage lit up the New York Times bestseller list and has sparked a film and TV series in the works with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions.

Five Blackout contributors and YALLFest legends Dhonielle Clayton (Shattered Midnight), Tiffany D. Jackson (White Smoke), Nic Stone (Fast Pitch), Angie Thomas (Concrete Rose), and Ashley Woodfolk (When You Were Everything) will link circuits for our closing keynote — it’s going to be lights OUT!

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YALLFest’s most beloved tradition, the Smackdown, is back for the TENTH TIME!

That’s ten years of Golden Pie Awards, Juvenilia, Tiger Beat, LivingTableau Book Covers, Hollywood Squares, Borderline-Inappropriate Sketches Based on Picture Books and Epic Lip Sync Battles.

Come see your favorite authors on stage with hosts Soman Chainani (School for Good and Evil) and Brendan Reichs (Darkdeep) for games, laughs, tears and dancing.

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