Earlier this year I attended the Penguin Teen Live event hosted by SLQ in Brisbane. I found out about this event through an email subscription list and through my Twitter feed. This was the second event I sought to attend through my own professional network and I believed it to be a very rewarding experience. Attending the live event gave me a unique perspective into the young adult (YA) book market.
Upon arrival we were given a free book and asked to sit in a large auditorium. I was both surprised and not surprised to find that the majority of guests were teenage girls. There was a couple of boys thrown in and a couple of supportive mothers too. I sat with one of my friends and observed the event with interest, trying to look at things from the perspective of a young people’s librarian or even just a public librarian.
The host of the event talked about books that had been published earlier in the year and books that would be published later in the year. Many of the teenagers in the room voiced their opinions on their favorite books and often squealed as pictures of book covers flashed up on the big screen. I was taken aback by how visceral the reaction was, the teens were so passionate about the books and the characters, it was easy to get caught up in the emotion of the moment.
Although I understand that book selection is generally up to vendors now, I believe it is still important to touch-base with young people to see what they are reading and what they are passionate about. An event like Penguin Teen Live Australia offers teenagers the opportunity to connect directly with publishers and validate their love of reading with like-minded people.
I didn’t leave the event with any new skills or particular insight into the world of librarianship, but I did find out that teenagers are enthusiastic about books they read and get excited about new books they haven’t even heard of. The fact that this event was hosted by SLQ shows that library support exists for these kind of events. I can see events like this being held at small public libraries by librarians to entice new readers and engage old readers. I am glad my efforts to maintain my personal network allowed me to discover and attend this event.
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