Lit Track

We first introduced LeakyCon LitDay at LeakyCon 2011 in Orlando and it was so much fun we decided to extend our YA and general Literature programming to two days. We are thrilled that Maureen Johnson has once again taken the helm and will be organizing even more panels and discussions with some of your favorite authors and professionals from the world of Publishing.

Here are the industry professionals currently scheduled to appear!

Holly Black

Holly Black is a best-selling author of contemporary fantasy novels for kids, teens, and adults. She is the author of the Modern Faerie Tale series (Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside), The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), and The Good Neighbors graphic novels (with Ted Naifeh). She is also the co-editor of three anthologies, Geektastic (with Cecil Castellucci), Zombies vs. Unicorns (with Justine Larbalestier), and Welcome to Bordertown (with Ellen Kushner). Her most recent works are The Poison Eaters and Other Stories, a collection of short fiction, and The Curse Worker series (White Cat, Red Glove, and the forthcoming Black Heart). She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Theo, in a house with a secret library. You can find out more about Holly on her website, blackholly.com

Daniel Ehrenhaft

Daniel Ehrenhaft is a bestselling author of books for teens, among them The Wessex Papers (winner of the 2003 Edgar Award) and most recently Americapedia, which the New York Times called “Jon Stewart’s America for the YA set.” As an editor, he helped to create the Gossip Girl and Peaches series. He is now Editorial Director of Soho Teen, whose first list launches in January 2013. He is also a member of Tiger Beat, the world’s only all-YA-author band–and perhaps the only semi-functioning band with no website or Facebook Page or Twitter handle, because Tiger Beat is SOLELY DEVOTED TO ROCK.  Plus, they are lazy. You can find more information about Daniel on his website, danielehrenhaft.com

John Green

John Green is the New York Times bestselling author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, and The Fault in our Stars. He is also the co-author, with David Levithan, of Will Grayson, Will Grayson.  His novels have received much critical acclaim, including the Michael L. Printz Award and the 2009 Edgar Award.  No stranger to the internet, Mr. Green releases vlogs along with his brother, Hank, on the popular YouTube channel, VlogBrothers, which began in 2007.  John Green lives in Indiana with his wife and young son, Henry.  More about John can be found on his website, johngreenbooks.com

Lev Grossman

Lev Grossman is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Magicians and The Magician King. He is also the book critic at Time magazine.  He has  written for Salon, The Village Voice, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, Entertainment Weekly, The Believer, Lingua Franca, the New York Times, and several other publications.  You can find out more about Lev on his website, levgrossman.com

 

Amanda Hocking

Amanda Hocking is an incredibly successful writer of young adult paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels.  Hocking, author of the USA Today bestselling Trylle Trilogy and My Blood Approves series, gained prominence shortly after she began self-publishing in 2010, selling her novels as low priced (99 cents to $2.99) eBooks. Since then, she’s become the exemplar of self-publishing success in the digital age, having sold over one million copies of her novels. Before becoming a full-time writer, Amanda worked in group homes for people with disabilities for five and a half years writing in her spare time. That all changed in 2010, when sales of her books began to take off, and she has been a full time writer ever since. St. Martin’s Press will publish her new 4-book “Watersong” series beginning in August 2012.  The first book in the series, WAKE, goes on-sale in August 2012. She currently resides in Minnesota.

Maureen Johnson

Maureen Johnson is the bestselling author of such books as Suite Scarlett, The Bermudez Triangle, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Let It Snow (with John Green and Lauren Myracle), The Last Little Blue Envelope, The Name of the Star and the upcoming The Madness Underneath. Before attending graduate school in theatrical dramaturgy and writing at Columbia University, she held a variety of unlikely jobs, many of which involved fire (usually not on purpose). In addition to her novels, she was the scriptwriter for the “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” handheld video games. She lives in New York City, but travels to England on a regular basis. She has the dubious distinction of being Mashable.com’s “Most Interesting Person to Follow on Twitter” award winner for 2009. This is because she lives on her Twitter account. You can also find her at maureenjohnsonbooks.com

Jennifer Laughran

Jennifer Laughran is a literary agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, based in New York. She went from reading children’s books to selling them with her first job in a bookstore at age 12, and has been up to her neck in kids and YA books ever since. She represents many popular and award-winning children’s authors, all of whom are adorable geniuses. You can find out more about Jenn on twitter, @literaticat, and about the agency at andreabrownlit.com

 

Stephanie Perkins

Stephanie Perkins writes young adult novels with funny bits and kissing. She is the author of Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door and the much anticipated Isla and the Happily Ever After. Her husband is wizard rocker Jarrod of Gred and Forge, and they live with two elderly pups and a pesky cat named Mr. Tumnus. More information about Stephanie Perkins can be found on her website, stephanieperkins.com

 

Rebecca Sherman

Rebecca Sherman is a literary agent for the publishing company Writers House, based in New York City.  With over eight years of experience in the industry, Sherman has worked with such authors as Grace Lin, author/illustrator of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon; Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney, author and illustrator of Sit-In; and David Ezra Stein, author/illustrator of Leaves. She also represents Melissa Anelli, author of the New York Times best-selling Harry, A History. Further information about Rebecca Sherman can be found on the Writers House website, writershouse.com

Margaret Stohl

Margaret Stohl is the author of Icons, the first book in the Icons Series, forthcoming from Little, Brown in Spring 2013 – as well as the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Los Angeles Times, Indie-Bound and Internationally Bestselling co-author of the Beautiful Creatures Novels (with Kami Garcia.)  You can find out more about Margaret on her website, margaret-stohl.com

 

Laini Taylor

Laini Taylor is the author of the National Book Award Finalist Lips Touch: Three Times, as well as the novels Blackbringer and Silksinger.  Her upcoming novel, Days of Blood and Starlight will be released in the fall of 2012 and is the sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, illustrator Jim Di Bartolo, and their daughter.  You can visit her website to learn more about Laini at lainitaylor.com

 

Kate Schafer Testerman

After nearly ten years with industry powerhouse agency Janklow & Nesbit Associates, Kate Schafer Testerman formed kt literary in early 2008, where she concentrates on middle grade and YA fiction. Her clients include Maureen Johnson, Ellen Booraem, Stephanie Perkins, S. Terrell French, Thomas E. Sniegoski, Josie Bloss and Matthew Cody, among others. Kate is a graduate of the New York Renaissance Faire, and an avid collector of shoes. Her interests cover a broad range including teen chick list, urban fantasy, magical realism, adventure stories, and romantic comedies. She is an active member of the SCBWI and AAR

Megan Whalen Turner

Megan Whalen Turner is the author of the Newbery Honor Book The Thief and
its sequels, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, and A Conspiracy of Kings. A Conspiracy of Kings won the 2011 LA Times Book Award for Young Adult Literature and the series of books was awarded the 2011 Mythopoeic Award for Children’s Literature. She has been living in Oslo, Norway for the past year where she worked on her next book and learned a lot about trolls. There is more information about Megan at meganwhalenturner.org.

Robin Wasserman

Robin Wasserman is the author of The Book of Blood and Shadow and several other young adult books including Hacking Harvard, the Seven Deadly Sins series, and the Cold Awakening trilogy. (Though you may know her from all-time bestselling literary triumph, Scooby Doo: The Search for Scooby Snacks.) She grew up in Philadelphia, went to Harvard, and, for her very first task at her very first job out of college, was assigned to scour the city for a miniature red carpet that could be rolled out for J. K. Rowling’s imminent arrival. (She failed.) More information about Robin Wasserman can be found on her website, robinwasserman.com

 

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