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The Horn Book at the Boston Book Festival and JustKids! 2023.
This year's Boston Book Festival on Saturday, October 14, was a warm (seasonally speaking) and wonderful event. The Horn Book once again had a booth at the Copley Square Street Fair (courtesy of the Boston Globe), where we participated in the festival's Passport to Imagination scavenger hunt program for kids; displayed the 2023 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winners and honorees; encouraged people to subscribe and sign up for our free e-newsletters; and gave away copies of the Magazine, along with bookmarks, posters, pens, and stickers. Many thanks to staff members Shoshana Flax, Kitty Flynn, Elissa Gershowitz, and Monica de los Reyes, and fall interns Shenwei Chang and Emma Shacochis for taking turns running the booth all day. The weather for JustKids! on October 21 wasn't quite as sunny, but what better place to be on a rainy Saturday? Below are some staff highlights and slideshow photos from the event.
Elissa Gershowitz (Editor in Chief):
I had a great time, as usual, at this year’s Boston Book Festival and JustKids! events. On Saturday, October 14, I moderated a panel on “Spine-Tingling Suspense,” with middle-grade authors Ciera Burch (Finch House), Susan Tan (Ghosts, Toast, and Other Hazards), and Jacqueline Davies (International House of Dereliction). Spooky books are not usually my bag, but these three titles were especially multilayered (complicated families! haunted spaces and houses!) and not too scary. In the beautiful BPL courtyard, I got to chat with author/illustrator Juana Medina, whose art graced our March/April Horn Book Magazine cover. The following weekend, October 21, featured another full and exciting day of JustKids! events, in Nubian Square, including a "Comics and Courage" panel with Jerry Craft and Nikki Grimes, moderated by Felicia Humphries, assistant director of Boston Public Schools Libraries Services, and with bookselling by our friends at Frugal Bookstore. Catching up with book-ish friends is always a highlight of the festival (hi Liz, Katrina, Nicholl, Sarah, Francie, Summer, Pam), and there’s nothing like spending a Saturday afternoon around book-loving people.
Kitty Flynn (Book Reviews Editor):
This was my first Boston Book Festival, and I gotta say, I don’t know why I’ve avoided it for so long. Well, I do...I don’t like crowds (especially post-pandemic), getting into Boston on a Saturday isn’t top of my list of favorite things, and weekends in general can be unpredictable at my house. Now that I’m back at The Horn Book in an official capacity, though, I couldn’t hide behind those excuses.
Yes, there were crowds, but there’s a huge difference between a crowd of book-loving grownups and kids and, say, a crowd of New Year’s Eve revelers. Working at the booth was a heady experience -- the kids who visited to get their passports stamped were my favorite. We asked each one what their favorite book was, and the responses ranged from eagerly talking about specific titles and authors to blank stares to one sad child who couldn’t even look at us because he wasn’t able to get in to see Rick Riordan (there were A LOT of Percy Jackson fans). Editorial intern Emma’s inspired twist on that question was to tell the kids that the Horn Book recommends books to teachers and librarians and then ask, “Do you have any books you would recommend to us?”
Seeing my coworkers in person was a joy and meeting up with old friends (superstar librarian Liz Phipps-Soeiro, BGHB judge Katrina Hedeen) was the cherry on top. I met Boston Public Library’s Laura Koenig, team leader for the Central Library Children’s Services and one of the Magazine’s faithful reviewers. I even ran into my neighbor, who was on a panel for grown-up book authors. Costumed characters, a grilled cheese food truck, live music -- all in celebration of Boston’s book community. It was worth venturing out.
Shoshana Flax (Associate Editor):
I started my day at "If Not Now, When?," a wonderfully thoughtful and well-attended panel of Jewish authors. It was great to hear moderator Rebecca Podos and panelists Elana K. Arnold, R.M. Romero, and Aden Polydoros (who was equally thoughtful on the panel I moderated last week) discuss everything from their research processes to their personal experiences to the importance of active Jewish characters. I’d served on the BBF’s YA programming committee (a super-smart group!), so it was extra-special to see an example of our work coming together.
Then, after the obligatory visit to the Roxy’s Grilled Cheese food truck, I spent the afternoon in the booth, hanging out with fellow HB-ers past and present — including meeting interns Emma and Shenwei in person for the first time, and marveling at their spiel skills. The crowds were nonstop, which sounds like was the case all over the festival, and there was plenty of enthusiasm for the Horn Book from people who knew all about us and people who were learning for the first time that children’s book review publications exist. The newsletter signups were plenty, and so were the people drawn to the Boston Globe–Horn Book winners and honor books on display.
Here’s to lots of happy buzzing about books!
Monica de los Reyes (Editorial Assistant):
This was my first year attending Boston Book Festival (as a Horn Booker or as a general lover of books), and I had a blast. Mostly, I hung out in the booth, enjoying the company of my awesome coworkers and chatting with all our lovely booth visitors (including some of our MA-based reviewers!). Although the panels were in high demand, I managed to meet my younger sister (and fellow book lover) at a Grub Street writing workshop, which was well-paced and fun. But my favorite moment of the day was when author Lisa Rogers, whose picture-book biography of John Cage we just starred, stopped by to introduce herself. We were so excited to meet her and to hear more about her writing process. Since so many of our interactions happen over email these days, it was so energizing to get to meet all sorts of people who create, review, teach, lend, and love books in person. Can’t wait until next year!
Shenwei Chang (Editorial Intern):
This year was my first year attending the Boston Book Festival. Since I hail from Texas, I’m used to Texas-sized book festivals and wasn’t sure how the Boston Book Festival would compare. Although the Boston Book Festival is smaller scale than the Texas Book Festival held in Austin, it was no less busy when I arrived on scene. I spent about two hours at the Horn Book’s booth with fellow intern Emma Shacochis introducing newcomers to the Horn Book’s mission, fielding questions, and receiving heartfelt appreciation from librarians, educators, and parents for the work the Horn Book does. Outside of my shift, I wandered, browsed, queued, and impulse-bought my fair share of books. I didn’t get to catch every panel I wanted to attend for timing or space reasons, but I did land a first-place spot in the signing line for the middle grade “Furry Friends” panel. I also had a quite a few chance encounters and reunions with fellow Simmons University students in the children’s literature program. Toward the end of the day, I had the pleasure of listening to the young adult keynote speaker Chloe Gong and meeting her in person for the first time after a longtime online Twitter acquaintanceship. All in all, it was a satisfying festival day, and I went home with a very full backpack and an even fuller heart.
Emma Shacochis (Editorial Intern):
Apart from a trip across Dartmouth Street for a Rookie Melt from Roxy’s, I attended this year’s Boston Book Festival from behind the Horn Book’s booth at the Copley Square Street Fair, this year stationed directly in front of Copley’s branch of the Boston Public Library. There were visitors who were already Horn Book readers and those who signed up for our email list as soon as they heard more about the Magazine’s offerings (if they weren’t an educator or librarian themselves, it was almost certain that they picked up a copy for their sibling, spouse, or child who was). We even got to meet one guest who was incredibly familiar with the company -- Lisa Rogers, author of the recently starred picture book Beautiful Noise: The Music of John Cage. The BBF’s “Passport” activity brought stamp-seeking young readers to our tent, many of them carrying tie-dyed shirts from the Brainstorm Tent or handcrafted robots from 826 Boston. When asked what books they’d recommend to other kids, a few vouched for The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley or Chris Colfer’s Land of Stories series. However, the majority promptly recommended the Percy Jackson series and its spin-offs, a lucky few still riding high from hearing Rick Riordan’s keynote speech that morning.
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