Happy Monday to you all. We all have a list of authors we would love to meet. Fortunately in this day and age conferences and conventions are a regular occurrence in certain areas. The idea of this post is to share my ideal panel for a book conference.  For this dream panel, I’ve divided the authors into categories by genre and explain why they make up my dream panel. 

Fantasy

1. Victoria Schwab: Why? Where do I begin? Schwab has that unique ability to completely captivate you with her writing. With every book she writes, she always manages to capture the atmosphere of that world. On top of that, her characters are morally complex. You don’t have these flawless heroes; instead you have a mix of characters that float along the cusp of good and evil and those are the characters I love. Finally, Schwab is one author that has that cross-over appeal between young adult and adult and I think it’d  be quite interesting to talk about the stigmas that come with writing young adult fantasy.

2. Leigh Bardugo: Selfishly I’d love to pick away at Leigh’s brain so I can check in with Kaz and the crew. I’m greedy when it comes to these characters and I want to see the path they follow now that the job is done. Again, Bardugo’s characterisation of Kaz and his crew was my favourite aspect of the series. Each member would be deemed an outsider and yet when they come together they essentially found their place as a band of misfits. The characters are also incredibly diverse and complex and through them we explore wider themes that generates a lot of discussion and awareness; human trafficking. On top of that the intricacy of the plot is immense and I’d love to gain some insight into how she crafted such a complex world.

3. Neil Gaiman: The master of fantasy. You can’t have a fantasy panel without him. His storytelling is masterful. Gaiman has that longevity every author wishes to have. He is a constant presence in the literary community and I’d love to get his thought on how fantasy fiction has developed over the year and its commercialization.  More than that I think a collaboration between Gaiman, Bardugo and Schwab would be a match made in fantasy heaven.

Contemporary 

1. Heather Demetrios: For those of you who follow my blog you’ll know I never shut up about Heather Demetrios’ work. What makes her writing so addictive is how raw and realistic the characters are and how the issue they face affect their lives and the lives of those around them. When it comes to the issues at hand, Demetrios doesn’t hold back. From poverty, to PTSD, reality TV and identity, the care and research that goes in to portraying these issues is phenomenal and has an abundance of depth to it. I’d also like to check in with Skylar and Josh and see how my favourite literary couple are doing.

2. Melina Marchetta: I could have included Marchetta in my fantasy panel but then I realised that while I love her fantasy series, Finnikin of the Rock; the reason I loved it so much was due to the way Marchetta explores the complexities of human nature. Whether it’s contemporary fiction or fantasy, I always connect to her characters because their voices feel authentic. I’d love to know how she captures those voices.

3. Markus Zusak: Whether it’s historical fiction or contemporary, Zusak’s books are always thought provoking and so incredibly emotional. His books are the kind that leave a permanent mark on a reader and makes you question things you hadn’t thought about before. I’d love to talk about his choice to have Death as the narrator of The Book Thief and I’d also like to question him on the ending of I am the Messenger, which garnered a mix of opinions. I basically just want to pick apart his brain. 

For anyone looking to find and attend an event in your local area, head on over to Eventbrite, the world’s largest self-service ticketing platform that helps people find and plan an event near you. If you’d like any more information about this company you can check out their website and to find a conference near you, head on over to their conference management page. 

Those are the authors that would make up my dream book conference panel?
Who would be on your panel?