More than 20,000 attendees gathered in Charleston, S.C., on November 15 and 16 for the 14th annual YALLFest, helmed by Jonathan Sanchez of Blue Bicycle Books and author Melissa de la Cruz. Guests were invited to panels ranging on subjects from banned books to series writing, book signings held in local shops, and keynotes from authors including Lauren Roberts, V.E. Schwab, and many more. Check out key moments of the festival.
(From l.): authors Jason June, Leah Johnson, Ravynn K. Stringfield, Joelle Wellington, Namina Forna, and Kim Johnson ahead of the opening festivities.
Alexandra Bracken at her book signing at J. Stark during the YALLCrawl.
Opening keynote speaker Emily Varga.
Festival executive director Jonathan Sanchez (c.) with his wife Lauren (l.) and festival co-chair Melissa de la Cruz (r.).
Opening keynote author V.E. Schwab.
Afternoon keynote authors Lauren Roberts (l.) and Abigail Hing Wen (r.) onstage.
(From l.): authors and founding members of Authors Against Book Bans David Levithan and Maggie Tokuda-Hall, producer Jennifer Wiggin Dumas of the film Banned Together, and ACLU of South Carolina advocacy director Josh Malkin during “The Banned Together” panel.
A fan sits atop a throne of Epic Reads fantasy titles.
Namina Forna makes an entrance at the Red Carpet Preview held at the Charleston Library.
Heir author Sabaa Tahir ahead of her book signing.
Jarrod Shusterman (l.) and Sofía Lapuente (r.) act as hosts for Smackdown, the closing event.
