On april 21th 2019, I went to Yalfest NL for the first time! What did I do? Today, I'm sharing my experience!
It took me a long time to decide whether I wanted to go to Yalfest or not. But after talking to some friends on bookstagram, I decided to just go!
"You're smiling so big" ~ Benjamin Alire Sáenz
I arrived at the Expo in Hoevelaken fifteen minutes before Yalfest 2019 would officially start. There was no queue anymore, so I could immediately scan my ticket and walk inside.
Seeing all of these fellow readers and bookish shops in one room, made me even more excited. Among those people were also my bookstagram buddy's who I was definitely gonna meet.
As I was taking in everything that was happening, a crew member walked over to tell everyone that the Q&A session was about to begin.
To get myself a good spot, I decided to go ahead and walk to the second hall, where the Q&A would be.
I sat close to great bookstagrammers/bloggers like Joost from NerdyGeekyFanboy, Petra and Ilse from bookish.twin.reads, Jasmijn from jasmijnsbujo and Anniek from anniekslibrary!
The host introduced this year's authors - Nic Stone, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Samira Ahmed, Kristen Ciccarelli, Karen Mcmanus and Teri Terry - and then went on to the Q&A.
"My Niece's name is also Cynthia!" ~ Benjamin Alire Sáenz
The Q&A was a lot of fun and interesting. The hour flew by! Before I knew it, the Q&A was over and we were send back to the main hall. On our way back, we received our goodie bag (Yalfest haul coming soon) and in fifteen of these goodie bags, Yalfast had put a golden ticket. The people with a golden ticket, received - I think - a bunch of extra books.
After lunch break, I bought two books and I finally met up with Jasmijn! She was so lovely and it was great talking with her. Anniek joined short after. They were both very welcoming!
Together with Anniek, Jannina from paperfootprints, Eline and Michelle from michellelikesthings we got into the queue to get our books signed.
The first author I got my two books signed, was Nic Stone. And let me tell you guys, I am te most awkward person you'll ever meet! So Nic, if you ever happen to stumble upon this blog, I'm sorry.
But Nic was incredibly sweet and I loved to meet her.
The other author who signed my book was, Benjamin Alire Sáenz! He looked up, smiled brightly and said 'you're smiling so big! Are you having fun?' He also told me that his niece's name was also Cynthia. But I obviously lost my ability to speak proper English, so I just said 'great!' and wished him a great day.
"You're basically my sister! With the pretty hair and brown skin!" ~ Nic Stone
During the second signing session, about 2 hours later, the girls I mentioned above all encourged me to go back to Nic's table. I wanted to take a picture with her, but I thought it wasn't allowed to. But everyone was doing it, so it wasn't a problem.
When it was my turn, I awkwardly said 'Is it okay if we'd take a picture together?' Nic smiled big and responded 'Of course! Welcome back!'
Nic
Stone
Recognized
Me
From
2
hours
ago!
We took a picture and then, Nic said: 'You're basically my sister! With the pretty hair and brown skin!'
Jep, I had no idea what to say or do, so I just laughed and casually left... (I did say bye and stuff).
At the end of the event, I walked past all the stands and bought a Parabatai necklace for a friend.
We talked a little more and then it was time to say our goodbyes.
To conclude this story, I would like to thank everyone who made my day awesome! Thanks to the author's; Nic Stone, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Samira Ahmed, Kristen Ciccarelli, Karen Mcmanus and Teri Terry, the people I met; Anniek, Jasmijn, Michelle, Jannina and Eline, and of course thank you to the people from Yalfest NL!
I had a lot of fun at Yalfest NL 2019!