I can’t imagine anything better for a book lover than being surrounded by
books. The Boekenbeurs was one of those must visit events for book lovers. It is
basically a book convention dedicated to books (obviously), authors and publishers.
The event took place in Antwerp in an expo building which had four halls
dedicated to printed paper.
I choose a perfect day to go, because they had a Young Adult Convention
when I visited. I attended two panels; the first was a panel discussion on dystopian
novels and the seconds was a Book Movie Club panel where the discussion
surrounded book adaptations. I unfortunately missed the Skype call with Gayle
Forman, but I made myself feel better by buying some things (a mug, tote bag and colouring book).
When I finally had time to stroll through the books some more, I soon
realised that everything was in Dutch. Like everything. I can read Dutch, but I
prefer English books. There were so many authors signing books I haven’t even
heard about. People were having their books signed and photos taken and I was
just there like, sorry I don’t know who you are. Luckily for me an Au pair
friend of mine was also attending on Saturday. Her host mom is a published author
who had to be present and my friend had to look at one of the children. She happened
to know where to find the English books. It was only one stall, but it was
enough to be excited about.
I attended another panel with my friend because her host mom was one of the speakers. The
talk was about the “first time” and how it is detailed in books and handled
in real life. It was very interesting and fun to listen to. I ended up buying a
book from my friends host mom. She even signed it and wrote a very encouraging
note. I was also able to talk to her about writing and becoming an author. She gave
me some tips and inspired me. I feel more confident in what I am doing and
where I am going with my writing. Being able to talk to a real author boosted me and made me excited for my future in writing.
It was a day well spent; I even ended up getting a ride home with my friend
and her host mom. I feel like the day opened my eyes a bit. I realise that
becoming a published author is going to take a lot of hard work and time, but I’m
looking forward to it.
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Felicia
xoxo
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