Panel Talk: Lunch Time Conversation

Even during lunchtime, the fun never stops at the Texas Teen Book Festival!!! In the middle of all that excitement on October 18th, Andrew Smith and A.S. King will appear in conversation about their new books, Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future (A.S. King) and 100 Sideways Miles (Andrew Smith). They might even be discussing how Sony Pictures is tapping Edgar Wright to direct Grasshopper Jungle!!! Yes, it is being made into a movie!!! You do not want to miss out on this one of a kind lunch!


A.S. King

A.S. King, self-proclaimed “wearer of magical writing pants”, is best known for her award-winning young adult novels (she writes novel-length and short fiction for adults, as well). She is well know for her writing style and realistic characters. The New York Times Book Review has proclaimed, “A.S. King is one of the best Y.A. writers working today.” Impressive!

Her books include: Ask the Passengers, Everybody Sees the Ants, Please Ignore Vera Dietz ( Michael L Prints honoree, Reality Boy, and her newest book Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future.  She will be speaking during our lunchtime conversation about Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future, which follows Glory, who is  graduating from high school. When Glory was only four years old, her mother committed suicide, and she’s never stopped wondering if she will eventually go the same way…until a transformative night when she begins to experience an astonishing new power to see a person’s infinite past and future. From ancient ancestors to many generations forward, Glory is bombarded with visions–and what she sees ahead of her is terrifying: A tyrannical new leader raises an army. Glory makes it her mission to record everything she sees, hoping her notes will somehow make a difference. She may not see a future for herself, but she’ll do anything to make sure this one doesn’t come to pass.

Fun Facts About A. S. King:

Her favorite book of all time is God Bless You Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut.

The book that finally got her writing is Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses.

She is a Pisces (and yes, she believes in that stuff).

She has a degree in traditional photography from the Art Institute of Philadelphia.


 Andrew Smith

Andrew Smith is the award-winning author of several Young Adult novels, including the critically acclaimed Winger (Starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and Shelf Awareness—and an ALA Top 10 for 2014) and The Marbury Lens (A YALSA BFYA, and Starred reviews and Best of the Year in both Publishers Weekly and Booklist). Grasshopper Jungle, a starred novel by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Shelf Awareness, is his seventh novel.

Andrew Smith is well know for his absurdly-hilarious, dark, and fantastical books! He will be speaking and signing his newest novel 100 Sideways Miles, which follows Finn Easton who sees the world through miles instead of minutes. It’s how he makes sense of the world, and how he tries to convince himself that he’s a real boy and not just a character in his father’s bestselling cult-classic book. Finn has two things going for him: his best friend, the possibly-insane-but-definitely-excellent Cade Hernandez, and Julia Bishop, the first girl he’s ever loved.

Then Julia moves away, and Finn is heartbroken. Feeling restless and trapped in the book, Finn embarks on a road trip with Cade to visit their college of choice in Oklahoma. When an unexpected accident happens and the boys become unlikely heroes, they take an eye-opening detour away from everything they thought they had planned—and learn how to write their own destiny.

Check out the full TTBF14 line up here.


The BookPeople Teen Press Corps is a group of teens who read, review and blog about books for BookPeople, the official bookseller for and co-founder of the Texas Teen Book Festival. Catch all of their regular blogging over at bookpeopleteens.wordpress.com.