Inside YALLFest: How Books Become Bridges Between YA Readers

This story unfolds 15 years ago, during the second golden age of YA fiction (the first blossomed in the 1970s), when three bookish protagonists teamed up over a novel idea. “Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl were rising stars in the young adult lit world with Beautiful Creatures, which is set outside Charleston,” says Jonathan Sanchez, owner of Blue Bicycle Books on King Street. Inspired by some well-received book signings, the trio decided to host a handful of young adult author panels in the fall of 2011 at the American Theater.

Spoiler alert! The weekend was a runaway success, drawing 30 authors and about 1,000 attendees in what became the first YALLFest. Subsequent years brought sellout sessions with City of Bones phenom Cassandra Claire and Veronica Roth on the eve of her final Divergent trilogy release. “From there, it’s just been bananas,” laughs Sanchez, noting that Stohl has since launched a California iteration, YALLWest, with author Melissa de la Cruz.

“This genre attracts a passionate, excitable group of readers from all over the country,” says Sanchez. “When you see a reader walk away from getting a book signed with tears in their eyes, it’s powerful.” (He describes the prototypical attendees as groups of friends in their 20s, often from Southern towns). As for the literary talents, the festival invites novelists, poets, and journalists who are excited to engage with their fans in the Holy City. 

Now in its 15th installment, YALLFest returns on November 14 and 15 with a roster of 75 authors, 20,000-plus readers, more than a dozen publishers, and 5,000 volumes encompassing some 300 titles. It’s an impressive catalog of offerings given the festival’s $200,000 budget—funding drawn from sponsorships, donations, and sales of merch and tickets. The weekend kicks off with Friday’s YALLCrawl, when participants line up at Blue Bicycle Books and mill through Upper King Street coffee shops to meet favorite writers, purchase featured books, and reconnect with festival friends. This and other events—including signings, panels, and a sponsor village at The Charleston Museum, Charleston Music Hall, American Theater, Blue Bicycle Books, and other spots—remain free and open to the public. The nonprofit also invites several authors into area middle and high schools, as well as the Charleston County Juvenile Detention Center. 

The festival’s ticketed offerings include two keynote sessions and a closing party. Presented by Mayhem Books, an imprint of boutique publisher Entangled, this year’s lineup features Divine Rivals novelist Rebecca Ross, BookTok star and Lightlark author Alex Aster, Margaret A. Edwards Award winner Tiffany D. Jackson, best-selling witchy fiction writer Rachel Griffin, The Happy Writer podcast host Marissa Meyer, and newcomer Shannon J. Spann. The weekend wraps with the Smackdown, described by YALLFest communications director Rachel Strolle as “a big wild game show/sketch act/dance party” hosted by past board member and best-selling author Soman Chainani.

At a time when people are more screen-oriented than ever, YALLFest is returning readers to stacks of hardcovers and paperbacks. Sanchez revels in that tactility, linking the rare books inside his shop, such as a 1903 edition of Pride and Prejudice, to debut works from today’s novelists. “I love that throughline of the written word,” he says.