Event Recap: Scholastic Bloggers' Book Feast

Before I curled up beneath the covers on Christmas Eve, I decided to sign into my email account one more time, sure that I would find no new messages. That's why, when I noticed an email from Rachel at Scholastic, I was more than a little surprised. Having found it with a few minutes until midnight, I was convinced that the email - which was an invite to the Scholastic Bloggers' Brunch the following month - was a Christmas miracle(or mistake!). It was due to this email that I was being woken at 4.45am on Saturday, my Throne of Glass tote bag packed ready for the four-hour journey into London.

 



What more could you ask for?

The Brunch was being held at Scholastic HQ to showcase their upcoming titles for 2015, a few of which I had seen mentioned online before(and had added to my wish-list), from a mixture of celebrated bestsellers to fresh-faced debuts. Two of the latest additions to the Scholastic team, authors Eve Ainsworth and Melinda Salisbury, were also going to be making an appearance, there to discuss their upcoming titles with us. One of the main reasons I had been so desperate to make it to the event was to see inside a publishing house, and Scholastic's own offices didn't disappoint. The walls were decorated in book-quotes from some of the most loved Children's books and the furniture followed a red colour-scheme. The room where the event was being held had such a cosy atmosphere, crammed full with tables that we could all sit around, pots of fresh fruits and glasses of orange juice lining the room. Let's just say that the Scholastic team know how to prepare for a blogger event!

 

The event kick-started with some information about Scholastic's upcoming titles and their continuing projects. We were told about the books that are soon to hit-the-shelves, including the next instalment in the Raven Cycle Trilogy - which I still haven't read yet - and the sequel to Jenny Han's To All The Boys I Loved Before, called PS: I Still Love You. We couldn't help but joke that Cecelia Ahern shouldn't be told about that title! Just hearing about the sequel made me more excited about getting the chance to pick up Han's debut, a novel I have heard nothing but praise for since it was first released. What I think I'm most excited about from the list is The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury, which I'm certain I will fall in love with! As soon as I read the synopsis a few weeks ago, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy, and was so excited when I found one neatly wrapped in brown baking paper inside my goodie bag.  It was so adorable that I didn't want to open it to be signed by Mel(but I soon got over that!).

 

Author Melinda Salisbury discusses her new novel!

After we had been told about all of the upcoming titles, it was over to Mel and Eve to tell us more about their debuts - and a lot about dinosaurs. With Mel having just come from spending the night at the Natural History Museum, I'll admit conversation was focused slightly on that, and I couldn't help but ask afterwards about what it was like to be there(and the food!). Mel was such a lively and bubbly presence, making witty remarks as she discussed the influence her own travelling had on her novel. Eve, who is the author of the upcoming 7 Days, expressed her love for the community that book lovers, authors and publishers have developed and her feelings about being welcomed into it. What Eve made clear about her  novel was that she had been able to do a lot of research within schools, and I can't wait to read such a realistic take on the issue of bullying(which always needs to be addressed).

 

I spent the rest of the afternoon attempting to read name badges, trying to work out whether I recognised some of the bloggers from when they might have appeared on my Twitter feed, and starting discussions with those I had never met before. Crowded around, we spent the time discussing our own daily-lives, the topics of conversation ranging from work(or school in my case) to the bookstores we were to visit that afternoon. Being someone who would love to work in publishing, I was also able to receive some advice from the Scholastic Team whilst we chatted. Although, I'll admit the best part was collecting my own red bag filled with some treats to read over the next few weeks!

 

To make the day even more bookish, I managed to take a trip to Waterstones Piccadilly for the first time, where I came across Georgia from The Bibliomaniac, who was also wandering around the Teen Section! We chatted for a while before I chose Jennifer Niven's All The Bright Places from what must be the most well-stocked bookstore I've ever come across. It was such a difficult decision to chose just one!

 

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Thank you to Rachel from Scholastic for inviting me along to the Bloggers' Brunch! It was definitely worth the trip!
 

Disclaimer: All pictures used in the post are from Scholastic UK.