Léna is also a Regional Manager for Writopia Lab whose mission is to foster joy, literacy, and critical thinking in kids and teens from all backgrounds through creative writing.

"Well, the question is, what do you want to believe? Do you want to live in a world where things are possible, or in one where they aren't?" Cin, Edges.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Leaky Con & Harry Potter Rock!

The Wizarding World of Harry PotterImage via Wikipedia
I'm sitting in a screening room, waiting watch the Wizard Rockumentary. There are so many sub-cultures involved with Harry Potter that I didn't know existed - including the John Green phenomenon. (He really IS all that, folks.)

The past couple of days are a blur. Wednesday was the official Lit Day, and the reason that I am here at all. Everything was pushed an hour later because of big computer registration snafus, so we all shmoozed with each other in the Admiralty suite at The Royal Pacific. (Stephanie Perkins is the coolest vintage dresser, and so sweet.) My first panel was star studded  - I sat between John Green and Stephanie Perkins, then there was Cheryl Klein and Libba Bray. O.M.G. But I actually was able to speak intelligently rather than stammer, so it was all good. AND I don't know where I got this chutzpa, but I leaned over to John and told him I'd love it if he would read my book. Oh no she didn't. Yes, I freakin' did, and he was lovely. (David Levithan couriered over a copy t him yesterday.)

I was shocked when people kept filing into my writing workshop, Mining Your Life for Your Fiction. There were over 80 people, and we didn't have enough paper and pens! I paced the floor for the first half as I was giving out writing exercises and asking questions for people to think about as they wrote, then I was able to sit for the second half as we talked about writing process and truth in fiction. It has been so gratifying to have people come up to me the past couple of days and tell me how much they enjoyed it. Wow!

We had a break for lunch before Char and I were to give our Madeleine L'Engle presentation, and unfortunately, the snafus had compounded due to pushing everything back an hour: when we got to our conference room, the staff had made a mistake and were pulling it apart and telling people that there wasn't any programming. Fortunately, some people were still waiting outside and we were able to "present", but it was a little heart-breaking. But it's not a refection on Madeleine L'Engle, right? People still love her, right? RIGHT!

LeakyCon had given everyone these "yearbooks", so I sat at my own table for an hour in the afternoon signing yearbooks and giving out bookmarks.

Finally, there was a reception from 6PM - 7PM, and then we got to go back to our hotel room to rest briefly before going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. (LeakyCon had rented it out until 1AM!) We met up with Julie Straus-Gabel, David Levithan and his awesome friend Daniel Lang to go meet up with everybody else including John Green and Maureen Johnson, but we ended up owning the park with David and Daniel, heading straight for the best ride ever: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. (Magda and I went on 3X!) Even though it was just LeakyCon participants, it was still super-packed, so we had to make CHOICES. (Get your butterbeer frozen, folks!) We had so much fun with David and Daniel - they are both so authentic and down-to-earth: the real deal.

We all took the boat back to The Portofino @1AM and stayed in bed until 10AM, then we met David and Daniel poolside until the shade completely disappeared and it got too hot to exist outside.

Later, we had to say goodbye to David and Daniel who were flying back to the city, and met up with a bunch of the Lit Day crew to go see a 6PM viewing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in 3D at an IMAX theatre. Un-believable. (John Green has to run because he is constantly mobbed.) It was such an amazing experiece to see the movie with HP's loyalist fans - there was some serious whooping, laughing, and sobbing going on. These people have grown up with the books and movies and now they're over - it's a bittersweet ending of childhood.

And yes, the movie rocked!

This blog post is getting too long - so TTFN!


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5 comments:

  1. Deirdre and I are in that movie - along with many friends and acquaintances in the Wizrock field! We got interviewed at the Mount Kisco library, where Deirdre had many bands playing shows. Wizard Rock is a fascinating phenomenon which is continuing to grow; I love the do-it-yourself feel, the openness, and the positive spirit of this aspect of fandom.

    Glad you're enjoying Leakycon, and I hope to see you at the library someday. )

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  2. I hope so too! ;-) I enjoyed half-watching the film as I was blogging! Too much multi-tasking!

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