We know everyone has been eagerly awaiting news for YALC (Young Adult Literature Convention) 2023 and now that we have had a chance to review the 2022 event and have discussions with all key stakeholders and the venue, we are in a position to update you all.
YALC 2022 was overall a success but we acknowledge that there were some minor challenges that came with the new location. Having taken this on board and following visits to the Olympia London site to discuss the ongoing building works, it has become clear that we would be in a similar position next year if we ran in the July. So with that being the case, we feel the best thing to do is postpone the event to the latter part of the year to allow them to accomplish more of their building works and provide a better experience for all those at YALC 2023. This means that YALC will be able to have more usable space while still remaining part of a comic con which we know was important to Malorie Blackman when she created YALC.
This puts the new date of the 11th and 12th November 2023 as part of London Comic Con Winter located in the Grand Gallery and adjacent rooms which has been successfully used to host the Comic Zone for many years. It does mean that we will only have 2 days of YALC for this year but the experience should be much better for all those involved. Once the space situation at Olympia is resolved we hope to return to the three-day summer event. Obviously, this will be a disappointment for some but we want to concentrate on putting on the best event we can rather than struggling through the challenges that the works provide.
Tickets are live now and available to purchase via the website and the publisher portal is open for booking stand space. If you are interested in booking a stand then please email yalc@showmastersevents.com.
The applications for author guest slots will be opening soon. We will be emailing out the link to the publishers to submit and then the working group will be deciding the line up. We are also pleased to announce that the appearance fees for all those contributing to YALC2023 will be £150 + VAT per day.
We are really looking forward to being back at YALC this year and being able to immerse ourselves in all things YA book related. We hope to see you there!
YALC Working Group