I am writing from my hotel room at LeakyCon, an inclusive fan conference (based on Harry Potter but also including Buffy, Sherlock, Doctor Who, YA literature generally, Maureen Johnson, Vlog Brothers, Disney musicals, Rent and quite a lot more). There are wizard rockers,  Star Kids, and also a lit track, which is the thing I was part of. Lots of authors, doing lots of panels -- exceptionally amusing ones. Reader's theater, kissing books, author game shows. And lots of signings. 

Novelists Maureen Johnson and Robin Wasserman organize and MASTERMIND the lit track. They even have a bookshop on the selling floor alongaside various wizarding emporiums. It is called Johnson Wasserman books. So cool.

 

Anyway, a full summary of my LeakyCon adventures would probably be too much for anyone to bear. A LOT HAPPENED. But are some highlights.

Anthony Rapp (he of Rent! and Charlie Brown!) did an opening musical number that involved him being Doctor Who and then stripping down to his Rent costume and singing a version of La Vie Boheme from Rent re-done as a celebration of Leaky Con, in which he was backed up by characters of a million different fandoms, including Maureen playing Edward Cullen and Buffy's Amber Benson as Bella. Note how SPARKLY.  Here's the clip of Rapp in the opening number.

So, really, once you've seen that live, you might think it would all be downhill. BUT NO.

The next day I:

purchased a phoenix feather and some dragon heartstrings

purchased a bumper sticker that says I SOLEMNLY SWEAR I AM UP TO NO GOOD

was on Team Ravenclaw for the Author's House Cup which involved

• seeing Lev Grossman and Rainbow Rowell conquer a ball pit
• losing a metaphorical procrastination game to Coe Booth (I came in first, but with procrastination, the last person to finish wins, apparently. sigh.)
• watching Matt delaPena, Andrea Cremer and Amber Benson stuff numerous balls down their respective clothing in a metaphorical act of retaining editorial suggestions to a manuscript

AND

acted out Flowers in the Attic and Ender's Game (among others) with Benson, Rowell, Rapp and David Levithan (I completely lost it and began laughing hysterically)

signed copies of The Fault in Our Stars (the John Green love here knows no limits) 

signed one copy of John Klassen's I Want My Hat Back and several Harry Potters

and even signed loads of my own books.

 

I played a Lying Game on a team with Stephanie Perkins, Barry Lyga and Maggie Steifvater. We won by guessing correctly that Grossman was not nicknamed Sharkie at Harvard because of his dog-paddle style of swimming. 

I watched a fun panel on publishing lead by Heather Brewer.

I also heard Lyga explain how to cover up what kind of gun you used to commit murder

cover your eyes if you don't want to know

(pull the bullet out and then stab the bullet hole)

and listened to Steifvater play the bagpipes. YES. 

I met Hank Green. 

I heard juvenilia written by Lyga, Leigh Bardugo, Laini Taylor and Steifvater. I would tell you all about it but it is TOO DIRTY FOR THIS BLOG.

I went to a Disney singalong. 

I saw the cover of the relaunching Prisoner of Azkaban revealed.  

I was interviewed for editor Cheryl Klein's podcast for writers, The Narrative Breakdown (though when it will air, I don't know).

 

Also: I met so many ardent readers, great people, smart writers and actors, passionate organizers, snappy dressers, and so on. Oh! And the people from ShelterBox. That is a great charity supported by many of the fandom real-world do-gooder organizations like Nerdfighters and The Harry Potter Alliance. They have lots of my charity dollars and I recommend you check them out. Thank you to everyone I met for being so very, very excellent and for making my first Leaky experience so great.

Oh my god, there's more, but I can't imagine you want to hear any of it, because that has already been A LOT. So to end, here's a photo of me, Andrea Cremer and Stephanie Perkins, taken while we were shopping for Snape tattoos, Marauder's Map buttons, and the like.  xoxoxE