The Long Con(vention)

I'm excited to once again be appearing at the Young Adult Literature Convention in London on November 1st 2026.

And you know what? I'm pretty excited for it. Sure, there's the costumes, the books, and the incredible vibes - but what I remember most from last year are the conversations I got to have. I spoke with so many people about how much queer representation in books matters. All around us were flags, stickers, rainbow hair styles, and readers who weren’t remotely shy about the kind of stories they wanted.

As a queer author, I loved seeing that. It’s getting harder and harder to interest publishers in telling queer stories, yet the crowd at YALC were loud, proud, and lapping up all the LGBTQ+ narratives that they could get their hands on.

So you can see why I'm looking forward to going back again. I’ll be there on Sunday 1 November chairing the Beautiful Worlds panel, doing an official signing, and spending time at the Reconnecting Rainbows Press booth.

I love when a book really paints a picture of the universe that it's set in, and it's such a pleasure to get to talk about that with some of the best worldbuilders in YA right now. That's what the Beautiful Worlds panel is all about - and I'll be joined by L.A. Weatherly, Lora Beth Johnson, and Tig Wallace.

Their books take us to wonderfully different places. Weatherly’s forthcoming Seven Deadly Spells has powerful magical families, old rivalries, and a spell that binds two enemies in a way neither of them intended. Johnson’s Hell to Pay sends a crew of thieves into the Afterlife to steal a soul. Wallace’s Storm Bringer puts its characters in the path of supernatural storms, in a world divided over magic and science.

There’s so much there to talk about. Each world has its own dangers and possibilities, but each is also full of people trying to work out whom to trust and what to do next. I’m looking forward to hearing how these authors built them, and to seeing where the conversation takes us.

Also - spoiler alert. I might just have another world with me on Sunday, too. My publisher recently revealed the cover art for The Girl From Nowhere, the next book in my Reality Quake series, and I should have some preview copies on me at YALC. The book comes out in February, but you’ll be able to come and see it up close before then. It's stunning.

If you’re coming to YALC, I hope you’ll stop by. I’d love to pick up some of those conversations again, and meet the people I didn’t get to talk to last time.

See you there!