Stripes YA Afternoon Equali-Tea

I had a brilliant time at the Stripes blogger event on Saturday, a YA Afternoon Equali-Tea that raised money for the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall. It was a great opportunity to catch up with lovely people and find out about all the amazing books that Stripes have coming out this year. Special thanks to the wonderful Chelley Toy for letting me use her photographs.

 
Whiteout, the latest Red Eye title, is out now and is one of my favourite yet. A group of teenagers are trapped on a ski resort in a snowstorm while an ancient evil watches from the surrounding forests. When night falls, they have to face the monsters...

Author Gabriel Dylan read a particularly creepy extract and talked about his writing journey. It turns out that a real ski trip inspired the book, although fortunately without the horrifying events that unfold in Whiteout!

We also heard about the upcoming Proud anthology (7th March 2019). This is my current read and I'm already convinced that it's the best book of short stories I've ever read. It's a collection of stories, poetry and illustrations by LGBTQ+ authors and illustrators, each giving their response to the theme of 'Pride'. We got to hear from three of the previously unpublished authors: Cynthia So, Kay Staples and Karen Lawler. I've read all of their stories and they're some of my favourites in the book so far.

Another book I'm exceptionally excited about is Music and Malice in Hurricane Town by Alex Bell. Out on 4th April 2019, it's set in a world inspired by New Orleans and is about a young jazz player who is possessed by the ghost of a murdered woman. She's pulled into a world of intrigue, including secret vampire jazz clubs... 





We also watched a video of author Randy Ribay talking about his exciting new book, Patron Saints of Nothing. It comes out on 27th June 2019 and is a coming-of-age story about a Filipino-American teenager trying to find the truth about his cousin's murder. 

We also heard from Editor-At-Large, Sarah Shaffi, about her first acquisition, My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma. This book sounds like so much fun, and is the story of a Bollywood film fanatic who is trying to 'find her happily ever after'. It comes out on 2nd May 2019.




Thank you so much to Stripes for putting on such a lovely event and providing an amazing selection of proof copies!