Event Recap: San Diego Comic-Con 2016 + Giveaway

San Diego Comic-Con 2016 has officially been over for a month, but it still very close to my heart. I have been looking forward to attending the convention every year for the last three years and I hope that I will be able to keep attending the convention far into the future. I have recaps of both 2014 and 2015 if you want to check those out, but otherwise let us begin the journey that was San Diego Comic-Con 2016.

Comic-Con in a Nutshell

This year I was lucky enough to get badges for all four days and preview night; however, I will not be having a section on preview night because nothing really happens. It is just a period of time to scope out the exhibit hall and score some ARCs. I am happy to announce that I did get ARCs of The Thousandth Floor and Three Dark Crowns which were two of my most highly anticipated ARCs to get during the convention.

On Thursday, I was able to meet both Romina Russell and Alwyn Hamilton during two of Penguin's in-booth signings. They were both amazing women and I am so disappointed in myself for not getting a picture with Alwyn. I got a signed paperback of Zodiac and an exclusive signed ARC of A Traitor to the Throne, which I will be giving away closer to its release date so be sure to watch my Twitter for that. 

Next, I was able to meet Sarah J. Maas for the fifth time during her signing as a special guest of SDCC. As usual, she was such a sweetheart and she actually recognized me when she saw me in the signing line which was a highlight of my day. I got my highly tabbed copy of A Court of Mist and Fury signed. 

Sarah J. Maas and Me

The true highlight of my day; however, was finally meeting Marissa Meyer during a panel signing later on in the day. I actually got to meet her several times over the course of the convention and she is one of the most genuinely nice authors I have ever met. At the same signing I also met Renee Ahdieh, Colleen Houck, Anna Todd, Jodi Meadows, Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Colleen Oakes, and Sam Maggs. They were also amazing and sweet. Throughout the course of the convention, I also saw Renee at numerous other signings.

I almost forgot to mention that prior to that group signing I got to met the lovely duo that is Christina Lauren. They were both absolute sweethearts and I hope to see them again in the future. I feel as though I am over-using the term 'sweet' in this post, but both Christina, Lauren, and all the other authors were so amazing. It is hard to use another word besides sweet.

I kicked day two off by seeing the gorgeous Sabaa Tahir who was signing exclusive SDCC copies of An Ember in the Ashes. She was also giving away ARCs of A Torch Against the Night. Both of which occurred during her in-booth signing at Penguin. While I dislike the idea of in-booth signings because many of them turn into mobs, Penguin has created the perfect system. They ticket their signings in the morning and guarantee the holder whatever book it is. Towards the beginning on the convention, we still mobbed even with our tickets, but as long as you returned during the signing time you could get a signing copy of whatever book it was. Other publishing houses should really look into ticketing, it makes the whole process less stressful for everyone. 

Afterwards, I went to see Kami Garcia during a panel signing and I received a signed ARC of her upcoming novel, The Lovely Reckless, which was one of my most highly anticipated ARCs to get. At the same signing, I also got to see Andrea Cremer, Kate Elliot, Amy Tintera, Brenna Yovanoff, and Mary E. Pearson. Although I had only read books by Kami, this was one of my favorite signings that I attended over the course of the convention. All the women were so kind and easy to talk to. I was also pictured on Fierce Read's twitter talking to Mary E. Pearson which was another highlight of this year. Thanks again to Jordan from The Heart of a Book Blogger who pointed that tweet out to me!

Following that panel signing, I went to see both Renee Ahdieh and Kiersten White in separate in-booth signings. I had met both authors last year at SDCC and I saw Renee the day before. I got a signed paperback of The Wrath and the Dawn from Renee's signing and if you have yet to meet her, she is so gorgeous, inside and out. I brought my ARC and hardcover copy of And I Darken for Kiersten to sign and she is such a sweetheart. I cannot tell you how adorable Kiersten is. It is rather shocking such an adorable person can write such a violent book.

Kiersten White and Me

Later in the day, I saw Alexandra Bracken, Kami Garcia, Marissa Meyer, and Mary E. Pearson on the panel: It's the End of the... YA Series. I loved seeing a few of my favorite authors in conversation with one another. They interacted so well together and it also helped move Mary E. Pearson's The Remnant Chronicles higher on my TBR. 

Next, I got an ARC of Anna Bank's Nemesis which I am really excited to read and review. For the next couple hours I sat in a panel room awaiting the start of Penguin's panel on their upcoming releases. There I was able to snag an ARC of Traci Chee's The Reader. During the time I sat in the panel room, I watched a panel on world building and FUNimation's yearly panel on their highlight anime's and moments. They were both very interesting and I enjoyed both of them.  

Saturday is always the make or break day of SDCC. This is typically the day when the most highly anticipated ARC is released. Last year, it was Susan Dennard's Truthwitch and this year it was Marissa Meyer's Heartless. Thankfully, there were 50 more ARCs of Heartless than there had been of Truthwitch so there was more room for error. Nonetheless, I managed to get an ARC of Heartless and it was a glorious moment. Although I just spoiled the most epic part of Saturday, there were still some other exciting things that occurred.

Me and Marissa Meyer

While the Heartless signing was much later in the day, the morning began with Marissa Meyer signing posters and giving out excerpts of Wires & Nerves, the upcoming Lunar Chronicles graphic novel. I later came back to the same booth for Mary E. Pearson's signing of annotated excerpts and posters of The Beauty of Darkness. 

I then went to see Ransom Riggs, James Dashner, Melissa de la Cruz, Scott Westerfeld, Ben H. Winters, Peter David, and Anthony Breznican on their panel: I Read It Before (And After) It Was a Movie. It was really exciting to see all of them interacting with each other and talking about the movie process. I went to their signing later on to get a birthday present signing for a friend and it was great to finally meet Ransom Riggs. I also got to see Tahereh Mafi, who I have seen every year at SDCC, and I got a signed ARC of her upcoming Middle Grade novel, Furthermore. It was rather interesting seeing both her and her husband back-to-back.

Soon after I went to see the panel: The Female Geek: Women as Fans and Creators featuring Leigh Bardugo, Sabaa Tahir, Kiersten White, Sarah Kuhn, Kathleen Smith, Margaret Stohl, and Madeline Ashby. It was essentially a feminist panel and it was really interesting to hear each author's story and opinion on the subject. While it was not meant to be taken as funny, the women on the panel are really charismatic and their interactions turned out rather funny, at times. Margaret Stohl is always the life of each panel she is on. I went to their signing immediately after the panel and it was great to speak with each author. While I had met a majority of the authors during the course of the convention, I was excited to see Leigh and get my hands on one of the beautiful Crooked Kingdom's poster. 

I then went downstairs to the exhibit hall to get a signed chapter sampler of Kami Garcia and Jonathan Maberry's X-Files Origins. I must say, the chapter samplers were very well thought out, they look like legitimate classified documents. Then I ran over to see V.E. Schwab, a.k.a Victoria Schwab, signing copies of Vicious and fortunately I was the second to last person to get a copy. Victoria is such a sweetheart and it was great to finally meet her.

I then ran upstairs to see Laini Taylor on a panel signing. For whatever reason she ended up not being on the panel even though she was originally supposed to be. Nonetheless, I was given an ARC of Jessica Cluess' A Shadow Bright and Burning, who was on the panel so I stayed and got it signed. The signing of Heartless followed and after that I left because my feet were in so much pain.

Oh, Sunday, why must you come so soon? I began the morning by attending Marissa Meyer's spotlight panel as a special guest of SDCC. While I loved hearing her talk, it was my least favorite panel because the moderator, Petra Mayer of NPR, made the panel more about herself and less about Marissa.

After that I ran to the Sails Pavilion for the panel signing of: What's Hot in Young Adult Fiction? with Nathan Bransford, Renee Ahdieh, Victoria Aveyard, Michelle Hodkin (who is pictured with me to the left), Lauren Oliver, Brendan Reichs, Victoria Schwab, Laini Taylor, and Adam Silvera. This was my most highly anticipated signing because two of my favorite authors, who I had never met before, Michelle Hodkin and Laini Taylor, were both signing. The signing was even more amazing than I had hoped for. I got an excerpt of The Shaw Confessions, the upcoming Mara Dyer spin-off series, wrote into the back of my copy of The Retribution of Mara Dyer. Everyone was amazing and the panel, which was later on in the day, was great as well. This year's San Diego Comic-Con was absolutely amazing. I got to see some old friends and make some new ones. I also got to meet new authors and see some old faces. I regret nothing about this SDCC and if I do manage to get badges for next year's Comic-Con, I can only imagine what the future holds.   

Now that my recap is done, here is what you have all been waiting for: the giveaway....

This year I wanted to try to spread the SDCC love as much as I could so I designed three different prize packs. Each prize pack contains two books/ARCs and an Epic Read's *Book Shimmy* tote bag. You can enter each giveaway as many times as you want, but you can only win one prize per person.

All the rules are the same for each prize pack so make sure to comply with all the guidelines. 

Rules:

• You must be 18 years or older, unless you have a parent's permission
• This giveaway is only open to those with a U.S. mailing address (Sorry INT followers)
• Once contacted, the winner will have 72 hours to respond with their address, or a new winner will be chosen
• STARTS August 23rd, 2016 at 12:00 a.m. EST 
• ENDS September 24th, 2016 at 12:00 a.m. EST

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any lost or damaged packages


Good Luck!

PRIZE PACK #1: A Signed SDCC Exclusive Copy of An Ember in the Ashes &

A Signed ARC of A Torch Against the Night

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PRIZE PACK #2: A Signed ARC of Furthermore &

A Signed ARC of A Shadow Bright and Burning

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PRIZE PACK #3: An ARC of Nemesis &

An ARC of Frost Like Night

a Rafflecopter giveaway