SDCC 2019 Book Panel Wrap Up
SDCC was a comics, tv, and pop culture explosion, but to no ones surprise, we totally attended a lot of the YA book panels! So I am going to share some of the highlights of the few book panels I went to, as well as sharing with you all some arcs! Be sure to read to the end, because you do not want to miss this giveaway!
Spotlight on Leigh Bardugo & Erin Morgenstern
The first panel I attended was a spotlight conversation with Leigh Bardugo and Erin Morgenstern, moderated by NPR Books Editor Petra Mayer. Yeah no big deal! And a great way to start Thursday. Well actually we woke up at before it was dawn so we could wait in the special ticket line to get signing tickets to the after panel signing for Leigh & Erin. With the extremely limited amount of tickets, I really thought maybe they would be giving away ARCs…and yes! We did get The Starless Sea! Plus the Kevin Wada Ladies of the Grishaverse poster and other swag!
Ok back to the panel…it started off with a surprise, Leigh winning the Inkpot Award! The Inkpots are awarded to sci-fi and fantasy creators each year at SDCC. She teared up and it was so sweet and clearly well deserved!
Leigh is of course here to promote the Ninth House her upcoming ADULT dark fantasy. It is set at Yale and deals with the dark, secret societies, and overcoming some serious trauma.
Ok here are the most important things we learned on the panel. Leigh can’t share much about the Shadow and Bone Netflix TV adaption, but here is what was divulged. It is going to be split about 50/50 between Shadow and Bone trilogy and Six of Crows duology. We also learned that David Peterson, who created the Dothraki language for Game of Thrones, will be working on the unique languages for the show. Leigh describes it as “high-budget fanfiction!” and she feels that the changes are all exciting and dramatic. She also let us know that a few main characters have been casted, and now these actors have already erased her head canon of what the characters looked like in her mind. She now can only see the actors. It starts filming in 2 months in Budapest!
Erin Morgenstern is promoting her newest novel The Starless Sea and here is what we learned on the panel. Erin doesn’t outline or plot, and it’s why she takes a lot time to write a book. She’s a pantser – she just writes the story, and revises and revises and revises. For example, Celia wasn’t even in the first draft of The Night Circus (WHAT?!)! The Starless Sea is it’s own book, it is completely different than The Night Circus and just she had to do something set apart. However, Erin did say that it is set in the same universe.
The Starless Sea is told through stories about stories and books and interlocking those elements together. Kind of like an adult ‘choose your own adventure.’ She stated that she got the idea from playing the video game Dragon Age: Inquisition. She liked the fact that a characters choices could send the story in a completely different direction. Erin also created her own deck of tarot cards that she uses to help her come up with ideas and tarot shows up in both her books.
Erin did say that The Night Circus was optioned for film before the book was even published, and it is still in development hell. She didn’t even know there was a director associated until she saw it on twitter. But be happy, there is new movement on the project.
Erin and Leigh had great charisma together and Petra was more than just a moderator, she was a true fan.
The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo releases on October 8th, and The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern releases on November 5th.
Into the Fanzone! Celebrating Pop Culture in Literature
The bookish panel we attended on Friday was Into the Fanzone! Celebrating Pop Culture in Literature with panelists Ashley Poston, Britta Lundin, CB Lee, Danika Stone, Lily Anderson, Preeti Chhibber, and Whitney Gardner. Moderated by Holly West, senior editor of Swoon Reads/Macmillan. With so many of our fav authors in one place, the panel was a treat!
The best part may have been Kelly’s audience question!
BEST NEWS!!! I got to ask at the Into the Fanzone panel at #sdcc2019!!! Woohoo!! https://t.co/jqdZtJ5S8N
— BookCrushin (@Bookcrushin) July 20, 2019
3 Future Reads for Your TBR
SDCC is full of news for upcoming media, including books! We had a chance to visit authors and publishers – here are a few we can’t wait for!
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gaby Rivera
The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett
In the Hall with the Knife by Diana Peterfreund
Authors We Met
She looks so nice but I promise her books will ruin you. And I will always be here to read Maura Milan stories so bring on the heartache! 
Any day we get to see Danika Stone is a good day but especially when she’s in a HAND SEWN Robin cosplay! 
She’s smiling because she knows this book will break us. 
Adam Christopher came to sign Darkness on the Edge of Town alongside Brenna Yovanoff! 
What is S.T. Bende up to at SDCC…We can’t wait to see future news! 
What is more beautiful – The Beautiful or Renee Ahdieh? 
This is Ashley’s every day face. 
*no caption needed* 
8 years since The Night Circus. Never give up on your signed book dreams. 
Queen. 
Trust me, this is our level of excitement over ALL THE STARS AND TEETH, too!
Giveaway
Leave a meaningful comment below about our recap or the event and you could win an ARC of The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern!
Open in the US/PR only and closes in one week – winner has 48hrs to respond to email notification. Not affiliated with SDCC, the publishers, authors, etc. We are not responsible for lost or damaged in the mail.
It seems like y’all had so much fun at the different panels and events you went to! I love reading your recaps and living vicariously through you. I can’t wait to read Leigh’s new book and I’m super excited for the Netflix show. Thanks for sharing!
It looks like you had an amazing time at SDCC! I loved reading about your experiences, and of all the new things coming our way! There are so many exciting things coming soon, book-wise and Netflix-wise! I really can’t wait.
I really hope to go to such an event someday! I really like Leigh, such an interesting and positive woman (as I’m sure Erin is as well). I’m excited for the Grisha Netflix series (would like to relive it on screen, since my reading memory is pretty bad and I’m too slow to take on a re-read). I’m looking forward to Ninth House, too. “Dark academia” is new genre terminology to me, but I’ve already enjoyed books that fit that bill. I’m a huge fan of college and boarding school type settings, especially the grittier ones.
I didn’t even know The Night Circus had ever been optioned. That one is one I really should re-read because I think I would like it more a second time around now that my tastes have changed. Surely I can re-read a single book! Thanks!
Thank you for emphasizing the adult theme of Ninth House. I’ve been seeing this all over Twitter because people think it’s YA. I didn’t know that Starless Sea was in the same universe as Night Circus! I’m even more excited for it! Thanks for the chance!
YES! It is very much an adult book, but I think it will appeal to crossover readers, think like Nevernight, it is also an adult title, published by an adult imprint. It is hard to find the barriers because so many YA readers are adults, like myself. I didn’t know about Starless Sea either, but ERIN said it, and she told the moderator she will give her some more details and point out the easter eggs hidden in Starless since the mod already read the book! So there are hints in there that they are in the same world.
I was able to watch the panel on YouTube and I loved it! I wish I was there in person. I am very excited to read The Starless Sea and am really looking forward to watching Grishaverse netflix show.
Thanks for sharing, ladies! I love your wrap up, especially getting to hear about Leigh and Erin’s books. I’m so excited for the new SOC/Grishaverse Netflix adaptation 🙂
And thank you so much for the giveaway – I’m dying for The Starless Sea!
You guys make SDCC look even more fun than I think it is! I can’t wait to attend someday. Thanks for sharing your experience with us! And all that Grishaverse stuff you got to hear about!!!
I will definitely tell you all about my aching back and feet, and that I pushed myself through a migraine on thursday and puked a few times…but yeah it was still fun!
I’ve never been to a book con or a comic con, hope I’ll get a chance to go to such an event sometime in the future. I would love to listen to authors talk about their books and their writing process
That sounds like it was an awesome panel, they are both amazing authors! Thats so sweet you got to see Leigh get the Inkpot Award! Thanks for sharing the info you learned about the Grisha show..I’m so excited they will be filming soon! I didn’t know they were even in the process of making a movie for the Night Circus at all, that would amazing to see! I can’t wait to read both Ninth House and The Starless Sea.. Thanks again for sharing all the great stuff you learned during their panel at SDCC!
-Kim
I just got my first Leigh Bardugo book–I know I’m like the last one on earth to read her books. I don’t think her adult book will be one I will be able to handle based on the trigger warnings I’ve read on other blogs, but her YA books have sat on my TBR too long now. Thank you for sharing your event with us. I would have enjoyed being there to her them myself so I appreciate you taking time to post about it.
OMG I would’ve loved to be at that panel. I may be living under a rock, did not know about the Netflix movie. Also, I read The Night Circus and would totally watch that movie!
Oooh yes! The Grishaverse is coming as a Netflix Original series and Leigh mentioned something on twitter the other day about multiple seasons so that’s exciting too!!
It sounds and looks like you both had so much fun! I’m soooo excited for the Shadow and Bone adaptation and I liked how Leigh described it as “high-budget fanfiction” and that she can’t envision her headcanons for the characters anymore and only sees the actors now because that makes me feel better about watching it. Also loved learning how Erin writes her books (and how different The Night Circus would be if Celia wasn’t in it). Can’t wait to read The Starless Sea!
I was completely shocked when Erin mentioned that Celia fact!
Oh man I would love to go to book con or comic con one day but until then I will live vicariously through you :):):) thank you so much for this opportunity 🙂