The Orlando Book Festival is a daylong celebration of books at the Orlando Public Library. Our opening keynote speaker will be New York Times bestselling author Adam Silvera. He is the author of More Happy Than Not and History is All You Left Me. Staff member and author Sarah Fisk interviewed him ahead of the Orlando Book Festival.
Sarah Fisk: What are you most looking forward to on your upcoming visit to Orlando and the Orlando Book Festival?
Adam Silvera: I love Orlando so much! I try and visit every few months. Looking forward to seeing some friendly faces and meeting new readers! (And sneaking some time at the Harry Potter park, of course!)
SF: What is your favorite part of writing books/being an author?
AS: I love telling stories and I love connecting with readers who take a shot on my stories. It's been such an amazing experience; I don't take any of it for granted.
SF: What inspired you to begin writing?
AS: I've been writing since I was 11. Started off as Harry Potter fan-fiction and then my own stories about a decade later. I hope to keep at this for the rest of my life.
SF: What book first made you realize that words have power?
AS: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli has meant so much to me as a dude who didn't get to read happy love stories with gay teens when I was a teen myself. It's a book that I read at 23 years old and wished I had when I was 16. I can only imagine how much happier I would've been with myself with a book like that.
SF: Do you have any writing quirks/superstitions/obsessions?
AS: Not really, but I do have a notebook for every novel I work on to take notes. That's my one must-have.
SF: What is your one essential piece of advice for aspiring writers?
AS: Writing is trial and error. You're never going to hit it out of the park at the first go. Expect it to be messy and trust yourself to fix it later.
SF: What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever researched for a book?
AS: Memory erasing procedures from Sweden!
SF: You’ve recently started listening to audiobooks. If you could have any actor narrate any book, who would you choose and which book would you want them to read?
AS: Wow, great question! I'm going to go with Andrew Garfield narrating his future memoir, entitled: The Day I Fell in Love with Adam Silvera.
Orlando Book Festival
Orlando Public Library, Library Central
Saturday, July 8, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
You’re invited to the third annual Orlando Book Festival! New York Times bestseller Adam Silvera, author of More Happy Than Not and History is All You Left Me, will kick off the day with an opening keynote. Join us for panels, writing workshops, book signings and more from bestselling authors from all over the country. Enjoy a closing keynote address from New York Times bestseller and five-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author, Jonathan Maberry, author of Rot and Ruin, Marvel comics, X-Files novels, Dark Horse comics and more.
