My Trip to Seattle: The 2017 Philip K. Dick Award Ceremony at Norwescon

(pic left to right) Winner of the 2017 Philip K. Dick award Claudia Casper, Finalist Matt Hill, Finalist Kristy Acevedo, Special Citation Susan diRende. Not in attendance were Finalist Eleanor Arnason and Finalist by Yoss, translated by David Frye.

What a whirlwind the last few days have been! I was honored to attend the 2017 Philip K. Dick award ceremony at Norwescon in SeaTac, Washington as one of six finalists on the ballot. Consider was the only young adult novel and the only book in a series nominated this year.

The award celebrates the distinguished, original science fiction paperback since much of Philip K. Dick's work appeared in mass market.  Even if you haven't read a lot of science fiction, you'll probably recognize some of his works that have been turned into films, including Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (1990), Minority Report (2002), Paycheck (2003), A Scanner Darkly (2006), Next (2007), and The Adjustment Bureau (2011), and The Man in the High Castle (2015 Amazon Prime).

I had a wonderful time bonding with the nominees. Here's the only pic I have of us together, and it's a goofy pic of us fake arguing--well, except for Claudia. She had a lot to celebrate as this year's winner!

2017 Philip K. Dick awards at Norwescon in Seattle. Didn't win but had a blast! ⭐

A post shared by Kristy Acevedo (@kristyacevedo) on Apr 14, 2017 at 9:29pm PDT

You can watch the video of the ceremony on YouTube, including readings from the works. I read an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Consider.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAtLrF36_lMAfter the awards, I explored Norwescon, spoke on panels, and attended their book signing before sightseeing in Seattle. I still managed to squeeze in writing time during the mornings. The East Coast/West Coast time difference worked in my favor. I couldn't sleep past 5 am.

Early morning in Seattle. 💙#amwriting #nwc40 #AprWritingChallengeA post shared by Kristy Acevedo (@kristyacevedo) on Apr 15, 2017 at 8:10am PDT

And while everyone else slept in, I took selfies with the Daleks at breakfast.

Breakfast at @Norwescon and had to take selfies with the Daleks. #DrWho #nwc40

A post shared by Kristy Acevedo (@kristyacevedo) on Apr 15, 2017 at 6:49am PDT

Seattle has always been on my must-visit-someday list, so the location of the convention was an added blessing. I  explored as much of Seattle as I had time for, including the Space Needle, the Museum of Pop Culture, and Pike Place Market.

When in Seattle...A post shared by Kristy Acevedo (@kristyacevedo) on Apr 17, 2017 at 7:01am PDT

The Museum of Pop Culture was my absolute favorite since they had a special Star Trek exhibit. I could've spent the day in there. (click pic to see 10 photos)

More pics from today's #StarTrek exhibit in Seattle. So amazing!

A post shared by Kristy Acevedo (@kristyacevedo) on Apr 16, 2017 at 7:18pm PDT

There were so many other fandoms and artifacts that I can't possibly show all the pics. However, for the Buffy fans out there... (click pic to see 3 photos)

OMG. #BuffyA post shared by Kristy Acevedo (@kristyacevedo) on Apr 16, 2017 at 7:25pm PDT

At the Pike Place Market, I bought myself a Philip K. Dick book at LampLight books, as a souvenir.  It was a great way to commemorate my first visit to the West Coast.

Bought myself a PKD souvenir from a used bookstore in Pike Place Market. Good reading for the plane. #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #sciencefiction

A post shared by Kristy Acevedo (@kristyacevedo) on Apr 17, 2017 at 8:25pm PDT

Book an Author Visit with Me

I've been getting lots of inquiries about author visits. So exciting!

As a high school English teacher for almost two decades, I love talking to people about books and writing. I'm in the process of printing my full author visit brochure, so in the meantime, here is a chart of my author visit offerings and fees to answer any questions. Click here for info and pricing chart. Thanks! (Note to Southeastern MA & RI schools, libraries, and book clubs, please email me for special local pricing discounts.)

A CONSIDER Book Launch Party Huge Thank You!

This is a tremendous and much appreciated THANK YOU!

My debut book launch party for Consider on April 23, 2016 at Barnes & Noble in Dartmouth, Massachusetts was a phenomenal success thanks to the huge local outpouring of support. We sold out of 130 books. Yes, you heard that right. Then people placed more orders. Rumor has it the store has ordered 45 more copies.  The line snaked around the store for 90 minutes. I have no idea how many books I actually signed because some people pre-ordered and brought those copies with them. Family, friends, colleagues, students, locals, strangers. People I haven't seen since elementary school. Old high school friends. Readers. Non-readers.I am completely overwhelmed and still in shock.

The whole experience is surreal. When I look at photos, it all seems like a fabulous, unbelievable dream. Well, it was! Not to mention all the local media attention--Fun 107 & WBSM radio, and newspapers, including this amazing Standard Times review by Lauren Daly.  I am feeling the local love. Many wonderful people--family, friends, colleagues, librarians, book sellers, and students who I taught over the past fifteen years, pitched in and donated items, time, and talent to help pull off the event.Thank you to all who came out to show your support. Thank you to all those who couldn't come and messaged me with more support. You have no idea what it means to have the community behind me and my debut book as I start on an unpredictable publishing journey and a new phase in my creative life.I am so grateful to have good people in my life.

 I'd like to share with you my most touching moment of the day. In order to fully appreciate the scope of this moment, first read my blog post about my "big sister" from the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization when I was a child. Okay. *deep breath* So a family approached the table and handed me a book to sign. As I signed my name, the father put his hands on his son's shoulders said, "This is Sid's grandson." Then he broke down crying. My brain didn't comprehend at first. Then I looked at the father's face. It was my Big Sister's adult son, maybe around 15 years older than I am. The last time I remember seeing him was when I was twelve. He added, "He never got to meet his grandmother. She died before he was born."

I experienced a complete, full circle moment. Here was the grandson of my childhood mentor, a phenomenal woman who fostered my love of books and brought me to the library for years.  And here I was, handing her grandson a signed copy of my first young adult book.  I felt the loss of her and the love of her and the love of her family all in one moment. Oh, the tears.

There's more. Her son explained that they didn't know about the book signing until that day. A newspaper that they don't subscribe to mysteriously appeared in their mailbox and fell open to my book launch article. You don't need explanations for serendipitous moments like that. As I slid my book over to her grandson, I knew that someday when he reads it, she'll be reading along with him.

It was a truly remarkable life moment to top off a wonderful dream. I feel blessed and truly honored. Thank you for sharing this day with me.