Last week was the third Annual New York Teen Author Festival and I was lucky to be a part of some of the awesome festivities.



On Thursday, I headed to DA BRONX to the Bronx Library Center as part of the Five Borough Read. I was on a panel with The Woman of Many Voices Maryrose Wood (note to debut authors - always try to read BEFORE Maryrose, because she is a seriously tough act to follow!!) and two fantastic debut authors, Margie Gelbwasser and Arlaina Tibensky.

It was the first time in my writing career (I hope not the last) that I've ever felt like a rock star. When we walked into the auditorium, there were already some sixth graders from Jonas Bronck Academy there, and some of the girls asked "Which one is Sarah?"

It's probably because my first writing gig was as a controversial political columnist, but my inner reaction is "Who wants to know?" I get that same reaction when I meet adults and they ask "Oh, are you the one who writes in the paper?" because I'm never sure if they're going to say they love my column or start ranting about how they think I'm a terrorist lover who is destroying America in 650 words a fortnight.

But I 'fessed up to being me, and I was so glad I did, because they'd apparently read PURGE aloud in class for a unit on body image and eating disorders and it had been a big hit. I'd brought a bunch of my Purge bookmarks, so I told the girls I'd sign them and soon I had a long line of fans waiting for their bookmarks BEFORE the reading. This has NEVER happened to me before and it was a pretty amazing experience.



The panel was terrific. I can't wait to read Arlaina's book, AND THEN THINGS FELL APART. The excerpt she read was hilarious, with fantastic voice. I blurbed Margie's book, INCONVENIENT, so you know I loved it - and so did the Sydney Taylor Committee, who made it a Notable Book this year. And Maryrose's book, THE HIDDEN GALLERY, the second in her Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series, is too funny. I tried so many times as a kid to get the Palace guards with the Busbys to speak or smile and never succeeded, so I am jealous. Supremely jealous, I tell you!



I read an excerpt from my upcoming novel WANT TO GO PRIVATE? After the panel, one girl came up, so sweet and obviously really worried, and asked me: "What happens to the girl after she gets into the car?" I felt incredibly mean telling her, "I can't tell you - you have to read the book."

Was that wrong? I couldn't exactly say, "Don't worry, she'll be okay," because clearly Abby (the MC) isn't going to come out of the experience unscathed. Oh man. This author thing is really hard sometimes.

The best part was later that day, I got an email from one of the girls who'd been at the panel, saying she'd been to my website. She told me she was the one who'd asked me the question about how I'd got through my bulimia, and that I was her role model.

My kids would probably laugh to think that I'm anyone's role model - in fact I find it pretty intimidating - but it gave me a warm, snuggly feeling inside getting t