The expo had aspiring authors seeking guidance for their own career and other published writers getting marketing tips on how to jump start their book’s publicity.

As a young writer myself, I was motivated by the excitement of other writers, publishers and marketers. There were a number of books touching on themes that are important to teens, including domestic abuse, action-adventure stories, inspirational poetry and self-esteem.

During my time at the convention, I learned some valuable lessons.

First, in order to get published, you must have ambition.  With ambition comes patience, confidence, determination, motivation, perseverance and, finally, success.

I also learned that one simple idea can be used over and over whether for novels, plays or movies — and can even inspire somebody else to write their own story. That’s how it happened for me.

Finally, it became clear that we need more teen novels — that is, novels not just for teens but also written by teens. Yes, there are great novels for our generation (Gossip Girl, It Girl, Twilight, The A-List), but they’re written by adult authors. Why not write books for the teen audience from a teen’s perspective?

What do you think?

The next upcoming event is the Suwanee Festival of Books from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 28 and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 29. It’s free!To learn more about the festival, visit www.suwaneefestivalofbooks.com.

Here are a few more photos from the expo:

— Havilah Driver | VOX Staff

Courtesy Amazon.com

Earlier this year, John Green and David Levitan’s young adult novel Will Grayson, Will Grayson landed on the New York Times children’s bestseller list. The success of the novel — whose protagonists share the same name but different sexual orientations — reflects a large audience demand for this genre of fiction.

It’s not that this genre hasn’t been in demand for a long time. Publishers’ reluctance to brand a genre “Gay Young Adult Fiction” is because those first three words make many parents uncomfortable.

“Landing as high on the New York Times list as we did with Will Grayson, Will Grayson made a big statement to the children’s publishing world that gay characters are not a commercial liability,” author John Green told the Associated Press.

Hopefully the popularity of Will Grayson, Will Grayson will fuel more quality literature in this genre and help gay youth feel connected to others in their situation.

— Kelcie Willis | VOX Staff

In 1998, we were introduced to J.K. Rowling’s first installment of her seven-part Harry Potter series. Since the debut of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” fans have memorized spells and fallen in love with the characters, good and bad. Last summer, the final book of the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” was released. Even though the last three movies are still to come, many Potterheads are left with an empty feeling, like the Harry Potter craze is coming to a close. Rowling has produced a great work for our generation to grow up with.

For some, this is where Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” series steps in. Her novels target our age group, like Rowling’s novels did. “Twilight” gives us an escape from the reality and stresses of high school and new heroes to believe in. All four novels in the series have been New York Times bestsellers.

The first film in the series, “Twilight,” made almost $70 million its opening weekend, according to IMDB.com, the Internet Movie Database. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” the first movie of that series, earned over $90 million its first weekend in 2001.

Web sites like Fanpoop.com feature blogs and fan videos comparing “Harry Potter” to “Twilight.” Since “Twilight” the film came out in November, there have been countless discussions — some very harsh — about topics ranging from which series is better organized to which author is more eloquent to which leading guy is the hottest. Many fans feel as if the war between the Potterheads and Twilighters is uncalled for.

What do YOU think?

— By Angela Clark | VOX Staff