Bibliophiles of the internet,
my name’s Adriana
Bibliophiles of the internet,
my name’s Adriana
and today I’m here to finally do
the Back From Booknet Fest Tag
created by Njeri from
ONYX Pages.
This tag was inspired by Kathy,
who made the “BookNet Fest Tag,”
and like I said, this was created
by ONYX Pages. And I love both
of them. They’re both *amazing*
content creators, so both of their
videos and their channels will
be linked down below.
So definitely check them out.
The Back From Booknet Fest Tag was
created for Booknet Fest attendees
to continue conversations we
started at the event
and also collectively process
our experiences.
So I’m just gonna
jump in with #1, which is:
Explain your BNF experience
in one word.
For me, that word would
have to be “generous.”
I know I should just leave it at
that, but I really want to speak
more on how I was *astonished* by
how generous everyone was
with their time, with their energy,
with what they were willing to give,
the plans they were willing to make,
and overall just how generous
this community was with its
kindness at Booknet Fest.
2. What was your favourite
session and why?
As a Booknet Fest speaker,
I'm definitely biased.
So I'm gonna give two
answers for this.
My favorite panel that I *wasn't*
on would have to be the
“Small Platform, Big Platform”
panel. I think it was a really
interesting exploration of how
platform size influences the kinds
of content we make and how we
best can support content creators
with platforms of all sizes.
And it also had one of my favorite
moments, which I know Brody
mentioned in their tag video,
and that was when India
from Life is a Page Turner basically
called everyone out saying that people
talk about wanting to follow diverse
creators, and yet no one was willing
to pull out their phones and
follow the creators in the room
at that moment.
And I believe she also said point
blank that if you are Black or brown
or noticeably "other" in any way,
it's that much harder to build
your sub count. And that is
*absolutely* true.
My favorite session as a panelist was
"We Don’t Just Talk About Books,”
because I think we got to blow
people’s minds a little bit
and close out of the event
on a really powerful note.
3. What’s the most interesting
thing you learned?
It's not so much something I learned
as much as it was someone finally
articulating something I've felt for
a long time. And that, of course,
came from Njeri in our "5 out of
5 Stars" panel when she mentioned
that her criteria for reviewing SFF
revolves heavily around whether
the creator has envisioned a
future for marginalized folks.
She mentioned that her testing point
is whether she would be welcome
or able to survive in the world that
they've created. And that's something
I think I've been looking for in the
SFF I read, but it was more of
an unconscious instinct until
she put it into words.
I also learned that the BookTube
community has a lot of growing to do.
I mean, I've *always* known that,
but this event put a really fine point
on it, especially with some of the
questions people posed at panels
and the way some panels
swerved in certain ways.
I think many people are just *barely*
thinking about inclusivity and diversity,
and there’s still a huge gap that,
going forward, we *have* to
continue to address.
Like I said, it just put a really fine
point on why I need to continue
doing this work, because there are
*so* many people who *need*
to continue expanding their
thinking in so many ways.
4. Were there any conversations
that you had at BNF that you think
we should keep talking about as a
community for the rest of the year?
I think we need to not only continue
but *evolve* the way we discuss things
about Book Twitter, and begin having
a more nuanced take on quote-unquote
"cancel culture" which doesn't
even really exist
in the way we often
think of it.
There was an amazing thread I
saw the other day, which I will link
down below, about how cancelling
originated from marginalized communities
as a way to signal to other folks in
the community that this person
or this entity did not support
their existence—
—didn't “ride for them,”
so to speak.
And cancelling served as a red flag
for people to withdraw their support
of that person or thing if
they so chose.
And that's where I think the nuance
is that's been lost. I think we forget
that we all have a right to draw lines for
ourselves wherever feels right for us,
and we can't police what that looks
like or sounds like for other folks.
Like if I see something transphobic
from an author online, I have the right
to draw a line and say I don't feel
comfortable passively consuming this
person's content. And I can only
decide that for myself.
Unfortunately, we can't make anyone
else stop supporting something
or someone, as much as we would
like to. And the inverse is also true,
because we also, unfortunately, can't
tell people what they “have to” support.
And I do think it’s important to have
discussions about why a thing is
or is not for you, if you want to
*have* that discussion.
But like I said, you just can’t
speak for anyone else.
And like Kav said on the panel, the
people most affected by “cancel culture”
as we think of it are often people
of color and marginalized folks,
and the major creators we "cancel"
don't *stay* cancelled, and I think
that's why the conversation
needs to have more nuance
instead of always being
dismissed.
As many of us experienced and
discussed over the weekend,
we also need to keep having 
conversations about how we can be
more inclusive and thoughtful and
accessible, because we have
an *extremely* long ways to go
in all of those aspects.
5. What was your most
memorable moment?
So many. I really loved all the panels
I was on. I think those were amazing
conversations and I'm so glad I was
able to use my voice in that way
and sit alongside creators who
I admire so much.
I also loved that I was able to
collab as much as I did.
Brody and I did a chill queer lit
chat with Kathy, and also a sapphic
"Rip It or Ship It" with Kav, and my
main enby squad did a collab on
Brody's channel which took us
to Barnes & Noble—
—and of course, book nerds in a
book store is always such a blast.
And seeing all the group photos
come together was so great,
and prom was such a fun way
to blow off some steam
and celebrate with my
bookish friends.
We danced, we sang, we vlogged.
It was great.
6. In what way does BookNetFest add
value to the Bookish community?
I think Booknet Fest humanizes
our community in a way that
other events simply can't.
This is a conference for book
creators made *by* book creators,
and to be able to meaningfully
interact with creators you've only
ever seen on a screen
is just priceless.
And I think it's also an event that
allows creators to organically
meet and share space.
A few people have said this,
but when I was at Booknet Fest,
I never felt like I was officially
"networking," or marketing myself,
or, like, showcasing my brand;
I felt like I was having earnest
conversations and
meeting *friends.*
There's a beautiful sense of
connection & synergy that happens
at Booknet Fest that is just
so genuine and fantastic.
And it’s beautiful to just be in
a space where, like, it’s 2 A.M.
and people are literally still gathered
talking about books or what they’re
reading. Or to be, like, in a rental car
with Caitlin going to the airport
at 4 A.M. and having a *genuine*
conversation about N.K. Jemisin
and the reckoning she gave us
in “The Stone Sky.”
You don’t get to have those kinds
of exchanges anywhere else.
7. Show us your swag, book swap
treasure, or something great
that you got from a vendor!
While I did drop off two books for
the book swap, I didn't claim any
in exchange—which is fine
because I didn't expect to.
But I did pick up this "bibliohoe"
pin from Dust & Pages,
which is *great* and
100% my brand.
Cait from chaptercviii was also giving
out these custom BookTube pins
they made for BookCon, I believe.
And that may very well be one of my
absolute favorite things I brought
home from the entire event.
Plus I got all these bookmarks from
creators, which is great because
you can never have enough.
But also I wish I had
gotten *more* bookmarks
because…you can never
have enough.
8. Shout out a few content
creators who inspired you at BNF.
All my fellow panelists! Njeri of
ONYX Pages just showed *up*
that weekend and had so many
thoughtful things to say about why
literature matters and how we can
contextualize it in meaningful ways.
Kav from xreadingsolacex. I'm just
always struck by how they're so wise
beyond their years, and the way
they carried themself, the points
they were able to make on the fly
just completely blew me away.
Kathy of Kathy Trithardt was such a
great moderator and did a great job
of keeping the conversation going
while putting in her two cents
and just being her
delightful self.
Thomas from SFF180 was charming as
ever in person and had a lot of great
anecdotes that really added to the
conversation. And I think he has
such a great perspective on how
reviews function on BookTube,
and I was really glad to hear
his thoughts.
Sam from willread4booze was
fantastic. We're both Tome Topple
vets, which was nice. And I think
she had a lot of valuable things
to say about the difference between
book blogs and BookTube and how
her team puts together the
content they create.
And of course, Mari from
mynameismarines, who was
not only helping to run the show,
but also curated a really meaningful
panel on how we can use fiction to
examine & understand real life issues.
It was really great to hear
her speak.
Outside of that, I was so glad to share
space with the Latinx-a-thon fam:
Jocelyn, Priscilla, and Yvette. The
enby squad—Jesse, Brody, Kav,
and myself—really had each others'
backs all weekend, which was awesome,
and it was great to be able to commune
with people who just  *get* it.
Also special shout out to the Tea
Hags, Rebecca and Sarah,
whose kindness in the villas
was just *astonishing.*
They made sure everyone was fed
and entertained and comfortable,
and they always made me feel
taken care of, which really matters
when you're at a bookish event on
the other side of the continent.
They really made me and everyone
else who came through their doors
feel so at home and so welcome,
and I really appreciate them for that.
9. If you plan to come back next year,
is there anything you’d want to change?
That is quite a question, and
I have quite an answer.
First of all, this is not a call out,
because it's already been discussed with
and addressed by the BNF creators,
but gender inclusivity and general
awareness of how we can be more
thoughtful and empathetic about how
we interact with marginalized creators
*absolutely* needs to change.
I think some folks mentioned that
last year people's pronouns
were on a sticker, and this year pro-
nouns were on the badges themselves,
which is great, but neither method
really seems to have worked.
And it seemed a little bit more
performative than it was *effective.*
But even so, I'm hopeful that in the
future, not only will there be a way to
*display* pronouns but to actually
*honor* them during the event,
because that can really impact
a person's experience.
The number of times me and my 
fellow queer folks had to correct people,
either for ourselves or for our friends,
was…*astronomical,* to say the least.
And it's discouraging even to overhear
stuff like that behind closed doors
or hear people getting
misgendered on their own panels.
Again, not a call out, because it's
been formally brought up through
the correct avenues, but as I said, it
just feels like a symptom of the fact
that most folks have never thought
about anything that doesn't revolve
around cis people and white
people, and it *shows.*
And I'm pretty sure I speak for Sam
& Mari when I say we all just want BNF
to be a safe and accepting
space.
I’d also like to see question-fielding
process during panels change.
I really love how Kathy handled that,
because she invited people to write
down their questions as they
came to them during the panel,
and then just quietly bring
them up to her
so we could answer them
afterwards.
And that worked really well,
because she was able to read the
question directly into the mic, and she
was able to choose which questions
she thought were most interesting
*and* appropriate, and it also takes
the heat off of identifying the
question asker in the moment.
So I really like that
system a lot.
And it doesn’t even have to be
implemented that same way.
It could be, like, a Google form that’s
only open for the length of the panel
where people can submit questions
in real time from their phones.
I think it’s worth looking into any
kind of method that avoids putting
people on the spot—and by “people”
I mean both question-askers
*and* panelists. And I think that
would really improve the event.
And the future, I would like to see
panels with disabled folks and
neurodivergent folks and I also
think it's extremely necessary for
us to have discussions about
accessibility, not only in BookTube
as an online resource, but
also at Booknet Fest.
And again, none of this is to say I
had, like, an awful experience.
I had one of the best weekends of
my *life.* But that doesn’t mean
the event can’t continue to grow
and evolve—and I think that’s
exactly what Sam and
Mari want.
And finally, 10. Please share your prom
portrait, or any other photos/video
of yourself having fun at BNF.
I actually included a bunch of
photos in my Booknet Fest vlog,
which I will link down below
and on the screen, but I will also
include a few faves in the
outro of this video,
so stick around for that
in a moment.
So that is it for the Back From
Booknet Fest Tag. All the creators
I mentioned in this video and 
included in my vlog will be listed
down below, and you should go
subscribe to them immediately.
But my question for today is:
If you went to Booknet Fest,
what were some of
your personal highlights?
Meet me in the comments
and let’s chat!
But that’s everything I
had for this tag today.
Thank you so much for
watching this video.
I really hope that
you enjoyed it,
and I’ll catch YOU on
the flip-side of the page.
Bye!
[♬ “Digitally Speaking” (Instrumental) by Ikson ♬]
