Since I began blogging in February 2008, I’ve had the privilege to meet many fellow book bloggers, both at events and in individual meetups. While sometimes, a blogger meetup ends up a bit awkward or stilted, for the most part things go really well, and online friendships are solidified into something even better. I’ve found this to be my experience whether I’m meeting book bloggers or online friends through other social medias.
This page isn’t designed to show off or brag, but to document the awesomeness that is our book blogging community!
IRL to Blog
Karen from Books and Chocolate and Stephanie from Living in a Book World were both IRL friends of mine before they entered the book-blogging world, but they still deserve a mention because they’re both awesome.
Individual Meetups
Sometimes, they end up in my area. Sometimes, I end up in theirs. Sometimes, we’ve met more than once. Sometimes, we first met at BEA in 2010 and later met up a second time (so they’ll be included here, instead of the BEA section). In time order:
- Andrea from The Little Bookworm (2009) – When Jason and I went to New Orleans for vacation with the boys, we stopped in Lafayette to have lunch with Andrea along the way.
- Chris from Stuff as Dreams are Made On (2009) – Chris hung out with us in NOLA and showed us the best of the best while we were there. Plus, he participated in a Death and Baby Death episode!
- Melissa from Book Nut (2009 and 2011) – In 2009, Melissa’s family was in San Antonio, and we all had Mexican food together. In 2011, she and I both went to Austin for a book conference, and hung out there.
- Aarti from BookLust (2010) – Aarti was in Austin, and we set up a meet at Bookpeople, hanging out for a few hours there.
- Trish from Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity (2010 and 2015) – Back in 2010, a group of Texas bloggers got together at the Austin Book Festival. That’s when I met Trish for the first time. Then, of course, I got together with her again in late 2015!
- Jenn from Picky Girl (2010) – Also met Jenn at the same Texas blogger meetup in Austin.
- Lenore from Presenting Lenore (2011 + BEA) – First met Lenore at BEA, and then a second time when she and her husband came to Bookpeople in Austin to present and sign their picture book.
- Heather from Age 30+ Books (2011 + BEA) – Heather and I met at BEA, then when Jason and I were in Baltimore in spring 2011, her family spent a day with me (while J was in a conference).
- Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings (2012) – When my family drove across the country to visit my in-laws, we stopped in the Kansas City area overnight and had dinner with Carl and his wife.
- Helen from Helen’s Book Blog (2012) – Helen and her daughter were in San Antonio for a conference, and my family met her downtown to hang out for an afternoon.
- Juli from Whimpulsive (2014) – When Jason had a conference in Portland, I tagged along and met with many friends, including Juli, who had lunch with me and directed me toward Powell’s.
- Ceri from Not in the Pink (2015) – It’s not often I get to meet international bloggers, so when I heard Ceri would be coming to Boston, I was out-of-my-head excited. Ceri is one of the bloggers I’ve known longest, since before The Zen Leaf (original) existed, and our day together was amazing!
- Jen from Devourer of Books (2015 + BEA) – Jen and her family were on vacation in Boston. We didn’t have much time to hang out, but managed a morning walking around downtown.
- Andi from Estella’s Revenge (2015) – A many-day fun time in Dallas!
- Amanda from Fig and Thistle (2015) – A many-day fun time in Dallas!
- Jenna from JMill Wanders (2017) – Books, Indian food, walking, and kitties
- Julianne from Outlandish Lit (2017) – Books, Indian food, walking, and kitties
- Kristen from We Be Reading (2018) – During our Pacific Northwest Cruise vacation
- Jeanne from Necromany Never Pays (2023) – An evening out with Jeanne and friends when they visited San Antonio.
BEA
I met hundreds of people at BEA in 2010, some of whom I noted at the time and exchanged business cards with, even though we rarely – or never – spoke again. Some, I knew before going. Some, I got to know after meeting at BEA. Some, I hung out with extensively while at the event. I cannot mention everyone (hundreds!!), so I’m limiting this list to those I hung out with at events or meals (usually multiple times), with a few extra words for those I hung out with most extensively. In alphabetical order:
- Amy from Amy Reads – My roomie for the event! Not to mention companion on many dinners and at many events.
- Amy from My Friend Amy
- Anna from Diary of an Eccentric
- April from Good Books and Good Wine
- Avis from She Reads and Reads
- Candace from Beth Fish Reads
- Care from Care’s Online Book Club – with mascot!!
- Jenn from Jenn’s Bookshelves – Jenn and Trish kindly met me for breakfast the day after the event ended and most people had flown away from NYC already!
- Jenny from Take Me Away – Jenny and her husband went to Ellis Island with Trisha and me before BEA began.
- Jill from Somewhere in a Book – with mascot!!
- Kim from Sophisticated Dorkiness – on a panel with me!
- Meg from Write Meg
- Megan from Leafing Through Life – I got to have many meals with this lovely lady!
- Nat from In Spring it is the Dawn – who came with her husband all the way from Japan for this, and hung out often with Amy and me
- Natasha from Maw Books
- Reagan from Ms Remmers Reviews – who sat in my lap for photos, ha!
- Serena from Savvy Verse and Wit
- Sheila from Book Journey
- Trish from Hey Lady – See Jenn’s entry above. 😀
- Trisha from Eclectic/Eccentric – Of everyone I met, it was Trisha I connected with the most, and hung out with the most. I cannot say how much fun it was to hang out with her before, during, and after these events, and I hope the two of us meet up again someday!!
*****
Note: Periodically, I check through these lists and remove links to old blogs that now lead to web errors or spam pages. I do keep links up to blogs that are defunct but still intact. I also haven’t updated with links to new spaces (youtube, TT, bookstagram, etc), so the blog titles and links (where applicable) are those that existed at the time of our meeting.
Last updated: 3/8/23
The Zen Leaf 