FAQ

What is Camp YA?

Camp YA is a Young Adult Book Festival organised by fans for the fans. We started in lockdown in 2020 to champion unsung voice and to bring together book fans from all over the world, and in 2023 we hosted our first hybrid festival at Studio Wayne McGregor in London, as well as online.

What is a hybrid festival?

One thing that is very important to us is to make sure as many people as possible can have access to the event. Our previous 2 events in 2020 and 2021 were held online during the COVID lockdown, and in 2023 we were very proud to present our first in person event alongside our online stream. There was a different schedule for both in person and online events, with some overlap. Some of in person panels were able to be viewed online, and some of the online panels were shared on screen at the physical event. There were also activities that you could do both in person and online, such as the Camp YA Cup where you team up with team members from one of the 3 teams and do challenges to win the most points, and the ultimate bragging rights.

Why is it called Camp YA?

After a very long discussion with many names brought forward it became very clear to us that we wanted the event to have the fun feel of a summer camp. Everyone getting together, doing activities, and just share the fun, so everything became camp themed. Our Camp YA Cup has camp challenges, some of our workshops are typically camp themed, we've got scavenger hunts, team bonding and we love camp themed books read around a (virtual) campfire! During our online festival we highly encouraged people to set up their tent and enjoy the festival that way. Unfortunately, Camp YA is not quite like a summer camp just yet. There will be no sleepovers or actual campfires, but never say never.

When is Camp YA?

Keep an eye on our socials and website for news for the next edition of Camp YA.

Where is Camp YA?

Keep an eye on our socials and website for news for the next edition of Camp YA, but we'll always make sure that we have an online section to go along with any physical events.

Diversity

Part of the original idea for Camp YA was that we wanted to make this a bookish festival for everyone. We wanted it to be as accessible as possible around the world, which is why the festival has always been free to join online.

On the guest side we wanted to feature authors from as many different backgrounds as possible – whether they are indie or traditionally published. Our aim to celebrate stories from all corners of the world and to celebrate unsung voices along with more established ones has resulted in a programme we’re really proud of!

Tickets

Keep an eye on our socials and website for news for the next edition of Camp YA.

Accessibility

It's very important to Camp YA that as many people as possible can access the event, this is why we'll always strive to find a venue that is accessible for anyone, and also part of the reason why we have our online programme for those that cannot join us in person. After the event itself we always take the videos from our streams and put them on our YouTube with captions, for people to also be able to enjoy it that way. We're always open to develop new ways to be come more accessible. Please do get in touch if you have concerns, require assistance, or have ideas on how we can help make it more accessible for you.

Pass it Forward Tickets

In 2023 we've had some amazing people offer to pay for people's tickets, so we put together our Pass it Forward system. This is something we'll certainly be looking to continue for a next edition.

Can I volunteer?

YES please, is the answer. There are 8 camp counselors hard at work to make this festival a success, but we cannot do it without YOU. In 2023 we were very happy to have some amazing volunteers sign up, and we were very thankful to each and every one of them. If you'd like to volunteer with us for a next year please keep an eye one our socials and website for the sign up sheet to go up.

Quiet Space

We love the exciting weekend we've planned, but we also understand that people need to take a step back to just breathe from time to time. For our 2023 edition we made sure there was a designated Quiet Space on the second floor of our venue for people to enjoy and read a book, or just relax and recharge. This was well received, and we'll be looking to keep this for our next event.

I am from a school and would like to bring a class, can I?

Yes absolutely. Our recommended age for this event is 12+ and you are welcome to bring your class along. If you'd like to know more or promote our event at your school please email us on team@campya.org.

What is the Camp YA Cup?

The Camp YA Cup is a highly competitive and highly sought after challenge event. We set up a series of challenges for you and your teammates to complete. Take he quiz and find out what team you belong to, or just pick the team which speaks the most to you. We've got: Team Trout, Team Beaver and Team Wren. They're all headed by our camp counselors who will do anything to help you win the most points over the weekend. The challenges include taking a picture of your favourite book to bring to camp, write a letter to a friend from camp and make your favourite camp dish. Your teams will consist of campers that take part in person and campers that are online, and together you'll work for the most points. You can talk to your team members and cheer them on in our discord channel. At the end on Sunday we will tally up your points and announce the winner of this year's cup. There are prizes up for grabs for best and most enthusiastic entries, sponsored by our favourite shops and publishers.

Tips for visiting Camp YA

To prepare for Camp YA please take a look at the schedule before the event and map out what you would like to see.
Workshops will be done in small groups, so do sign in to those at workshop space.
We'll be sharing the floorplan ahead of the event so that you can take a look at where everything is. The venue is quite contained and only used by Camp YA for that weekend, so you should be able to find things easily, if you have any questions please do ask our volunteers or camp counselors.
Plan the authors you want to see and the books you'd like to bring.
Take something to drink and eat with you.
Think about what you might need to get through an exciting weekend.

Book Signings

At the in person event, after every panel our authors will available to sign your books. There will be a designated signing location which will be shown on our map ahead of the event. Anyone at the venue can join the signing queues. Limits to how many books you can sign depend on the author, we will make it clear ahead of the event how many this will be. If it's not specifically stated, there is no limit. If you need assistance please let us know ahead of time via our contact info or at our info desk.