What is YALLWEST?
yallwest is a young adult and middle grade book festival taking place in santa monica, california in the spring. founded by authors margaret stohl and melissa de la cruz, it is the sister festival to charleston’s annual yallfest.
When is YALLWEST?
The main event is on saturday, may 3, 2025
A special friday preview event will take place at the main branch of the santa monica public library in the afternoon of friday, may 2, 2025
Where is YALLWEST?
saturday takes place entirely at Santa monica high school (samohi) in santa monica, california
our friday preview event is at the santa monica public library
for more detailed information about location, you can check out our location and accessibility page
Do I need a ticket to enter YALLWEST?
NO! No registration or ticket to get into the festival itself. Just show up!
our headliner events (our keynotes and the end-of-day smackdown) have low cost tickets.
some signings may require free tickets, which will be made available in advance of the festival. more info on this in april.
some sponsor events may be limited in capacity and therefore may require either registration or a ticket/wristband you pick up from their booth. once the sponsor events are announced, it is usually a good idea to follow the sponsor of the event you’d like to attend on social media to know how best to attend (ex: sometimes they drop a code word on their social media and you have to tell them at the booth)
What does a day at YALLWEST look like?
between 70-80 authors and storytellers join us every year.
Here’s a few things you might be able to see them at:
panels
a bunch of authors talking about a specific topic and or performing shenanigans; free to enter!
keynotes
a couple authors talking, these are ticketed headliner events!
signings
authors sign their books!
you can bring your own books and/or buy them onsite!
Signings may have limitations on number of books signed
all signings are free, but some signings may be ticketed in advance (more info on that in april)
sponsor events
events put on by our wonderful sponsors, these can include giveaways, additional author signings/appearances, and more!
smackdown
authors performing shenanigans on stage x100000000, end of the day wrap up, a ticketed headliner event!
A Few Frequent Questions
Can I bring my dog to YALLWEST?
only service animals are allowed on campus, so if your dog is not a service animal, no. But you can definitely show us pictures of your dog. please.
What does the YALL stand for?
We stand for a lot of things — literacy and inclusion especially — but if you mean in terms of an acronym, it isn’t one! it came from the sister festival (yallfest — yall chosen because it is in south carolina and begins with “ya” like young adult).