YALLFest 2026's closing keynote brings together four sensational YA authors—fantasy powerhouse Ayana Gray (Beasts of Prey, Hawk & Sparrow), sparkling debut F A Davidson (Flickerstate), YA legend Sarah Dessen (Change of Plans, Along for the Ride) and prolific bestseller Ann Liang (To Dream in Darkness, I Could Give You the Moon) for a conversation
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Please note that keynote tickets are exclusively for keynote attendance and do not guarantee a place in the signing line for either author.
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AYANA GRAY is a New York Times-bestselling author of speculative fiction. Her works have been translated in more than a dozen languages across five continents and have received critical acclaim at the state and national level. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, she now lives and writes in Arkansas.
F. A. DAVIDSON is a freelance writer based in North Carolina. She holds a B.A. in English from Yale University, where she studied creative writing. She is an alum of Viable Paradise and the Tin House YA Workshop.
SARAH DESSEN is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen novels for teens, including The Truth About Forever, Just Listen, and Change of Plans. Her work has been published in over thirty countries and sold millions of copies worldwide. She is the recipient of the 2017 Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association for outstanding contribution to young adult literature. She lives in North Carolina.
ANN LIANG is the New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestselling author of critically acclaimed young adult and adult fiction. Her books have been sold in over twenty foreign territories. Her work has been featured on Good Morning America as a GMA Book Club pick, and on the Today show, as well as in Cosmopolitan, PEOPLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Forbes, and more. Born in Beijing, she grew up traveling back and forth between China and Australia, but somehow ended up with an American accent. She now lives in Melbourne. You can find her on Instagram at @annliangwrites, or by visiting her website, annliang.com.