Today, my friend, Veronica, and I met downtown to go to the Book Printer's Row Book Fair. I had never heard of this before...but when I saw S.E. Hinton was presenting I just had to be there. S.E. Hinton is a famous author...she wrote The Outsiders! For anyone who has never heard of or has not read The Outsiders you must go buy it or get it from your library. It is an awesome book. I remember reading this in junior high and it is a book I will never forget. S.E. Hinton was presented with the Young Adult Book Prize from the Chicago Tribune. This is awarded to authors "whose book or body of work has special resonance with adolescents and speaks to their role and significance in society." S.E. Hinton answered audience questions and talked about writing. Afterwards we were able to get our special 40th anniversary edition of our books signed. 
I've had fun collecting sports autographs with Chad ever since I have known him...but now I'm having fun collecting author's signatures. I think it's cool to meet athletes, but I think the excitement that I get in meeting authors is like what Chad feels when he meet athletes. It's just cool to me to meet these people who have created such amazing characters and stories and made us fall in love with their books. I'm proud to be a lifelong reader and fan of books.