I can’t believe a year went by so fast. *Cue the Rent soundtrack* For real though, it feels like just yesterday I was writing Our New Year’s Resolutions and already, we’re taking a look back at what we’ve accomplished.

All of us at Writer’s Block Party are immensely grateful for everyone who has followed us on our first year. Now it’s time to look back on what we’ve done since we first met you all!

Washington on Your Side
Given how the 2016 election turned out, everyone was encouraged to step it up a notch in 2017 when it comes to political advocacy. Collectively, we were more politically active than we’ve ever been before by calling reps, spreading more awareness on issues close to us way more often, and making recurring donations to the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and the IRC, to name a few. We made some progress in 2017 but it’s only the beginning and there’s plenty more to achieve before and after the 2018 election. WBP highly recommends following Celeste Pewter and her organization Road to 18 on Twitter if you aren’t already.

My Shot
Christine began 2017 by signing with Kelly Sonnack of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency and I (Melody) closed out the year by signing with JL Stermer of New Leaf Literary, with my nonfiction pop culture book about the history of Black women in the forefront. Keep reading to find out what Christine signed with…

Satisfied
Many of us planned to step it up health wise this year and for the most part, we’re killin’ it! Yay us! I’m also totally going to take a moment to shamelessly plug my YA Treats Instragram, in which I put the spotlight on both diverse YA books and yummy healthy vegan treats. (Yeah, that’s right, I said vegan. Whaaaat. When that ball drops, I can say that I’ve been vegan for a year! Woo!) I started the instagram quietly last year and I’m excited to take it up a notch in 2018. Let me know what diverse YA titles you want featured!

Blow Us All Away
Amanda Foody – Add Series to Goodreads
Amanda announced the next two books in The Shadow Games trilogy! It’s official! It’s a happening!!! We don’t have to tell you that being able to complete a trilogy is a major accomplishment for authors, so let’s just skip to how super excited we are for Foody! We can’t wait to read what happens next in the City of Sin!

Joan He – Add it to Goodreads
Joan announced her book deal for Descendant of the Crane, a YA fantasy novel pitched as a Chinese-inspired Game of Thrones. Wow. I’m gonna need my cult to stop being such BAMFs right this second omg they are TOO COOL for me.

Christine Lynn Herman – Add it to Goodreads
Christine announced her book deal for The Devouring Gray, a contemporary fantasy pitched as a cross between Stranger Things and The Raven Boys. Need I say more? Need I??

The Room Where It Happens
Axie graduated and got her MFA from Lesley University in Writing for Young People! Congratulations, Axie!!!! We know how much you wanted this and how hard you worked and we are all so proud of you!!!

The World Was Wide Enough
Axie and Amanda both debuted this year! Click the appropriate links to purchase Axie Oh’s Rebel Seoul and Amanda Foody’s Daughter of the Burning City from your favorite major retailers now. Or check out your local indie or library! If you’re interested in diving more into audiobooks in the new year, you don’t want to miss the audiobook for Daughter, narrated by Emily Woo Zeller who is no stranger to narrating amazing YA titles. You’re in for a treat no matter what!

What’d I Miss
Kat grew her vlog channel on YouTube, which we highly recommend for writers and readers alike! Kat vlogs about everything from writing and books to her travels across the world and her favorite Korean skincare and makeup products! Basically, if you’re not yet subscribed, you need to be so you don’t miss out on any content in 2018 and beyond.

Non-Stop
Collectively, WBP wrote over 800,000 words in 2017! Whoa!!! That sounds like a lot but we’re hoping to make it one million words in 2018!

History Has Its Eye on You
2017 allowed for WBP to meet each other on numerous occasions for the first time. This led to our CP group on our first writing retreat! While I missed the retreat due to moving to LA, I hear it was one for the books! Having read their work, I know they made magic. I can’t wait for the spells they cast to come to light!

That Would Be Enough
We read so many 2017 titles! Granted, not as many as we wanted but thanks to the Overdrive app, we got plenty of audiobook listening in which helped. Some of our favorite 2017 titles include (but are not limited to):

I Believe in A Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo (Add it to Goodreads)

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao (Add it to Goodreads)

Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore (Add it to Goodreads)

Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson (Add it to Goodreads)

Warcross by Marie Lu (Add it to Goodreads)

What a great year! It’s hard to see great and 2017 side by side but literally every good thing that happened in 2017, we must cling to and celebrate because IT MATTERS. And so, a round of applause to all of the lovely ladies at WBP and a round of applause to YOU, dear reader, for cheering us on every step of the way. You have no idea how much it means to each and every one of us. Thank you.

Until next time…

[This will be the last WBP post of 2017. See you in 2018!)