Porter Square Books is delighted to bring you a virtual event featuring YA authors Dana Alison Levy (Above All Else) and Yamile Saied Méndez (Furia) in conversation with their agents, Marietta Zacker and Linda Camacho! They'll discuss their new books, how these books came to be, how differently they address similar themes, and how each arrived at these stories, just in time for National Novel Writing Month. This event is free and open to all, hosted on Crowdcast.Order the books from Porter Square Books here.

In Above All Else, a novel as riveting, irresistible, and heartbreaking as Into Thin Air, teen climbing prodigies Rose and Tate attempt to summit--and survive--Mount Everest.

Rose Keller and Tate Russo have been climbing for years, training in harsh weather and traveling all over the world. The goal that kept them going? Summiting Mount Everest, the highest point on earth. Accompanied by Tate's dad, the two will finally make the ultimate climb at the end of their senior year. But neither Rose nor Tate are fully in the game--not only is there a simmering romance between them, but Rose can't get her mind off her mother's illness, while Tate constantly fails to live up to his ambitious father's standards. The farther up the mountain they go, the more their climbing plans unravel and the more isolated each team member becomes. Rose and Tate will have to dig deep within themselves to determine what--or who--they value above all else.

Furia is a powerful contemporary YA for fans of The Poet X and I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter set in Argentina, about a rising soccer star who must put everything on the line—even her blooming love story—to follow her dreams.

In Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan lives a double life. At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother’s narrow expectations, in her rising-soccer-star brother’s shadow, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father.  On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila gets the chance to see just how far those talents can take her. But the path ahead isn’t easy. As her life becomes more complicated, Camila is forced to face her secrets and make her way in a world with no place for the dreams and ambition of a girl like her. Filled with authentic details and the textures of day-to-day life in Argentina, heart-soaring romance, and breathless action on the pitch, Furia is the story of a girl’s journey to make her life her own.

Dana Alison Levy is the author of several acclaimed books for younger readers, including It Wasn’t Me and the Family Fletcher books. Above All Else is her YA debut. She lives in Massachusetts, at sea level, and really likes air with lots of oxygen in it. Dana loves traveling to Nepal and has stood in the shadow of Mount Everest, but she will never climb it. www.danaalisonlevy.com

Yamile (sha-MEE-lay) Saied Méndez is a fútbol-obsessed Argentine American who loves meteor showers, summer, astrology, and pizza. She lives in Utah with her Puerto Rican husband and their five kids, two adorable dogs, and one majestic cat. An inaugural Walter Dean Myers Grant recipient, she’s a graduate of Voices of Our Nations (VONA) and the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Méndez is also part of Las Musas, the first collective of women and nonbinary Latinx middle grade and young adult authors. Furia is her first novel for young adult readers.

Linda Camacho is an agent at Gallt & Zacker Literary. She moved over to agenting after holding various positions at Penguin Random House, Dorchester, Simon and Schuster, and Writers House. Linda is looking for MG, YA, and adult fiction across all genres (especially upmarket, women’s fiction/romance, and literary horror). She also has an MFA in creative writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and a short story in the upcoming anthology Every Body Shines by Cassandra Newbould.

Marietta Zacker has worked with books, authors, and illustrators throughout her career. She takes pride in her work as a Latina, always on the lookout for visual and narrative stories that reflect the world we live in and make readers feel. Marietta looks for a book in which young readers can identify with the actions and reactions of the characters, not the perspectives of the author or illustrator. Diversity in the story must be inherent and authentic, not trendy. Books she is championing this year include ABOVE ALL ELSE by Dana Alison Levy, BOYS IN THE BACK ROW by Mike Jung, LAND OF THE CRANES by Aida Salazar, and HAPPY NARWHALIDAYS by Ben Clanton. www.galltzacker.com, Twitter: @AgentZacker and @GalltZackerLit, Instagram: @AgentZaker and @GalltZacker

Author-Agent Conversations with Dana Alison Levy & Yamile Saied Méndez, Linda Camacho & Marietta Zacker