BookCon made its return to New York City over the weekend with mixed reviews from those who attended.
On April 18-19, the highly anticipated convention brought literature lovers together to explore the latest releases from big-name publishers and indie authors alike, with opportunities to shop, listen in on panels, and meet authors.
The convention was held at North Javits, offering multiple floors of events for convention-goers. For indie authors and small business owners alike, interacting with convention-goers on the floor of Indie Alley was the most rewarding part of the whole experience.
“It’s actually a dream come true for me. When it went away in like 2021, I was just becoming a full-time author and I was sad because I was like that won’t be a dream of mine come true, and now it’s back, so fantastic,” said Scarlett St. Clair, whose latest book, “Terror at the Gates,” recently released.
Author Scarlett St. Clair meets with a fan at BookCon.Photo by Amanda Moses 
Maggie Sunseri, a Brooklyn-based author, had a booth at BookCon.Photo by Amanda Moses
Tim Roberts, founder of the role-playing game company Critical Kit, told amNewYork, “We’re really excited about coming here. We normally do gaming cons, we have done literary festivals in the UK, but this is our first time ever in the States doing a literary festival.”
Maggie Sunseri, a Brooklyn-based author who started publishing her books at 15 and was promoting her latest dark fantasy romance books, “Stalked by Seduction and Shadows” and “Marked by Masks and Secrets,” was having a great time on the floor interacting with readers.
“I love it. Everybody’s been super sweet so far,” said Sunseri.
“[It’s] surprisingly more chill than I was expecting. I was expecting absolute chaos, but it’s very organized and it’s a lot cooler than I was fearing,” said indie contemporary romance author Rainie Dang. “I thought it would be super hot and gross, but it’s actually pretty great.”
Dang, who writes contemporary romances with all curvy female main characters, such as “Miss Nguyen’s Bodyguard” and “Moon Shadow by Night,” later took to the internet and said how her booth location made it hard to interact and make sales, but later noted that she was able to move her booth on day two of BookCon and had a better time.
Author Rainie Dang (left) at her booth at BookCon.Photo by Amanda Moses 
BookCon returned to NYC on April 18-19.Photo by Amanda Moses
Despite the excitement around BookCon, there was still criticism around the event, starting with crowd control. On the first morning of BookCon, the line was wrapped around for blocks, and it was slow-moving for some people to get into the convention. Several people online criticized ReedPop, which organized BookCon, for overselling tickets, making it difficult for ticket-holders to make reservations for author signings and contributing to the overcrowding issue.
Brittany, who runs @bookfairybritt, said online that the crowd situation felt unorganized, making it unclear where lines were for publishing booths that were giving away advanced reader copies (ARCs) of upcoming novels.
“Could this have been more organized? Yes. The friend I went with, she has been to Comic-Con a bunch of times and has told me they could have maximized the space better. They could have had organized designations for lines,” Brittany said. “It felt a bit underwhelming, but still overwhelming because of the crowd, and just, like, I didn’t know what to do, it just felt like it was all over the place, I didn’t know where to go, where to see things.”
Elle, who runs the account @readsbetweencovers, also noted that the crowds were pretty cramped inside.
A BookCon crowd.Photo by Amanda Moses 
A BookCon crowd.Photo by Amanda Moses
“BookCon really said what do readers like, what makes readers comfortable, and then let’s not do all of that. The publisher booths were crazy, and I know they’re trying to do the best they can with what they have, but I feel like the organization could have been better,” said Elle. “Level 3 was just insane, but level 1 with the Indie Alley, when I initially went down there, it was packed, like you had to tussle shoulders with people to get through. There was no walking space.”
By Day 2 of BookCon, there appeared to be better control of the lines getting into the convention. Both Elle and Brittany agreed that BookCon was a good space for connecting with fellow book-lovers and would go back again next year.
“I personally think it’s a great place to like meet your bookish friends, to go to these shops that you see and follow online and buy from them in person,” said Brittany. “Hopefully they learn from their mistakes, they hear what the readers have to say, and the shops, and BookCon, and everyone involved follow suit and do what they gotta do to make the experience a bit more organized.”
“I know some people had bad experiences with other attendees. That was not my experience, and this is not to invalidate their experience, but overall, that like the people I was interacting with or hanging out with were a vibe,” said Elle.
amNewYork has reached out to ReedPop for comment.
Photo by Amanda Moses 
Photo by Amanda Moses 
Photo by Amanda Moses 
Photo by Amanda Moses 
Photo by Amanda Moses 
BookCon returned to NYC on April 18-19.Photo by Amanda Moses