BookCon 2026 took place this past weekend (April 18-19, 2026). What went from everyone’s literary dream of the return of BookCon, turned into a complete chaotic letdown.

The warning signs were there all along. Right from the beginning when the Influencers first announced that BookCon was back. It should be a surprise to no one who has followed BookCon 2026’s journey that things would not turn out so great.

But let’s start from the beginning.

June 2025: The Influencers

I am going to preface this by saying that I was one of BookCon’s influencers. I was one of the few local NYC book influencers who were invited to attend the surprise announcement from ReedPop. We were all based in the NYC area. No one was flown in for the announcement. They focused on keeping costs down by throwing a BookCon reveal with only local influencers.

After the influencers made the announcement, the backlash began immediately.

There were communities who felt excluded, even though the representation was there. To them, it wasn’t enough. They asked all of the right questions. Their concerns were serious concerns. There were people who did not feel safe.

I sent many of the concerns I saw to the organizers for them to keep in mind as they built this conference. But being as this was ReedPop, the group who throws the best conventions in the world, from New York Comic Con to San Diego Comic Con, you would think they’d know exactly what they were doing.

BookCon is not something new. Prior to 2020, I attended the Book Expo every year as the editor/writer of this site. I attended BookCon once and decided it was not my vibe and that I should just stick to the industry version of the convention. So when I say that this BookCon was an epic fail based on the previous Expos/Cons… it makes you question what exactly went wrong.

Fall/Winter 2025: Let the Chaos Begin

One of the perks of being BookCon’s influencers is that we got two free tickets to the event. We were also allowed to give two tickets away to the public.

Well…

As tickets became available and eventually sold out, the influencers who hadn’t given away their tickets to the public were told they couldn’t give out tickets. What ReedPop did not know is that these same influencers talk to each other. We have a group chat.

Before I launched my giveaway, I reached out to the ReedPop team to make sure that it was still okay to do (especially after tickets sold out). I was informed that because tickets were sold out, there were no tickets for me to giveaway. Strange. Especially, since I reserved the giveaway tickets months before.

I mentioned this to my friend, who is also Asian American (there’s a reason I’m pointing this out). She also followed up to ask if she could giveaway the one ticket she had reserved. The response was the same as mine. Sold out. No more tickets.

I saw that one of the influencers in our group (a white woman) launched her giveaway a week or two later. I mentioned to her to double check with ReedPop to see if she could still do her giveaway after we were told there were no more tickets. She emailed them and was given the OK to go ahead with her giveaway.

I’ll leave you to question why the two Asian American women were told NO, while the white woman was told YES.

Spring 2026: The Influencers Get NOTHING

Coming off of New York Comic Con 2025, ReedPop did a tremendous job for their influencers by offering them so many VIP opportunities with sponsors, private panels, and events.

As the RESERVATIONS REQUIRED rolled out for BookCon, ReedPop’s influencers were thrown in with everyone else to reserve their own tickets to events. Many were not able to reserve tickets to panels or author signings that required tickets. There was no VIP status like the influencers received at Comic Con.

While most of us have relationships with publishers and can snag invites to their events, it was strange that BookCon did not work in conjunction with the groups planning the pre-events to make sure the influencers were given the same opportunities. It wasn’t part of the package. It was like we were completely forgotten. We got free general admission tickets to the event and they were done with us.

BookCon 2026: The Dumpster Fire

The first day of BookCon finally arrives. 25,000 people had tickets to the big event and everyone was looking forward to the most anticipated event of the year.

Like my first BookCon, the line stretched several blocks. But the strange thing was, I showed up in front of Javits Center on 34th Street. I was directed to walk all the way to 41st Street, go over a block to 12th Street, and ended right back at 34th Street. That’s where the end of the line was.

It took 45 minutes to get into the building (and I showed up around 10AM). I stopped to check my suitcase in. I asked what they considered the show floor. Was it just the main floor where the publishers were or did it include the Autograph Alley and panels?

The man had a completely blank look on his face. He responded, “I have no idea. They literally set me up here 5 minutes ago. I don’t know what is going on.”

Red flag.

After I checked in my suitcase, I headed to the third floor, where the publishers were. The first shock was discovering that they were in a confined space. There were less publishers (especially indie publishers) on the main floor.

The space within the booths were not conducive to a lot of foot traffic (like in previous Expos/Cons). The overall conference space was 1/5 the size of previous cons. Yet, they had 25,000 people roaming through this confined space?

Red flag.

Expect chaos to ensue. And it did.

For context, in 2019, they had about 60% of Javits Center. 21,500 people attended that year. In previous years, it was 20,000 people. Booths were more open and allowed people to walk through easily with plenty of space between each booth.

Also, in 2019, Book Expo and BookCon were run by ReedPop. So it is not like they did not know how to run BookCon or a large convention.

As the day wore on, the complaints mounted.

• Food ran out by 1PM. For those vendors who had some semblance of food, it was an hour wait.
• ADA was basically non-existent. ADA guests were completely ignored and not accommodated.
• Security helping with the lines in Autograph Alley told people all of the wrong information.
• No one working the event knew what was going on.
• The Heated Rivalry panel was overhyped. For days, they hinted that something big was happening. Many assumed it was one of the actors from the show making an appearance. When it wasn’t, many people were left feeling disappointed.

Then there were the attendees.

• A woman was sexually harassed by someone in line. No women came to her aid. [Shout out to Rei for helping her and creating a safe space for her. We need more Pedro Pascals in the world.]
• Two moms got into a fight over an ARC.
• People were shoving and fighting during ARC drops.
• One person spat on one of the publishing staff.
• People acted entitled like they should get an ARC, autograph, access to lines, etc.
• People stole from the booths.

As one person said, she just gave up, sat down, took out her sandwich and ate it while watching the dumpster fire burn its way through the main floor.

What BookCon Got Right

So it wasn’t all bad.

The most amazing part of BookCon was Indie Alley.

In previous BookCons, Indie Alley was reserved for only a corner or a row or two. This year, it took up more space on the bottom floor than the publishers did on the main floor. Authors were able to sell the majority of their stock. Many sold out quickly and had to take orders to be fulfilled when they got back home.

All in all, it was great a convention for the indie authors and people selling bookish items.

Another first come first serve event that they got right were book clubs. Space was reserved for up to 100 people to attend a book club with different authors. I attended the Ransom Riggs book club for Sunderworld Vol. 1 and walked away with the only ARC I wanted that I did not know if it even existed. It did exist and thanks to the Book Club event, I was able to get the ARC without having to fight with everyone to get one.

Another big hit were the after hours events. These events were a lot of fun for those who attended.

Another major hit was Matt Dinniman’s signing on Saturday. Even though many people waited in line over an hour to get their book signed by the author of the hour (creator of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series). Although we heard rumblings that they ran out of food downstairs. What awaited Crawlers was a drink at the bar, a spin the wheel prize, and passed hors d’oeuvres (sliders, shish kebabs, and tuna tartare tacos), before meeting Matt and Jeff Hays (actor, audiobook narrator).

Audible hosted the event.

It was a nice relief for those who had been waiting in line for so long to be welcomed in the serene atmosphere as compared to the chaos outside of the room. We were fed, given libations, and were able to have a nice chat with Matt and Jeff.

Truth be told, if they hadn’t fed the Crawlers, most of us would not have had any food that afternoon.

Another thing BookCon got right were the panels.

Every panel was entertaining. People walked away happy that they attended the panel. Not a single complaint… unless you attended the overhyped Heated Rivalry panel early Saturday morning.

But the best part of BookCon has really nothing to do with the books. It’s the friends you gather with in the name of books. Then, there are the new friends you make while standing in line waiting for a book or an author signing.

It’s the good friends you make in publishing that become a huge part of your life. You share lunches, see movies, go shopping with, open up blind boxes, and celebrate milestones with them.

They’re the faces behind the books you read. They bust their rear ends every day to make the authors and readers happy.

My Only Suggestion

While there are all of the complaints above, the only thing that really stood out to me as completely wrong: the layout.

At NY Comic Con, they had one side of the bottom floor as the autograph alley. It was easy to access to find the line for the autographing table. The ADA lines were easily understood and accessible.

At BookCon, they put Indie Alley in front of Autograph Alley. So you had to battle your way through to get to the back of the room to reach the signing tables before the authors left.

ADA lines. What ADA lines? They need to fix that situation completely for next time (if there is a next time).

What they should have done was put Autograph Alley from front to back on one side and Indie Alley front to back on the other side. Like they do at Comic Con.

One Last Thought: It’s About Who We Are

There was a point while I was standing in line with my books in hand waiting to be signed that I noticed something.

All of the Black authors I was there for were always paired with an Asian American. I usually had books for both authors. But as I stood there, I noticed that everyone was always in line for the AAPI author and not the Black author. They were not there for both like I was.

This is where I’d like to point out two things. 1) The Black community was right during the announcement. It was not for them. It was not safe for them. 2) If you want to see what systemic racism looks like, attend an event like this. See who everyone gets in line for. Then look to see who they are not getting in line for.

Don’t say you read diversely and it be the ‘model citizen’ you are in line for, but not the Black author or the LatinX author. I say this as someone who is Asian American. America will never be fixed if you don’t see the systemic racism you unknowingly perpetuate every single day.