After a six year hiatus, BookCon opened their doors for their next chapter, but maybe this book should have stayed closed.
By: Amanda Musto
Book lovers united April 18 and 19 at the Javits Center in NYC for what should have been a time of fun and community, but instead was a time of poorly planned events, cramped lines, and overstimulation.
This was my first time at BookCon, but as an avid convention goer and book lover, I thought it was something I should check out. I went in with minimal expectations since this was the first time I had even heard about this convention. Even with low expectations, I was still left disappointed. The friend who I went with was excited to experience her first ever convention and was so disappointed that she doesn’t want to try a con again.
With a location as large as the Javits Center, it should not have felt as cramped as it did. Between how close booths were to each other and how many people were in attendance, you couldn’t look at products for more than a minute before you were pushed or squished by all the people who wanted to look or just pass by. It took the enjoyment out of it and caused people to possibly miss out on cool purchases.
When it came to book arc releases from the publishers, that’s where disorganization showed itself the most. Posted on the con site were times that each publishing house would drop the releases, but it wasn’t until you got to the con that you found out you needed to be at the spot 30 minutes prior and only 100 books would be given. That wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t for the mess and unfair set up that followed. My friend and I tried to get in line for a drop with Source Books and besides the horrendous attitudes from most of the girls who worked the booth, the whole set up was terrible. They told guests they would not let people line up before the 30 minute mark, but of course people came early and grouped together in the area they knew the line would be, which created a line early even if there wasn’t supposed to be one. The biggest issue with that is the booth workers then used that fake line as the real one when the time came, instead of using a different spot to start the line, which would have made it fair for everyone who followed the given instructions. Instead, they just allowed all the people who did what they wanted to be the ones who got the arcs. That took the fun away from the giveaways.
Posted on the BookCon app and website were maps to show where every booth would be to try and ease the search everyone would go through, and I thought, “Wow that’s awesome!” It wasn’t until we got there and noticed that most booths did not have a number posted on them at all or if they did it was small and barely noticeable. At that point, the maps felt counterintuitive. There were large hanging signs with group numbers to show if you were in a certain section, i.e. 400, 500, etc, but once you got there it was almost impossible to find the actual booth you wanted to find.
I don’t want to say the whole event was terrible, because there were positives. I did get some free bookmarks, pins and stickers, and even a free book from one booth, so that was great. I also bought tons of cute merch and a few new books which included a book from an author in Indie Alley, “Our Family Home” by Joseph Pesavento. The biggest positive of the day was that book and the chance to check out a new author, which I have now bought two more books from since the convention.
The sad part is that was basically where the positives stop. To get to the lowest level for food or more booths, you only had the option of one escalator which had an extensive line for, and also posed a fire hazard. I heard from people there to not bother with the food because it wasn’t worth the wait on line or the price. Even the bathroom situation was a mess, there were not many bathroom options at the center and because of the high volume of people, the lines were out of control. At one point while we waited for the women’s room, a janitor directed us and others over to the men’s room just to try and get everyone in and out faster. The men were a little confused about the new line of women that appeared out of their bathroom.
I wish I had a better time, but instead I left overwhelmed, with sore feet, and full of disappointment. If they decide to hold the convention again next year, I hope they learn from this one and listen to all the feedback people have posted online and better the whole event.
