Update: Cautionary Tales of Reader/Author Conventions Imploding

Well, I’m back from hiatus, and it seems a fair bit has happened in the time I was away. One of the things I’ve been watching develop over the last year or so has been the implosion of some of these reader/author conventions. That’s exactly as I predicted last spring.

Look, I don’t like being right about people getting screwed over. Maybe I’ve just been around fandom and conventions too much, but this really did seem inevitable.

The Explosion of Author/Reader Conventions

I noted last spring that there was a sudden influx of author/reader conventions cropping up. At first, I was intrigued! There are some fairly long-running events, like GayRomLit (which closed up shop in 2025) and the RARE events in Europe, among others. These are not the events I’m talking about.

What I’m talking about is a glut of new events popping up all over North America. Some of these are indie-funded. Others might be backed by readers themselves. Others have shadier origins—either corporate ownership or obscure “about us” pages that hide who is running the event. Those latter two concern me, although author- and reader-hosted events can also mire themselves in a good deal of trouble.

What’s behind the boom? My conclusion was that it was probably corporate interests and con artists smelling money, to some degree. Maybe indie authors and readers are in on that too.

Trends like this come and go within the industry. A few years ago, people ran anthologies and shared-world series as they tried to land on the USA Today bestseller list. That scheme died out when USA Today revamped their bestseller list.

And thus we’ve moved on to hosting events, it seems. At first blush, it could seem like hosting an event is a great way to connect readers and writers. For writers, it’s a huge boon as they look to connect with new reading markets. For readers, it might be an opportunity to meet some of their favorite authors.

Yet I remain skeptical about the sheer number of these events. Where’s the money for this coming from? Who is actually benefiting?

Corporate Money Behind Glorified Book Fairs

The first answer is there is corporate money here. I’ve seen a few event “series” now: cookie-cutter events that basically act as a Scholastic Book Fair but for grown-ups. And that’s fine; I loved the Scholastic Book Fair when I was a kid.

But I think I should point out that the purpose of these conventions is shopping. Readers are expected to pay admission, then buy books or potentially pay for autographs or to take photos or what have you. A few events offer something more.

Most of them, however, are simply a market, which means readers show up, browse books, and potentially purchase from authors. If they’re not purchasing on-site, then they may have preordered a book. Authors offer signings with the purchase of books.

I’d be happier if these events marketed themselves as what they are: book fairs. The authors are exhibitors/vendors, and readers are shoppers. It’s like the Costco of bookstores. You have to pay to get in and then maybe you can pick up some exclusive stuff or get a great deal.

As I noted, there are some events that appear to be a “series,” and that’s where I say the corporate money is. Some corporation is setting up branded events in various cities. They’ll attract local authors and readers in each vicinity, but they’re all overseen by the same corporate entity.

Personally, I’d rather see indie bookstores partnering with local authors to put on a “book fair.” I also understand that indie bookstores can be, well, a little snooty. Another issue is indie bookstores’ square footage. With these bigger events, you can get more “star power” involved, so you’re more likely to convince readers to come out.

The Scammers Follow

This is where I have an issue with the book fair format. Readers are paying an entry fee, then also paying to purchase goods, and I do believe the authors who sign up are paying for table space. This is not unconventional in the event space; I understand that. It’s just that most other events offer you a little more than “go on a shopping spree for 4 hours” plus dinner and a dance for $200. For example, I can pay $50 per person to go to FanExpo in Toronto. I get all day access to the vendors’ hall and artists alley, PLUS various events, such as screenings, panels, workshops, and more.

Some of these conventions are likely counting on smaller numbers. They’re being conservative about what they are offering, especially in their early years. I’ve cautioned before about events overpromising and outstripping their resources.

What makes me leery is that these events are simply so predicated on the exchange of money—from the hands of attendees, both authors and readers, into the hands of whoever is running the damn thing. And they’re not getting much in return—basically, the opportunity to spend more money. Very Costco, as I said.

So this is the kind of scenario that really looks attractive to scammers. They don’t have to do much, they don’t have to promise much, and they can charge you quite high prices, actually. I also see this as how indie authors and maybe even some readers see events as a way to make a quick buck.

Is Everyone Scamming People?

No, absolutely not. There are some conventions that have returned year after year. The RARE events are examples that have been running for quite a few years. Other events are much newer, but I am seeing successful events returning for subsequent editions.

Some events have folded after being successfully hauled off once or twice. Either the money ran out, or the organizers decided it wasn’t worth organizing another edition. (Events are a lot of work to pull off successfully.)

So I’m not saying that everyone, or even the majority, of these conventions are run by people with bad intentions. What I am saying is that there is a big trend toward doing this, and events tend to attract scammers. I mean, look at Fyre Festival. That’s a classic event scam.

What is the problem here is that the sheer number of events means it’s a trend. That means plenty of well-meaning people are getting involved for one reason or another. Maybe they truly do believe in creating a great event for readers and authors. Maybe it’s an author looking for an “easy” way to market their books. Or maybe it’s a scammer, or maybe it’s someone who just wants an event in their hometown or maybe it’s someone who heard about events and went “that sounds great!” without really thinking about logistics or anything.

So: I’m going to assume the majority of people in this space are well-meaning. But well-meaning doesn’t mean much when you’re trying to pull off an event. Plenty of well-meaning, overzealous fans have overpromised and underdelivered and then been accused of running a scam after the fact.

And, as I said, when we see a trend like this, scammers follow.

Conventions Have Started Imploding

Since last spring, I’ve seen news articles outlining the collapse of two or more of these events. I’ve also seen a few authors posting about event-related “drama”—often the event collapsing either due to being a scam or due to inexperienced people at the helm. (I’ve also seen some drama around corporations being connected with various politically aligned organizations, which is another reason we need to be leery of corporate interests.)

This is something that was entirely predictable. As I said, the sudden explosion in the number of conventions suggests that some bad actors were going to get involved at some point, because they smelled easy money.

It’s difficult for authors to get mixed up in all of this, because they are often the public face of the event, promoting it on their socials, advertising that they’re going to attend the event, and so on. Readers who feel that they’ve been given a raw deal when an event implodes might turn on the authors who promoted it, especially if the organizers aren’t prominently visible.

That becomes a problem, especially since many of the authors attending these events are indies themselves. Ending up associated with an event that goes sideways could damage their brand, in addition to causing monetary losses.

And for readers, there is impact as well. They’re promised a great event, they shell out the money for a ticket and maybe even for accommodations and so on. When an event goes sideways, they may lose respect for the participating authors or even feel their trust in them is broken.

How to Protect Yourself

The first step here is to do your research. Who is running this event? Do they have previous experience? If it’s a corporation, what other events do they have running? Look for reviews of previous events the organizers or corporations have run. What have people said about those events?

Sometimes, people “disappear,” then resurface years later under new names/aliases/identities. Doing your research can help you connect the dots on serial scammers—people who claim to organize events, then disappear with the proceeds. They often resurface in a new locale, but the internet has made it easier to track them.

Look at the event itself as well. Is it in its first year? Second or third? How much are tickets? Do you know people who are going? How much interest does there seem to be? A large following on social media, with lots of active commenters, could indicate a healthy event.

Finally, think about what’s being promised. If it seems like too much, especially for a first-year event, remain leery. High prices for relatively little is also often another warning sign.

Every event has to have a first year, of course. But taking the time to do your research and keeping your ear to the ground can help you avoid the likes of scammers—and avoid getting swept up in any implosions.

There will always be scams and scammers, but recognizing the signs can help us freeze them in their tracks too. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is!