The annual BookCon, which took place this year on June 1–2 at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, can best be described as BookExpo on steroids, where booklovers are literary tastemakers and YA authors are rock stars. The weekend was full of fan energy, with lines of people everywhere, ARC drops, author signings and panels, and general mayhem with a book nerd twist. We’ve gathered a selection of highlights from the events.
Early arrivals waited for hours, until the doors opened at 10 a.m. Photo: Diane Roback.
Artemis Fowl author Eoin Colfer with his editor at Disney-Hyperion, Stephanie Lurie, who dressed for the occasion. Photo: Diane Roback.
(From l.): Authors Nafiza Azad (The Candle and the Flame), Jennifer Donnelly (Stepsister), Melissa Grey (Rated), and Maggie Stiefvater (Call Down the Hawk) show their love for Scholastic’s I Read YA.
Pitchapalooza pitch contest judges (from l.): author David Henry Sterry, Just Us Books co-founder Cheryl Willis Hudson, winner Alexis Ferguson, and literary agent Arielle Eckstut.
Cosplaying fans meet author Brigid Kemmerer, who was signing her new novel, A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Bloomsbury). Photo: Diane Roback.
Total tote bag madness at the Epic Reads booth. Photo: Diane Roback.
Fans joined Rainbow Rowell at her author signing party, where she celebrated the upcoming release of Wayward Son (Wednesday Books).
Little Bee invited visitors to spin the wheel for book prizes. Photo: Sara Grochowski.
Authors (from l.) Jason Reynolds, Cassandra Clare, Julie Murphy, and Tomi Adeyemi packed the main stage as they discussed what a YA “epic” means to them.
A round of Grumpy Monkey Twister in the Random House booth. Photo: Sara Grochowski.
Zoraida Córdova, author of the Brooklyn Brujas series (Sourcebooks), signed for a long line of fans. Photo: Sara Grochowski.
Damon Young and Jacqueline Woodson discussed the inspirations behind their books and who they write for. Photo: Claire Kirch.
The Baby-sitters Comics Club: (from l.) Ann M. Martin, Gale Galligan, and Raina Telgemeier.
Marie Lu (r.), author of the Legend series, at the Fierce Reads Breakfast.
Meg Medina took a selfie in front of the banner for her 2019 Newbery Medal-winning novel Merci Suárez Changes Gears (Candlewick).
Horror authors Victoria Schwab (Tunnel of Bones) and R.L. Stine (Goosebumps).
Arvin Ahmadi and Ally Condie after competing in a Jeopardy!-style game on YA trivia. Team Condie won the competition. Photo: Claire Kirch.
Kamilla Benko read from her middle grade series The Unicorn Quest (Bloomsbury) at the Family HQ tent.
The S&S Riveted team paid homage to Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe series.
YA authors (from l.) Danielle Paige (Mera: Tidebreaker), Kami Garcia (Raven), Lauren Myracle (Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale), and Mariko Tamaki (Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass) discussed putting their spin on iconic superheroes during the DC Ink panel. Photo: Gilcy Aquino.
Maureen Johnson, author of the Truly Devious mystery series, hunts for clues in the Facebook Live Lounge.
Five fans competed in a BookCon dance concert while waiting for the “Hulu Presents John Green’s Looking for Alaska” panel to start. Photo: Sara Grochowski.
Frank Sileo, author of Bee Calm: The Buzz on Yoga (Magination Press), with Bentley Bee.
The three authors of Scholastic’s Upside-Down Magic series: (from l.) Lauren Myracle, E. Lockhart, and Sarah Mlynowski. Photo: Sara Grochowski.
Authors S.K. Ali (Love from A to Z) (l.) and Hena Khan (More to the Story), during the Salaam Reads panel.
Marissa Meyer meets a fan dressed as one of her Renegades characters.
