BookCon 2026 Recap - Travel Day and Day 1

BookCon 2026 was a whirl-wind for sure. Day 1 was a lot of standing for me since I didn't get to see any panels that day due to my schedule. There are just way too many things to do at the same time. You definitely need to prioritize what you want to get accomplished for the day because you can't do it all. Despite it being chaotic at times, I had a great time overall at BookCon.

Travel Day - Friday, April 17, 2026

My friend Ellie and I took the Amtrak in the morning from Boston's South Station to NYC. We were lucky that our room was ready when we arrive to the Big Apple. After dropping off our luggage in our room, we ventured out to get a late lunch/early dinner at Cho Dang Gol for some very yummy Korean food. The restaurant was a quick walk from the hotel. After our meal, Ellie and I went to hit up some stores around the city. We checked out Kinokuniya, near Bryant Park. I love that store with all the stationery, art books, and other Japanese anime and mange related books. Such a cute store! I ended up buying a bottle of ink there. Sometime during the afternoon, I believe maybe when we were at the hotel checking in or dropping off luggage, I got an e-mail that I won the lottery to see Death Becomes Her for Saturday! I entered for a few Broadway show lotteries earlier in the morning. I paid about $40-45 for the ticket. I was so excited.

Afterwards, we walked over to the BOOKOFF to look at used manga, games, collectibles, etc. It's a treasure drove for those who are looking for second-hand and lightly used books, CDs, vinyl, cassette tapes, DVDs, Blu-rays, video games, game consoles, and collectibles. We ended up stopping by Hey Yogurt for a sweet treat before visiting the Harry Potter store near the Flatiron. Ellie and I definitely took our time to check out each room, took some photos, etc. We needed to head back to the hotel ASAP so we can drop any bags we had before heading to Brooklyn for our super late 10:00 pm dinner reservation at Bong. Ellie has been dying to go to Bong and reservations are very hard to get. She got lucky with getting a reservation but it was a super late one. The food at bong was so good! worth the wait fore sure! I highly recommend the Pomelo Salad.

We didn't get back to the hotel until super late and ran off very little sleep for the first day of BookCon.

BookCon - Day 1, Saturday, April 18, 2026

Wake up time was 7:00 am and we left the hotel a little after 7:30 am. We stopped by this amazing coffee shop called Starstruck Coffee. The cafe was on the way to the Javits Center - North but had very good coffee and very good and filling breakfast sandwiches. I loved the interior of the shop. The music playlist was on point and the vibe was very cool. There were old books, a piano, antique like furniture. Ellie and arrived at the Javits Center a little after 8:00 am. There was already a line forming for standby but we were in row two of the switchbacks. I was so glad that I brought my collapsible stool. That was one of my best pre-con purchases for sure. I ended up using it quite a lot during the con days. The con doors didn't open until 10:00 am so pretty much sat on the stool while I was drinking my coffee and enjoying my sandwich. Ellie and I didn't purchase the VIP passes so we stood in the regular standby line.

Once we were in the entrance, we went had our tickets scanned and we went through security. Then it was free for all and it was chaotic! You need to have a game plan! Everyone was rushing to line up for the in-booth signing tickets and ARC drops. Let's say I barely followed my schedule that I had in mine when I last posted about BookCon in this blog. A lot of things changed since then due to last minute social media drops for times and events.

I made a beeline to the Penguin Random House booth in the exhibit hall on floor 3 hoping to get a ticket for the Elizabeth Lim signing that was happening at 4:00 pm that day. The line was long and it took me over an hour to get to the front of the line. Unfortunately, the Elizabeth Lim signing for Fishbone Cinderella ran out of signing tickets early so I ended up getting one for Reap & Sow by Charlotte Plumb. After obtaining my PRH ticket, I went next door to Macmillan to line up for the Adalyn Grace signing for The Wretched Divine. The signing started around 11:00 am. I was fortunate enough to snag a reservation for Adalyn Grace maybe a couple weeks prior to BookCon after constant refreshing of the BookCon reservations. If you go to BookCon in the future, definitely keep checking to see if someone releases a reservation because you never know if you will be the lucky one to score a highly coveted reservation.

The Adalyn Grace line moved pretty quickly and I was definitely in the first half of the line. Adalyn and I were talking about The Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare since she mentioned about trilogy on social media when she was writing the Wretched Divine. I loved how we were able to get candid photos and a posed photo at the signing. 

After the Adalyn Grace signing, there was a galley drop for The Court of Venus at 12:00 pm at Macmillan so I was hovering around the Macmillan booth since I was already there for the Adalyn Grace signing. That drop was all over the place. There was miscommunication regarding where the line started and the folks who were in line super early apparently were in the wrong line and everyone had to walk around the the other side of the booth.

At time time, I was getting super tired and hungry so I found a spot on the main floor to pop up my stool and to hydrate and eat some food I packed. I know I spent some time walking around the Author Alley area on floor 1 and checked out some vendor booths on the same floor. I did check out some vendors on floor 3 as well. There were so many indie vendor booths! It's a book lover's dream! My favorite booth by far was LaCroix's. They had a cute summery pool them going on with a fake pool, table with umbrellas, and lounge chairs. They also gave full cans of tasty LaCroix's to taste as well and they were ice cold! LaCroix also gave out hats and these cute tote bags. I have to say that the tote bag was perfect for hauling my books! It was big enough and sturdy enough to carry all of my stuff.

I knew there was a drop for The Immortal Rose by Alexandra Bracken at 2:30 pm but the tickets for the drop for that galley and three other titles being handed out around 2:00 pm. I ended up hovering around the HarperCollins booth to see when the official line will form around 1:30 pm. I lucked out with getting a ticket for that drop period. That line was wrapped all the way to the bathrooms! However, when the line was moving and there were only 20 people in front of me, one of the HarperCollins employees mentioned that they were out of of The Immortal Rose and we should think of a backup. I was a little bummed I didn't make it to the line early enough for The Immortal Rose but I was able to pick up Breakout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon. Many of these authors are fantastic so I was excited about their book.

I ended up going to Jasmine Guillory's signing that started at 3:00 pm even though I was super tired from standing all day pretty much. Afterwards, I ended up making a last minute loop around the exhibit hall before heading back to the hotel early. I ended up skipping the Horror panel that I had a reservation for because I was exhausted and I really needed to rest before I went to see Death Became Her. I picked up some takeout from a Thai restaurant around the corner from the hotel and had an early dinner in the hotel room after I took a nice shower. Ellie came back to the hotel when I was eating and she was getting ready to meet a friend in Brooklyn. 

After eating dinner and resting for a bit, I ventured out to the Times Square area for some photos and also to visit the Disney Store there. That store is so whimsical. Very cute and there was even some NYC Disney merch there. I loved the Tangled  decor/mural where the escalator is located. It's beautiful! The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, where Death Becomes Her is playing, was down the street from where the Disney Store is located. I had a wonderful seat! Row W in the orchestra but you can see the whole stage from even the back of the theatre. I didn't have to worry about tall people blocking my view since the sloping of the theatre is made for everyone to enjoy the show. And boy, was it a show!!! Death Becomes Her is comedic but the colors and effects were amazing! The talent on that stage was out of this world! If you want to see a show, Death Becomes Her is it! When I think Broadway, I think of Death Becomes Her now. However, back then I didn't know that Death Becomes Her will have the final show end of June. I am so happy I was able to experience it before the closing.

When the show ended, I was able to catch a little bit of the crowd and cast of Hamilton since the theatre showing Hamilton was down the street from where I saw Death Becomes Her. That was pretty awesome to see. I also picked up a couple of big water bottles to bring back to the hotel. 

I have to say that Death Becomes Her was my favorite part of my trip. It was just what I needed after a long day of standing in lines. The Javits was crowded, I was getting overheated due to the A/C not on full blast, and I was getting tired. The show gave me time to sit and soak in a masterpiece. It was just what I needed to revive myself for the next day.

Tune in for my next post for BookCon Day 2 and travel day back home! 

BookCon 2026

I haven't' blogged in such a long time. I know the book community has shifted the over the years but I am excited to say that I will be attending BookCon this month in NYC! I can't wait for this awesome event despite BookExpo not being around anymore. I am going more for the vibes compared having a set schedule to meet a bunch of authors or to obtain a bunch of books or galleys. 

BookCon is a book lover's dream! BookCon is two-day convention where storytelling and pop culture collide. There are panels, author signings, an indie alley, and a show room with publishing companies and vendors selling bookish things. There are book swaps, a place to meet new people and also space to reunite with old friends, book related demonstrations, etc. and more! The con is a space for folks to celebrate their love for books and reading. BookCon will take place a the Javits Center in Hudson Yards in NYC.

It's going to be a shift from late May to having the con in April but I am excited to visit NYC again. I haven't been there since 2017ish and I can't wait to go back. BookCon sold out fast both rounds when it was on sale and no surprise. After the pandemic, it seems like a lot of bookish cons have popped up and have become extremely popular. I am fortunate that my friend Ellie was able to snag us tickets for BookCon in December for both Saturday and Sunday. 

The whole reservations situation to select author signings and panels that required reservations was pretty chaotic. Folks were given a random number in the queue and were allowed to select up to 4 signings and 2 panels per day for general admission. But we all found out that you can only book things if you have a good queue number. Many people were not able to book reservations because by the time they got into website for their turn, nothing was left over. Some people were fortunate to grab at least 1-2 things if they were not in front of the line. 

I get that people mention that there are always standby lines for things for no reservations but you definitely need to queue up at least an hour beforehand for a panel or signing to hopefully get in. There will be standby lines for panels and signings that have reservations but definitely line up for those super early. I believe for panels and signings with reservations, you need to hop into the panel line at least 15 minutes before the start of the panel or you will forfeit your spot even though you have a reservation. And for the author signing, you need to be in line for the reserved signing at least 30 minutes before the start of the signing. BookCon will pull people from the standby line if there are spots available.

BookCon Plans

Personally I am going to wing most of the con since I don't want my experience to be mainly line con. I want to do things unless I know I definitely can get into something I really want to attend. Only time will tell. I plan to spend a good chunk of the time on the show floor checking out vendors, indie authors, publishers, etc. I want to learn about a lot of upcoming titles for the rest of the year and maybe discover some artists and authors and that I don't know about. I am excited about some vendors that I have been following for years. Oddment and Tweak, Sunset Road Co., The Colorful Geek and Laserbrain Patch Co. will all be at BookCon and I am so excited to visit their booths.

I can say that there are some authors I hope to see during the con but we'll see if I can even make their signing line in time before the lines are closed. Some of the authors I hope I get to see include Dustin Thao and Adalyn Grace.

I was not successful in obtaining a reservation for Saturday's Adalyn Grace ARC signing of The Wretched Divine but hopefully I can make it to one of her other signings during the con. I know she has a pre-panel signing on Sunday that has a standby line and she has another one at the Steamy Lit booth on the show floor.

For indie authors, I am definitely swinging by Olivia Boothe's and K.Sinko's tables. I was able to read The Frost in the Flame before publication date and BookCon exclusives of the book will be available at Olivia's table. I pre-ordered that edition for pickup and also pre-ordered several of K.Sinko's titles.

For panels, I hope I get lucky to get into Classic Retellings with a Modern Twist on Saturday morning. The show floor opens at 10:00 am and this panel starts at 11:00 am so not sure how early I can queue up to get into the line for the panel if I want to hit the show floor first thing in the morning. The Classic Retellings panel feature Kalynn Bayron, Ryan Douglass, Jesmeen Kaur Deo, Elizabeth Lim, and Danielle Paige. The panel will be moderated by Aurora Dominguez. There will be a post-panel signing as well. The panel I really want to attend is Then/Now: The Evolution of Your Career Since That 1st Book with Meg Cabot, Melissa de La Cruz, Kami Garcia, Ann M. Martin, and moderator Libba Bray. I am not sure if I will be able to get into the panel since this one of the Main Stage panels with no reservations and I feel like this panel is going to be hard to get into unless I queue up over an hour early for.

On Sunday, I plan to check out the show floor in the morning and relax a bit until the afternoon. So many good things are happening in a short period of time and Sunday is the shorter day for the con. One of Adalyn's signings is at noon so we'll see how long the line is for that signing since there are no reservations. I got lucky to snag a reservation to meet Julie Murphy, who will be signing ARCs of The Undergrads: Student Union at the Macmillan booth. So I am definitely going to that signing in the afternoon.

Both days have a fore-edge painting demonstration by Gillisi Art (@gillisiart) and if I have time, I might check one of the demonstrations out. There is a Page to Screen panel at the end of the day that I was able to secure a reservation that sounds very intriguing. Authors Emily St. John Mandel (Station Eleven), Robinne Lee (The Idea of You), May Cobb (The Hunting Wives), Andy Weir (Project Hail Mary) will discuss their books and the movie and TV adaptations.

If for some chance I cannot get into the Page to Screen panel, I plan to check out Into the World of Romantasy: Exploring the Marriage Between Genres. Stacia Stark, Elise Kova, and Adalyn Grace will discsus why the pairing of romance and fantasy works so well and how they balance the elements integral to each genre. The panel will be moderated by John Jacobson.

Are you planning to attend BookCon? Who will I see in a couple of weeks?