BookCon is an annual fan convention established in 2014 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Taking the name format from other fan conventions such as

Comic-Con A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at co ...

, BookCon was established to combine pop culture and the book industry. Many authors, celebrities and publishing professionals attend BookCon. In a statement made on December 1, 2020, it was announced that due to the impact of

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

the convention was canceled for 2021 and would be reworked for the future.

History

BookCon is run by ReedPop, which also organizes

New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. History The New York Comic Con is a ...

Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) is a Chicago fan convention dedicated to comics, pop culture, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television. The inaugural event was held April 16–18, 2010 at the McCo ...

, Star Wars Celebration, and other events. BookCon was created to boost the image and attendance of long-running book fair

BookExpo America BookExpo America (commonly referred to within the book publishing industry as BEA) was an annual book trade fair in the United States. BEA is almost always held in a major city over four days in late May and/or early June. Nearly all significan ...

Events

2014 edition

The first BookCon was held May 31, 2014, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. On May 30, a sneak preview event was held with the ''

This Is Where I Leave You ''This Is Where I Leave You'' is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Shawn Levy and starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll, Kathryn Hahn, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant, Dax Shepard, and Jane Fonda. It ...

'' Q&A panel, featuring author

Jonathan Tropper Jonathan Tropper (born February 19, 1970) is an American screenwriter, novelist, and producer. He is the internationally best-selling author of six novels that have been translated into over thirty languages. His last two novels, ''This Is Where ...

and stars of the film version, Jason Bateman and

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...

. The event featured a panel with best-selling novelist

John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his popular legal thrillers. According to the Ame ...

. Other writers and stars there for Q&As and autograph signing included

Amy Poehler Amy Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy tro ...

(''Yes Please''), Martin Short (''I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend''),

Jodi Picoult Jodi Lynn Picoult () is an American writer. Picoult has published 28 novels, accompanying short stories, and has also written several issues of Wonder Woman. Approximately 40 million copies of her books are in print worldwide, translated into 34 ...

(''Leaving Time''),

Kathy Reichs Kathleen Joan Reichs (née Toelle, born 1950) is an American crime writer, forensic anthropologist and academic. She is an adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Early life and education Kathleen ...

(''Bones Never Lie''), and

Ruth Reichl Ruth Reichl (; born 1948), is an American chef, food writer and editor. In addition to two decades as a food critic, mainly spent at the ''Los Angeles Times'' and ''The New York Times'', Reichl has also written cookbooks, memoirs and a novel, and ...

(''Delicious!'').

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

also organized a '' Dora and Friends'' storytime for children.

2015 edition

The second edition took place May 30–31 at the Javits Center in New York City. Scheduled authors for the event included

James Patterson James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. Among his works are the '' Alex Cross'', '' Michael Bennett'', '' Women's Murder Club'', '' Maximum Ride'', '' Daniel X'', '' NYPD Red'', '' Witch & Wizard'', and ''Private'' ...

Candace Bushnell Candace Bushnell (born December 1, 1958) is an American author, journalist, and television producer. She wrote a column for ''The New York Observer'' (1994–96) that was adapted into the bestselling ''Sex and the City'' anthology. The book was ...

Sherman Alexie Sherman Joseph Alexie Jr. (born October 7, 1966) is a Spokane- Coeur d'Alene-Native American novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and filmmaker. His writings draw on his experiences as an Indigenous American with ancestry from se ...

Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, ...

Aziz Ansari Aziz Ismail Ansari (; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for his role as Tom Haverford on the NBC series '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015) and as creator and star of the Netflix series '' Mas ...

Mindy Kaling Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter and producer. She first gained recognition starring as Kelly Kapoor in the N ...

and B. J. Novak.

John Hodgman John Kellogg Hodgman (born June 3, 1971) is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as '' The Areas of My Expertise'', ''More Information Than You Require'', and '' That Is All'', he is known for ...

of ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

'' led a panel discussion with comedian Nick Offerman ('' Parks and Recreation''), whose second book, ''Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers'', was released May 26.

2016 edition

The third BookCon was held May 14, 2016 at

McCormick Place McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America. It consists of four interconnected buildings and one indoor arena sited on and near the shore of Lake Michigan, about south of downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. McCorm ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The event was shortened to one day, which caused complaints from fans that it was too short. About 7,000 people attended the event. Authors at the event included Alexandra Bracken,

Khloé Kardashian Khloé Alexandra Kardashian (; born June 27, 1984) is an American media personality and socialite. Since 2007, she has starred with her family in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians''. Its success has led to the cre ...

Kate DiCamillo Katrina Elizabeth DiCamillo (born March 25, 1964) is an American children's fiction author. She has published over 25 novels, including '' Because of Winn-Dixie'', ''The Tiger Rising'', ''The Tale of Despereaux'', ''The Miraculous Journey ...

and

Meg Cabot Meggin Patricia Cabot (born February 1, 1967) is an American novelist. She has written and published over 50 novels of young adult and adult fiction and is best known for her young adult series ''Princess Diaries'', which was later adapted by W ...

2017 edition

The fourth BookCon was held at the

Javits Center The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, commonly known as the Javits Center, is a large convention center on Eleventh Avenue between 34th Street and 38th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by architect James ...

in New York City. Authors included

Dan Brown Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author best known for his thriller novels, including the Robert Langdon novels ''Angels & Demons'' (2000), '' The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), ''The Lost Symbol'' (2009), '' Inferno'' (2013), ...

, Margaret Atwood,

Kwame Alexander Kwame Alexander (born August 21, 1968) is an American writer of poetry and children's fiction. His verse novel ''The Crossover'' won the 2015 Newbery Medal and was selected as an Honor book for the Coretta Scott King Award. Personal life and educ ...

Cory Doctorow Cory Efram Doctorow (; born July 17, 1971) is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who served as co-editor of the blog '' Boing Boing''. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of ...

Shea Serrano Shea Serrano is an American author, journalist, and former teacher. He is best known for his work with the sports and pop culture websites, '' The Ringer'' and ''Grantland'', as well as his books, including '' The Rap Year Book'', '' Basketball ...

Rainbow Rowell Rainbow Rowell (born February 24, 1973) is an American author known for young adult and adult contemporary novels. Her young adult novels ''Eleanor & Park'' (2012), ''Fangirl'' (2013) and '' Carry On'' (2015) have been subjects of critical acclaim ...

Veronica Roth Veronica Anne Roth (born August 19, 1988) is an American novelist and short story writer, known for her bestselling ''Divergent'' trilogy which has sold more than 35 million copies worldwide. Personal life Veronica Roth was born on August 19, ...

and Soman Chainani. Celebrities at the event include scientist Bill Nye and actors

Jeffrey Tambor Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank Kings ...

Mayim Bialik Mayim Chaya Bialik ( ; born December 12, 1975) is an American actress, game show host, and author. From 1991 to 1995, she played the title character of the NBC sitcom ''Blossom''. From 2010 to 2019, she played neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler on ...

Krysten Ritter Krysten Alyce Ritter (born December 16, 1981) is an American actress and model. She came to prominence when she appeared as Jane Margolis in the AMC drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2009–2010) and its spinoff film '' El Camino'' (2019). She th ...

Chad Michael Murray Chad Michael Murray (born August 24, 1981) is an American actor and writer. He is best known for playing Lucas Scott in The WB/ CW drama series '' One Tree Hill'' (2003–09, 2012), a recurring role as Tristin DuGray on The WB/ CW series ''Gilm ...

and

Andrew McCarthy Andrew Thomas McCarthy (born November 29, 1962) is an American actor, travel writer, and television director. He is most known as a member of the Brat Pack, with roles in 1980s films such as ''St. Elmo's Fire'', ''Pretty in Pink'', and '' Less ...

2018 edition

The fifth BookCon was held at the

in New York City. Authors included

Angie Thomas Angie Thomas (born September 20, 1988) is an American young adult author, best known for writing '' The Hate U Give'' (2017). Her second young adult novel, ''On the Come Up'', was released on February 25, 2019. Early life Angie Thomas was born ...

, Victoria Aveyard,

Leigh Bardugo Leigh Bardugo ( he, לי ברדוגו) is an Israeli-American fantasy author. She is best known for her young adult Grishaverse novels, which include the ''Shadow and Bone'' trilogy, the ''Six of Crows'' duology, and the '' King of Scars'' duolo ...

, and

Marissa Meyer Marissa Meyer (born February 19, 1984) is an American novelist. Her debut novel, ''Cinder,'' was released on January 3, 2012. It is the first in her series ''The Lunar Chronicles''. Early life and education Meyer was born in Tacoma, Washington ...

. Celebrities at the event included

Taye Diggs Scott Leo "Taye" Diggs (born January 2, 1971) is an American stage and film actor. He is known for his roles in the Broadway musicals '' Rent'' and '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', the TV series '' Private Practice'' (2007-2013), ''Murder in th ...

and

Zach King Zachary King (born February 4, 1990) is an American internet personality based in Los Angeles. He is most known for his "magic vines," which are six-second videos digitally edited to look as if he is doing magic. He calls his videos "digital sl ...

2019 edition

The sixth BookCon was held at the

in New York City. Authors included Victoria Aveyard,

V.E. Schwab Victoria Elizabeth (V. E.) Schwab (born July 7, 1987) is an American writer. She is known for the 2013 novel ''Vicious (novel), Vicious'', the ''A Darker Shade of Magic, Shades of Magic'' series, and ''The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue'', which w ...

Marie Lu Marie Lu (born 陸希未) is a Chinese-American young adult author. She is best known for the ''Legend'' series, novels set in a dystopian and militarized future, as well as the Young Elites series, the Warcross series, and ''Batman: Nightwalke ...

, Joe Hill,

Holly Black Holly Black (''née'' Riggenbach; born November 10, 1971) is an American writer and editor best known for her children's and young adult fiction. Her most recent work is the ''New York Times'' bestselling young adult ''Folk of the Air'' series. ...

Cassandra Clare Judith Lewis (née Rumelt; born July 27, 1973), better known by her pen name Cassandra Clare, is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her bestselling series ''The Mortal Instruments''.'' Personal life Clare was born Judith ...

Maggie Stiefvater Margaret Stiefvater ( ; Hummel) is an American writer of young adult fiction, known mainly for her series of fantasy novels '' The Wolves of Mercy Falls'' and ''The Raven Cycle''. She currently lives in Virginia. Life and career Early life ...

and

. Celebrities at the event included

Alyssa Milano Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress. She has played Samantha Micelli in '' Who's the Boss?'', Jennifer Mancini in '' Melrose Place'', Phoebe Halliwell in ''Charmed'', Billie Cunningham in '' My Name Is Earl'', Sa ...

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...

, and

Evangeline Lilly Nicole Evangeline Lilly (born 3 August 1979) is a Canadian actress and author. She is the recipient of various accolades including a Screen Actors Guild Award and an MTV Movie Award. She has also received nominations for a Golden Globe Award, a ...

2020 edition

The seventh BookCon was to be held at the

in New York City, however due to the

, the event was canceled. Instead, BookCon was held virtually as "BookConline," with panels held over Facebook.

References

External links

TheBookCon.com
* {{coord, 40, 45, 29.4, N, 74, 00, 09.0, W, type:landmark, display=title Recurring events established in 2014 Conventions in New York City 2014 establishments in New York City Book fairs in the United States