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BookCon 2026 Is Coming to New York City — and It Sounds Like the Literary Event of the Year 📚✨

March 27, 2026 THANH VY VUONG

📚 Hello, lovely reader

If you've ever dreamed of walking into a room where books are everywhere, authors are signing copies just a few feet away, and every single person around you loves stories as much as you do — April in New York City has something very exciting in store for you.

BookCon 2026 is returning to New York City on April 18–19, 2026 — and everything we know about it suggests this is going to be one of the most joyful weekends in the bookish calendar.

🗓️ The Essential Details

BookCon 2026 will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 445 11th Avenue, New York City, on April 18–19, 2026.

Saturday runs from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Two full days of panels, author conversations, book signings, and the kind of atmosphere that only exists when thousands of book lovers gather in one place with a shared purpose.

✨ What Kind of Event Is BookCon?

Organized by ReedPop, BookCon is designed as a fan-focused celebration of storytelling in all forms — bringing together authors, publishers, creators, and readers for a weekend of immersive literary experiences.

Think of it as a literary festival where fandom culture and the publishing world meet. It's the kind of event where you might find yourself in a panel discussion with a bestselling author in the morning and discovering your next favorite indie voice in the afternoon. For avid readers, the event is often described as a literary version of Comic-Con — where books, fandom, and community converge.

🖤 The Authors — and Why Every Single One Matters

This is the part we've been saving. Because the BookCon 2026 author lineup reads like a love letter to everyone who has ever lost sleep over a fantasy world, a morally grey character, or a romance that took four books to resolve.

🐦⬛ Leigh Bardugo

If you need to be in the same room as the woman who built Ketterdam, who gave us Kaz Brekker and his impossible heists and the quiet devastation of his heart — this is your moment. Leigh Bardugo is one of the most celebrated voices in contemporary fantasy, and with Dead Beat, the Ninth House finale, arriving in September 2026, seeing her at BookCon this April feels particularly charged with meaning.

Whether you're a Crow Club devotee, a Ninth House obsessive, or someone who has simply been changed by her writing — this one will stay with you.

🌿 Heading to BookCon and want to wear your love for Leigh's worlds? Our officially licensed Leigh Bardugo has everything from Six of Crows to Ninth House, made in collaboration with the author herself.

🍂 Holly Black

The queen of Faerie is coming to New York. Holly Black — whose Elfhame is one of the most intricately rendered faerie kingdoms in YA fantasy — will be at BookCon just months before the release of her new illustrated collection A Conspiracy of Charming Monsters in November 2026. The timing could not be more perfect.

If you have a copy of The Cruel Prince that needs a signature, or you simply want to stand in the presence of the person who made Cardan Greenbriar one of the most talked-about love interests of the decade — April 18 cannot come soon enough.

🌿 Dress the part for Elfhame — our officially licensed The Cruel Prince is waiting for you.

⚔️ Cassandra Clare

Few authors can claim to have built a universe as vast, as enduring, and as deeply beloved as Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter Chronicles. With The Last King of Faerie — the opening book of the final Shadowhunter series — arriving in November 2026, BookCon becomes an extraordinary opportunity to meet the author at what is genuinely a historic moment in her storytelling journey.

Twenty-three books. Nineteen years. And the story is still going.

If you've been here since City of Bones, this is a meeting that deserves to happen in person.

🌙 Carissa Broadbent

The Serpent and the Wings of Night | Daughter of No Worlds

Carissa Broadbent has become one of the most talked-about voices in romantasy in recent years — and for very good reason. Her Crowns of Nyaxia series, beginning with The Serpent and the Wings of Night, brings a darkness and emotional depth to vampire fantasy that is genuinely unlike anything else in the genre right now. And her War of Lost Hearts trilogy, beginning with Daughter of No Worlds, is the kind of sweeping, immersive epic that readers finish and immediately need to press into someone else's hands.

BookCon 2026 is a rare chance to meet an author whose star is burning very, very bright right now.

🌿 Love Carissa's worlds as much as we do? Explore our Carissa Broadbent Merch Collection — from Crowns of Nyaxia to War of Lost Hearts.

🌬️ Elise Kova

Elise Kova has been quietly, consistently building one of the most devoted readerships in fantasy — and the Air Awakens series, with its elemental magic and its slow-burn romance that rewards every patient page, is a cornerstone of the genre for so many readers. If you discovered fantasy through Vhalla Yarl and her journey from library apprentice to legend, meeting Elise Kova at BookCon will feel like returning to something foundational.

🌿 Carry Solaris with you — our officially licensed Air Awakens collection was made for exactly this kind of devotion.

🎤 What Else to Expect at BookCon

Beyond the author signings, BookCon will occupy multiple exhibition halls within the Javits Center, offering panels, workshops, and an expansive show floor filled with publishers and literary exhibitors.

Some highlights to look forward to:

Author Panels & Interviews — popular authors will discuss writing, publishing, and the creative process in moderated conversations and audience Q&A sessions.
Indie Alley — a dedicated space showcasing independent authors and publishers, where readers can discover new voices and hidden gems. This is often one of the most exciting corners of BookCon for readers who love finding something unexpected.
Interactive Fan Experiences — attendees can participate in book clubs, workshops, and storytelling sessions designed to deepen their connection to literature.
After-Hours Events — special nighttime programming includes themed parties, storytelling sessions, and literary meetups for fans.

📋 Planning Your Visit — A Few Tips

Because the event draws thousands of book lovers each year, planning ahead ensures you don't miss your favourite panels or signings. A few things to keep in mind:

Arrive early — especially on Saturday. The exhibition floor is expansive but the most popular author signings tend to draw queues early in the day.
Build your schedule in advance — check panel lineups as soon as they're announced and note the sessions that matter most to you. Popular panels can fill up quickly.
Bring your books — you'll want books to get signed by attending authors. If you're travelling light, check ahead for which titles will be available for purchase on the floor.
Wear comfortable shoes — two days of convention floors is a lot of ground to cover, and you'll want to give every corner the attention it deserves.
Bring a good tote — because you will leave with more books than you arrived with. That is simply the BookCon guarantee.

🌿 Speaking of which — our bookish tote bags collection were made for exactly this kind of day. Bookish, roomy, and ready for every haul.

💙 For Those Who Can't Make It to New York

Not everyone can get to the Javits Center in April, and that's okay. BookCon tends to generate a wonderful wave of content — panels get shared, authors post about their signing experiences, and the bookish internet becomes a particularly joyful place for a few days.

Follow along, watch the livestreams, celebrate from wherever you are. Book community has never required a convention badge to feel real.

And if you want to honour your love for these authors in a way that travels with you — wherever you are — our licensed collections are a small, beautiful way to do exactly that.