Notes from the field: BookCon 2026
Hugged one of my faves, met an editor and connected with other Black women romance heads.
April has been my shoot my shot month. After experiencing my first crash out of sabbatical, I knew I needed to do something that would help reignite my creativity and recenter my confidence. So for the last few weeks, I’ve been fighting back against my imposture syndrome, challenging myself to want more and asking why not? And after shooting my shot to request a media credential to attend BookCon 2026 (tickets sold out at the end of last year!), I found myself walking through the main entrance of the Javits Center this past weeked and immediately running into the romance novel icon, Kennedy Ryan! You better believe I fangirled, told her all about book club and congratulated her on the recent announcement of her combined first-look, producer deal with Universal and Peacock before we shared a long hug. BookCon was off to a great start!
I didn’t know what to expect from the conference but went in with a few clear goals: (1) attend the romance panels featuring some of my faves — Kennedy Ryan (obvi), Tia Williams and Jasmine Guillory — (2) connect with an editor from at least one publishing house and (3) get my hands on a few highly-anticipated ARCs. I’ve never attended a “con” of any kind and usually try my best to avoid large crowds in sterile convention centers. And while the crowds and endless lines were pretty off-putting, I didn’t let that stop me. But thanks to a combination of proper planning and good timing, I was able to attend all the panels I wanted to and met an editor from 831 Stories. Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on my side the entire time. The main ARC I was chasing —The Missed Connection x Tia Williams — ran out by the time I reached the front of the Hatchett Book Group booth.
Despite my book bag being a book short and my camera roll looking embarrassingly empty, I walked away with a full heart. The connections I made with other Black women who love romance just as much as I do and were willing to get lost in the throws of debates about the effectiveness of writing in the close third vs. first person POV, the delicate art of a third act breakup, whether forced proximity or prolonged separation elicits more tension between characters and if the miscommunication trope is an unavoidable lever in every love story made the entire conference worthwhile. Black women’s innate ability to find each other in a sea of whiteness, form instant bonds and create space is incredibly special. This magic was at work this past weekend and I’m grateful to have been able to experience it first-hand.
BookCon 2027 may not be seeing me but this year’s conference reinforced the power in shooting your shot. There are ten days left in April, so here’s to making more shit shake!