Chaotic Book Festival Compared to Fyre Festival, Leaves Authors and Attendees Out-of-Pocket for Hundreds of Dollars
A fresh take on the disappointing event that's giving the failed Glasgow Willy Wonka experience, controversial Eras Tour event, and the ill-fated Fyre Fest a run for their money is the A Million Lives Book Festival. This romantic fantasy book convention, which took place at the Baltimore Convention Center over the weekend, has since earned the unflattering nickname 'A Million Little Lies.'
The festival marketed itself as the go-to event for fans of 'romantasy,' a genre that dazzles BookTok, the TikTok corner where book enthusiasts share their favorite reads. Organized by Grace Willows through her company Archer Management, the event promised a bombastic lineup of activities, including a vendor hall, engaging panels, a content creation room, cosplay meet-ups, a cosplay competition, and a grand ball. Ticket prices ranged from a cool $50 to an eye-watering $250.
Archer Management describes its mission as one of helping to build the bookish community, supporting both traditionally and independently published authors. Grace Willows, the brains behind the operation, speaks fondly of books as her therapy and the facilitate she uses to forge friendships within the bookish community. She created her company to share her love of reading with others, making the events accessible to all.
However, post-event, attendees flooded social media with biting complaints. Many authors were promised up to 1,000 attendees, but actual numbers were suspiciously low, with some estimates suggesting as few as 50 to 60 people. As if that wasn't bad enough, they were still expected to pay for their own tables to sell books.
Take a gander at author Kait Disney-Leugers' TikTok, where she declares that A Million Lives 'felt like the Fyre Fest of book festivals.' Meanwhile, romance author Hope Davis created a viral Instagram thread, lamenting that authors were charged a $150 table fee and told at some point 500-600 tickets were sold, while only about 50 people actually showed up.
Commentators on social media are up in arms, with some labeling the event a 'bookish Fyre Festival.' The lack of promised swag bags, decorations for the Lavender Romance Ball, and a proper schedule for the panels have only added to the disappointment. To make matters worse, the ball was held in a barely decorated conference room, and the music, supposed to be blasting from a DJ, was instead played from a Bluetooth speaker.
Despite the myriad issues faced by attendees and authors, Grace Willows took to TikTok to apologize and promised a refund to those who requested it. However, comments were swiftly disabled on the video, leaving many wondering if promises will be kept. The Daily Mail has reached out to Grace for further comment.
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- The A Million Lives Book Festival, labeled 'A Million Little Lies', has sparked a wave of criticism on social media, earning comparisons to failed events like the Glasgow Willy Wonka experience and Fyre Fest.
- The festival, marketed for fans of 'romantasy' on BookTok, offered a lineup of activities including panels, cosplay meet-ups, and a grand ball, but attendees claim the event failed to deliver.
- Archer Management, the company behind the festival, aims to build the bookish community and support authors, but the event's promises of large attendee numbers and organizing failed to materialize.
- Authors Kait Disney-Leugers and Hope Davis, among others, have shared their disappointment on TikTok and Instagram, confirming the event felt like a 'bookish Fyre Festival'.
- Issues at the festival included low attendance, high table fees, missing swag bags, lack of decorations, and poor organization of panels and the Lavender Romance Ball.
- In response to the criticism, Grace Willows, the festival organizer, issued an apology video on TikTok and promised refunds to those who requested it, but comments were swiftly disabled, raising questions about the reliability of her promises.
- The General News outlet, The Daily Mail, has contacted Grace Willows for further comment on the controversies surrounding the A Million Lives Book Festival.
