Hello Everyone! On Saturday May 14th 2016, I went to my first Bookcon. I had never heard of Bookcon until a few months ago when I saw an email about the event. Bookcon is a convention for book lovers, where you’ll find a variety of publishers, authors, content creators, and celebrities who influence how and what we read.

At Bookcon there are opportunities to meet and greet with talent, get your books signed by your favorite authors, view panels and Q&As, pick up book swag, and get early access to new books before they’re released. This year Bookcon was held in Chicago for the first time. The event is usually held in New York City, so I couldn’t pass up this rare opportunity. My first Bookcon was quite the success. I am so excited to share with you my experience and a few tips for when you attend your first Bookcon.

Go to Will Call FIRST to Pick up Your Tickets

Going to any event can be confusing when you don’t know what to expect. At 9:30 am, my mom and I arrived at Bookcon’s Que Hall. We joined the first line we saw to get our tickets. However, it wasn’t the right line. After talking to a staff member, we discovered we were actually in the security check line. Oops! The staff member told us we’d have to get out of line and go to Will Call to retrieve our tickets FIRST. We asked a group of ladies behind us if they could save a spot in line for us, so we could go to Will Call. By the time we came back with our tickets, the line had moved too fast and the ladies were nowhere to be found. Once again, we had to go to the back of the line. Luckily, we had tons of time before the event started.

Arrive Early to Pick up Autographing Area Wristbands

Once we waited in line to go through security, we followed the crowd to the second Que Hall, where we would wait in line to enter Bookcon. When we arrived, we noticed there were two sections. One was for entering Bookcon and the other was for getting Autographing Area wristbands. Each line for wrist bands corresponded with a different group of authors. In each line, you could only choose one author per wristband. There was a chart that gave the times each author would be signing books in the Autographing Area. You would not be able to enter the Autographing Area without a wristband. However, there were many other authors not on the chart that were doing in-booth signing throughout the day.

The only author that was doing a book signing in the Autographing Area that we were interested in was Meg Cabot (the author of The Princess Diaries). Apparently, the line for wrist bands started at 8am, so the line was very long already. We figured if we decided to wait in line for Meg Cabot’s wristband, that they’d be sold out by the time we arrived at the front of the line. My mom and I agreed that going to a book signing wasn’t a MUST – there was still so much to do at Bookcon.

Exploring the Show Floor: Where Do You Start?

The Show Floor is where you’ll find all of the exhibitors, which includes: publishers, in-booth signings, book merchandise, and more! My mom and I literally spent ALL DAY exploring the Show Floor, so we weren’t too upset that we didn’t go to any panels or Autographing Area signings.

When you FINALLY arrive at the Bookcon Show Floor, it can be very overwhelming. Where do you go first? After seeing which exhibitors were most popular (as far as long lines), here are my recommendations:

• Harlequin
• Out of Print Clothing
• OwlCrate
• Scholastic Inc.
• Epic Reads

My mom and I went to the Scholastic Inc. booth first because the Harry Potter section caught my eye from afar. If you want to snag a whole ton of FREE books in the first few minutes of Bookcon, go there first. My mom and I were a little overwhelmed and confused when we arrived at the Scholastic booth because there were stacks and stacks of books just sitting there on the tables. There were no signs telling us what was free and what wasn’t. To our surprise almost all of the books were free for the taking. Just a rule of thumb: NEVER assume all books are free because there were booths throughout Bookcon that only sold books (but for a discount).

Books, Excerpts, and Posters Galore: How to Stay Organized

My mom and I had to stay very organized throughout the whole day – starting with Scholastic. Since we share books, we had to make sure we didn’t get duplicates. The Scholastic line moves very fast, so we had to pick and choose quickly. Although it’s tempting, I do not recommend taking every single free book offered – especially from the Scholastic booth. Remember: Books are heavy, and you have the entire Show Floor to explore.

Unless you really want to go to a specific booth right away, it’s a good idea to have a strategy to make sure you visit every booth. Bookcon is filled with exhibitors. My mom and I made sure we walked up the full length of one side of a show floor aisle before browsing the other. Then, we could proceed to the next aisle and so on.

A popular giveaway at Bookcon was bookish totebags, so don’t feel the need to bring any bags from home. We brought bags because we didn’t know we were going to get 14 tote bags. Out of the bags we brought from home, my backpack and a tall tote bag was found most useful. At Bookcon there are many posters, cards, and other flat giveaways. I recommend you save at least one tote bag for “flats” only, so you can bring them home without too much damage. Utilize the tote bags and split up your books to avoid damage and too much weight in one bag – or on one arm.

Take Breaks Often – Books Are Heavy!

After a couple hours at Bookcon, my mom and I were very tired. We stopped many times to reorganize our books and to rest our feet. There’s a lot of Show Floor to cover, so take as many breaks as you can. There are plenty of tables to sit at to rest and get organized. However, some are only for the people working the booths, so don’t be surprised if you are asked to leave (that happened to us). If you are able to snag a seat at one of the panels, that’s a good opportunity to give your arms a break. Seats fill up fast, so arrive early to the panels you want to see. If you’re hungry, there are restaurants on site. We decided not to buy convention food because it was very costly, but we did bring a few snacks and water bottles to stay energized.

Get Immersed in the World of Books

Although my mom and I decided to forgo Autographing Area signings and panels, we still made the best of our experience and immersed ourselves in the world of books. There are many hands-on activities to try at the booths as well as many opportunities to win free books and other bookish goodies. We both had the chance to try a virtual reality headset for the first time, where we explored the world of author, Alisia Dale’s book, Sela Blue. OwlCrate, a book subscription service, had a wheel for giveaways. I won the book Da Vinci’s Tiger by L.M. Elloitt, and my mom won a candle. They also gave away little knickknacks, like buttons and stickers.

There were many photo ops at Bookcon and you definitely should take advantage of them. National Geographic had a very scenic backdrop to make it look as if you went on a hike in the wilderness. Paint By Sticker’s booth had a photo op where you were part of a painting in a gallery. They also let you try out their product where you matched a colorful sticker to a number to help create a famous masterpiece. My favorite photo op was when I got to meet my childhood pal, Junie B. Jones. I swear I fangirled over her more than any of the authors. I was quite surprised when I found her over by the Random House booth. My childhood dreams had finally come true!

If you don’t want to wait in long lines for Autographing Area signings, there a plenty of in-booth signings. My mom and I met a lot of really talented authors and artists by visiting their booth. Don’t be afraid to interact with them. If you are unfamiliar with their work, ask them about it. You just might discover a new book or company that interests you.

While exploring Bookcon, keep an eye out for BookTubers (YouTubers who make videos about books). I’m very new to watching BookTube videos, so unfortunately I didn’t recognize anyone, but apparently a fan stopped a BookTuber (emmmabooks) who was standing right next to me. I wish I would have known who she was at the time. So, if you see a YouTuber or BookTuber walking around at Bookcon, don’t be afraid to say hi – they encourage you to.