Read It and Weep: Watch This ‘BookTok’ Festival Go Horribly Wrong

Braden Bjella Published 05/07/2025 in facepalm

It’s like Fyre Festival, only the crowd is even more insufferable.

Have you ever heard of BookTok? If you haven’t, it’s a subset of TikTok in which people read and recommend the absolute worst books possible. Wondering why every twentysomething around you suddenly references Colleen Hoover and Anna Todd as if they’re authors worthy of anything more than the fan-fiction sites that launched their careers? Blame BookTok!

I kid, of course. Kinda. I just don’t want to *completely* disregard this aspect of the social media site. There are plenty of good authors on TikTok, and the social media app has proven to be a good community for connecting those who are just starting out in the industry with those who have had a little bit more experience.

Hell, given how big BookTok is (especially in the fantasy genre), it might even be smart to have a convention to bring all these authors together and connect them with their fans. How nice would that be?

@stephdevourerofbooks When you gotta laugh so you don’t cry. a million lives or a million lies? I was an attending author…at least we looked fantastic. @Valerie Rivers @Author Sarah Zane️‍ #baltimore #amillionlivesbookfestival #amillionlies #bookball ♬ origineel geluid - Tik Toker

@azthiabookwyrm With everything that's coming out about the Million Lives Book. Please keep the authors in mind. Watch their videos, check out their books. The meme is fun, but let's support the people who took the hit. #millionlivesbookfestival #indieauthor #booktokfyp #booktok ♬ original sound - Azthia Bookwyrm

Not very, it turns out. The “A Million Lives Book Festival” was advertised as an event with vendors, panels, cosplay and a fantasy-themed ball for 500 to 1,000 attendees. Instead, barely anyone showed up, and the people who did were met with not an otherworldly wonderland, but a hotel basement that had been sparsely decorated with rose petals.

@azthiabookwyrm A Millon Lets Downs Book Festival.. The only good thing about this festival was the amazing people I was able to meet. Trauma bonding #booktok #booktokfyp #readersoftiktok #millionlivesbookfestival ♬ original sound - SAINTED

While many of the authors are (understandably) pissed about the whole situation, some content creators have managed to spin this into a positive, using the attention garnered from the event to either promote their own work or interview other authors about their time in the industry.

Good for them for spinning this negative into a positive. Hopefully you’ll get an actual fantasy ball one of these days — or at the very least, be booked *upstairs* at the Marriott instead of in the basement.

@laraonfirewrites i attended #AMillionLives as an author & i have receipts!!!!! “content creation room” photo by @Coco #amillionlivesbookfestival #BookTok #baltimorebookfestival #booktokfyrefest #archerfantasyevents ♬ original sound - Lara Buckheit