Book Lovers’ Conference in Denver Dubbed “Fyre Festival of Books” Amid Chaos and Injuries

A high­ly antic­i­pat­ed book lovers’ con­fer­ence in Den­ver, Col­orado, has faced intense back­lash on social media after descend­ing into chaos, with some atten­dees label­ing it the “Fyre Fes­ti­val of books.” 

The event, Read­ers Take Den­ver, not only dis­ap­point­ed par­tic­i­pants but also result­ed in injuries, includ­ing one attendee suf­fer­ing a black eye.

What Went Wrong at Readers Take Denver

Orga­nized by author Renee Jones, who has writ­ten over 100 books in the mys­tery and romance gen­res, the con­fer­ence was expect­ed to be a haven for bib­lio­philes. How­ev­er, atten­dees report­ed a series of prob­lems that left them frus­trat­ed and disappointed.

Event orga­niz­er Renee Jones alleged­ly down­played the issues that arose dur­ing the con­fer­ence. Despite her attempts to mit­i­gate con­cerns, the sit­u­a­tion only wors­ened, with atten­dees express­ing their dis­sat­is­fac­tion on social media plat­forms. The chaos at the event even led to some bib­lio­philes sus­tain­ing injuries, fur­ther fuel­ing the backlash.

Comparisons to the Fyre Festival

The dis­as­trous out­come of Read­ers Take Den­ver has led many to draw par­al­lels to the infa­mous Fyre Fes­ti­val, a lux­u­ry music fes­ti­val held in the Bahamas in 2017 that promised a lav­ish expe­ri­ence but end­ed up as a total fias­co. The sim­i­lar­i­ties between the two events have prompt­ed atten­dees to dub the book con­fer­ence as the “Fyre Fes­ti­val of books.”

The Fyre Fes­ti­val became a sym­bol of fail­ure and false promis­es after atten­dees, who had paid thou­sands of dol­lars for tick­ets, found them­selves strand­ed on an island with inad­e­quate accom­mo­da­tions and no music per­for­mances. The even­t’s orga­niz­ers faced legal action and the fias­co was even doc­u­ment­ed in two sep­a­rate documentaries.

While Read­ers Take Den­ver may not have reached the scale of the Fyre Fes­ti­val’s fail­ure, the even­t’s poor orga­ni­za­tion and sub­se­quent back­lash have left a sour taste in the mouths of many book lovers who had high hopes for the gathering.