Romantasy ball labeled the ‘Fyre Fest of Booktok’ as organiser apologizes for disastrous convention

Fantasy book fans were left crushed after what was supposed to be an immersive night of themed entertainment turned into a chaotic disaster.

A Million Lives Book Festival, which was organized by Archer Management, took place in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 2 and May 3. According to a description of the event on Instagram, it featured dozens of authors who write Romantasy, a beloved subgenre that combines romance and fantasy and is popular on TikTok.

The marketing for the event promised books, a vendor hall, cosplay, a ball, and more. Authors who bought tickets were told they’d have a spot to sell their books to readers.

However, attendees were greeted with a starkly different reality. Author Stephanie Combs posted a clip of her and her friends walking through a hall at the festival wearing floor-length ball gowns.

“When you’re going to a bookish fantasy themed ball,” she wrote over the clip, before revealing more footage from inside the convention. “And this is what you get.”

The video showed a row of empty tables, with lines of sparse pink rose petals and a few books standing up. Meanwhile, guests in full cosplay idled in an empty conference hall with little to no decor surrounding them.

“When you gotta laugh so you don’t cry,” Stephanie quipped. “A million lives or a million lies? I was an attending author…at least we looked fantastic.”

Speaking to The Cut, Stephanie said that she was initially “over the moon” to be invited to the festival, since the organizer told her that the event had sold 500 to 600 tickets. However, she claimed that the actual number of attendees was closer to 30.

“The decor was silk Dollar Store rose petals scattered in a line along the tables,” she added.

Author Kait Disney-Leugers shared a nine-minute TikTok video about her disastrous experience as an author at the festival. She described it as the “worst event” she has ever attended, adding that she didn't earn any money from book sales there.

“It felt like Fyre Fest of book festivals,” she said, referring to the ill-fated 2017 music festival that failed to deliver on its luxury promise. “Advertised as something really awesome, but the actual execution of it was horrible. We were told there were more than 610 tickets sold, I did not see those people.”

Meanwhile, author Perci Jay shared a series of videos about attending the festival, which she called “absolute chaos.” She said that during the ball, there wasn’t any food and that water cost extra, even though guests had already paid up to $250 for tickets to the festival and ball.

According to Archer Management, tickets started off at $50 each, with those including “access” to the vendor hall and the cosplay meet-up. Only guests who paid for $250 tickets had access to the ball.

Jay added that in lieu of a DJ, there was a speaker that a security guard had brought along.

“So yes, friends, that means the plan for this ball was for us to stand in the giant empty room, with no food, a cash bar, and stand there in silence,” she said.

Grace Willows of Archer Management, the organizer of the book festival, shared a video on TikTok to apologize to guests who went to the viral ball.

“I am wanting to issue a formal apology. I do understand that the ball tonight was not set up to standard,” she said in a video post to TikTok on Sunday. “There were a lot of issues with getting set up, and it was not handled well. I’d like to apologize. If you would like a refund, please contact me and I will issue a refund immediately.

The following day, Archer Management issued a statement on Instagram, noting that anyone who bought a ticket for the event can get a refund.

“I wholeheartedly apologize for how the event turned out this weekend. We are currently processing refunds as fast as we can,” the statement reads. “All refunds will be processed by May 31st. We thank and appreciate you for your patience!”

The Independent has contacted Archer Management for additional comment.