Thousands of book-loving readers have criticized a chaotic literary event in Colorado, amid reports of harassment, theft, assault and mismanagement.
The “Readers Take Denver” event, held April 18-21, left attendees calling themselves “survivors” even though organizers have already canceled next year’s conference.
Best-selling author Rebecca Yarros criticized the event, echoing complaints about lack of security, aggressive staff and pre-ordered books that were not delivered on time.
“Readers, on behalf of all the authors at the event, I am sorry,” Yarros wrote in a scathing Facebook post.
The “Readers Take Denver” event was criticized by attendees and authors amid reports of harassment, theft, assault and mismanagement.
One participant claimed that when she experienced a “low blood sugar moment” she was “yelled to “get the shit off the floor” by staff.
Yarros went on to blame organizers for a variety of problems, including what she perceived as a “bordering on abusive” workload placed on volunteers during the four-day conference.
“Regarding the events of this weekend, many have been mistreated,” she wrote.
Yarros claimed that organizers turned off readers’ lights because they were “not moving fast enough,” deadnamed an author and refused to change the name of their badge, and failed to organize enough time for readers to get autographs despite engaging ‘no lines’ at the event.
Addressing the attendees, Yarros concluded: “I’m really sorry that you weren’t able to get your pre-orders, that you weren’t able to see the authors that you wanted.
“I’m sorry that registration took hours, sorry that the food ran out, sorry that security wasn’t tight enough at the night events, sorry that some volunteers raised their voices.
“Sorry for not being able to enjoy the immense joy that three days in the world of books should give you.”
Disappointed readers told the Denver Post the chaotic schedule was a “nightmare” and said it failed to deliver on promises made by organizer Lisa Renee Jones.
Organizer Lisa Renee Jones pledged to hold the event without waiting in line, but attendees said they were disappointed to have to wait hours.
Author Rebecca Yarros blamed organizers for various problems, including what she perceived as a “borderline abusive” workload placed on volunteers and poor management.
Readers said they struggled to enjoy the conference because of the “chaos”, with one author saying “it was an absolute horror show that we all had to live through”.
-“I’ve been to a lot of conferences and this was by far the worst I’ve ever been to,” said Sarah Slusarczyk, a 32-year-old who came from Michigan for the event.
Readers paid up to $375 to attend the event held at the Gaylord Rockies Resort, and Renee Jones reportedly claimed in an email to attendees after the event that she was even moved to tears by the praise for His efforts.
However, reports indicate that at least one person claimed a volunteer shoved her, which Renee Jones insisted was done professionally.
“In the event that someone claimed that a volunteer had put their hands on someone, I immediately involved security,” she wrote in the email, according to the Denver Post.
Renee Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
Allegations of aggressive behavior were also cited in a blog post by author Abigail Owen, who said she had heard of incidents of “harassment, assault” and “theft”.
Allegations of unprofessional behavior at the event also surfaced on TikTok, as one woman claimed she was confronted by aggressive staff when she suffered a medical emergency.
“I had a low blood sugar moment and the staff yelled at me to ‘get the shit off the floor,’” TikTok user Well Read Nurse said.
She continued: “There have been so many horrible experiences between readers, sellers, authors, PAs and volunteers.
“This wasn’t just a breakdown in communication, this is a systemic problem with this program.”
Another author at the event, Kate Hall, detailed her experience in a 30-minute YouTube video, which she titled: “I (barely) survived Denver 2024 readers.”
“I was really hoping it would get better, but it was getting worse and worse,” she said, sporting a black eye in her video.
“The whole weekend it was so chaotic… it was an absolute horror show that we all had to live through.”
Hall said organizers didn’t let authors set up their book signing tables in time and they were exhausted from the long lines.
Long lines for authors at the event (pictured) led one exasperated attendee to describe it as “worse than Disney, and there wasn’t even a ride at the end”.
Renee Jones billed the event as ideal for book lovers hoping to meet their favorite authors, as she promised there would be no lines and attendees were expected to use a timed ticketing system.
But Kelli Meyer – a self-described “RTD survivor” – said the system wasn’t working and “all we were doing was waiting in line.” It was totally stupid.
“It was worse than Disney, and there wasn’t even a ride at the end,” she added, noting that the lines around the hotel caused confusion about who was responsible. expected.
It also reportedly led to some readers waiting for hours in the wrong lines, with volunteers giving incorrect information.
Author Rhian Cahill added in a blog post that it was an “unorganized disaster.”
“I witnessed the total chaos of the event, the lack of communication between the organizer and her volunteers, between the volunteers themselves, between the volunteers and the participants. It was crazy how no one seemed to know what was going on,” he wrote.
