In last Monday’s Daily Telegraph, there is an article by David Millward about a rather unpleasant book fair in the States.

“A four-day event that was supposed to be a bookworm’s dream has been dubbed the ‘Fyre Festival of Books’ after it descended into chaos and left one person with a black eye.

Led by Rebecca Yarros, a best-selling author, the Readers Take Denver festival at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Centre was billed as the ultimate event for book lovers.

However, as the day unfolded, the event fell apart, leading one disillusioned visitor to compare it to Fyre, the fraudulent 2017 music festival held on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma.

Attendees paid $300 to $375 (£239 to £299) for a ticket to an event where they were promised they could have books signed by best-selling authors who turned up in force to promote their writing. Many paid hundreds of dollars to travel to the event.

A timed ticketing system was supposed to ensure that readers had plenty of time to go from one booth to another to meet authors.

Instead, they spent hours queuing to have time with the writers, food ran out and pre-ordered books never arrived.

‘All we did was stand in line. It was worse than Disney, and there wasn’t even a ride at the end.’ Kelli Meyer, a self-described ‘RTD survivor’, told the Denver Post.

Security staff who were supposed to marshal the crowd failed to do so. One woman took to TikTok to describe how she sustained a black eye after being knocked over in a melee.

Another complained of being verbally abused by staff after she suffered a medical emergency. She claimed: ‘I was having a hypoglycaemic moment and was screamed at by staff to; ‘get the f—- up off the floor!’ She added: ‘there were so many horrific experiences between readers, vendors, authors, Pas, and volunteers alike. This was not just a breakdown in communication, it was a systematic issue with this program.’

Yarros, author of the best-sellers Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, vented her anger in a 2,436 word Facebook post apologising to guests who felt ‘frazzled’ and ‘overwhelmed’ by their experiences at the event. She wrote: ‘Readers, on behalf of every author at the event, I’m sorry. Sorry it was disorganised, sorry you did not get to bask in the overwhelming joy that spending three days in the book world should give you.’

Renee Jones, and event organiser, admitted the event suffered ‘bumpy bumps’. She said there had been ‘concerns’ about lack of security and unprofessional behaviour by volunteers.”