My summer is full of conventions. Book conventions, sci-fi/fantasy conventions, you name it, I’m there if I get a chance to sell my latest books — of which there are three out in 2025 alone. But while this year may be the most conventions I’ve ever attended (see: three books out this year), it’s far from my first rodeo. I’ve been attending conventions for nearly two decades now, and seen how they grow and — often — wither.

There’s a lot of withering going on in East Coast-based cons, which is wh...