Last weekend (Feb. 5-8), I attended my first event of the new year: AnthroExpo 2026 in Norman, OK. I once again vended in the Artist Alley portion of the convention, but the results were very different…To start with, setup was actually easier. Not only were Artist Alley and Dealer’s Den in separate rooms this time (a big plus, in my opinion), but that room was just a little bit closer to the load-in doors on the side of the convention center. Familiarity with the layout from last year helped too.
As for sales, the results were a great improvement. Despite using my “high-end” price model, I did significantly better than last year–essentially double the number of sales, in fact. Friday was the best day, with Saturday about half and Sunday lagging as usual. However, it is important to note that this success was not entirely my doing.
Firstly, Artist Alley was in a separate, better lit room, as noted before. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, as a representative of Bluedrake Books, I was selling not only my books, but one title by fellow Ash Tree Media author R. J. Firetail, which accounted for nearly half of my sales. Finally, I was the only book vendor in either vendong area this time, which always gives me an instant edge. So, an improvement, but not necessarily because of my own efforts.
Of complaints, I have very few. I was glad to be seated at my own separate table this time, even if it was rather small. Thus, I was forced to downsize my display a bit to accommodate this fact, and could not display my hardcovers front and center as usual. Whether this “out of sight, out of mind” factor played a role in my lack of hardcover sales, I’m not sure, but it certainly couldn’t have helped.
Now, what are the main takeaways? Firstly, the higher price model did not seem to deter sales as I had feared. Which goes to show that as long as you are not exorbitant in your pricing, readers will buy if they’re interested in your offerings. Secondly, any items not displayed might as well not be brought. Again,I don’t know for a fact that havingthe hardcovers behind my display rather than on it (for lack of space) cost me any hardcover sales, but it certainly didn’t help either. And thirdly, AnthroExpo is a furry-themed convention, meaning antheopomorphic animal books are going to hold the most appeal. Therefore, unsurprisingly, my Sauragia series did the best of all my titles, but even it did nowhere near as well as my fellow Ash Tree Media author’s somewhat risqué furry-themed romance book, The Alar Saga. Which goes to show once again that when choosing what events to sell your work at, knowing your audience is absolutely key!
One thought on “AnthroExpo 2026: The Comeback”