A major romance book convention planned for London next summer has been cancelled after a wave of author withdrawals, with organisers promising full refunds to ticket holders.
RARE (Romance Author & Reader Events) announced on October 17 that its London event, scheduled for July 17, 2027 at Olympia, was officially cancelled. The decision follows weeks of controversy that saw hundreds of authors pull out of the event.
The boycott began after criticism of RARE’s social media response to Crave: Chapter One, an upcoming LGBTQIA+ romance book event in Melbourne. RARE’s handling of the row — including its responses to comments on its original post and subsequent posts on Threads — prompted authors, vendors, narrators and readers who had planned to attend the London event to announce they would no longer take part.
Among those who withdrew were bestselling names including Ilona Andrews, Jeaniene Frost, Heather Long, Nora Phoenix and Laura Greenwood, with many more posting their withdrawals on social media. One author tracking spreadsheet suggested that over half of the announced authors had pulled out. Some authors said they were prepared to lose thousands of pounds in table fees to make their point.
What the organisers said
In a statement announcing the cancellation, RARE said ticket holders would receive full refunds. The organisers attributed the delay in making the announcement to two factors: restrictions on their PayPal account, and ongoing discussions with the venue.
According to the statement, PayPal locked the account — leaving the organisers unable to add funds to issue refunds for almost two weeks — because of the volume of cases filed, which put the account into a negative balance while PayPal investigated each one. RARE said it was working with two PayPal representatives and that funds had now been accepted, though PayPal would not release them for three to five days.
The second delay, the statement said, was down to waiting for a response from Olympia, the contracted venue. RARE said the venue had not yet responded and was awaiting its legal team, and that as things stood RARE was responsible for no less than 90 per cent of the contracted amount. The statement noted there was no cancellation period in the Olympia contract, and that venue budgets were based on ticket demand and author table fees — which was why RARE operated a strict no-refund policy.
How it unravelled
The roots of the row lie in Australia. When a first-time organiser announced an LGBTQI+ book event in Melbourne, RARE — which had its own Australian event on the horizon — responded on social media in a way that many in the romance community saw as hostile. What might have been a moment of mutual promotion instead became a public falling-out.
The response drew in some of the biggest names in romance. Ilona Andrews, the bestselling author duo, announced they were dropping out of RARE London 2027 while still planning to visit London — “It is not our mess, but we are very sorry,” they wrote. Jeaniene Frost told readers she would set up a separate London signing in 2027 instead.
The controversy widened beyond the original spat. Online discussion brought up further grievances: RARE events are among the most expensive in Europe, with a no-refunds clause in contracts for both authors and attendees. A fundraiser was set up to help cover the financial impact on authors who could not afford to drop out because of fees already paid.
What it means for readers
For readers who bought tickets, the immediate question is refunds. RARE has promised full refunds, though the PayPal delays mean the money may take time to arrive. Readers who paid via PayPal have been advised that filing a dispute through the platform has worked for others in similar situations.
The cancellation is a significant moment for the UK romance scene. Romance sales have almost tripled in Britain, from £24 million in 2019 to £69 million in 2024 — a boom widely credited to BookTok, the reader-focused corner of TikTok. Events like RARE grew up alongside that boom, offering an in-person extension of the online community. Last year’s London edition, held at the Excel Centre, reportedly sold out in just three minutes.
For next year’s event, enough demand was expected that organisers booked Olympia’s grand Victorian halls in Kensington, which can hold between 2,200 and 7,000 attendees. Whether another organiser steps into the gap — several withdrawing authors have hinted at alternative London events — remains to be seen.
What is clear is that the episode has changed the conversation around romance events. Authors showed they were willing to walk away from one of the biggest dates on the calendar over questions of inclusion — and readers showed they would follow them.
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