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

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 is a systemic issue with this program.”

Sarah Slusarczyk, a 32-year-old who travelled from Michigan described the event as a nightmare. “I’ve been to many conferences and this, by far, was the worst one I’ve ever been to.”

Best-selling author angered

It was not only readers who were unhappy with the event. Yarros, author of best-sellers Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, vented her anger in a 2,436-word Facebook post.

She wrote: “Readers, on behalf of every author at the event. I’m sorry. It hasn’t been said to you enough, so let me say it again: I’m sorry. I’m so sorry you couldn’t get your pre-orders, couldn’t see the authors you wanted to. 

“I’m sorry registration took hours, sorry food ran out, sorry security wasn’t tight enough at the night events, sorry some volunteers raised voices, sorry it was disorganised, sorry you felt frazzled, sorry you felt overwhelmed, sorry you did not get to bask in the overwhelming joy that spending three days in the book world should give you.”

Renee Jones, an event organiser who is an author herself, admitted the conference had suffered what she described as “bumpy bumps”.

She conceded there had been “concerns” about lack of security and unprofessional behaviour by volunteers.