The Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association FallCon, at the Renaissance Denver Hotel & Conference Center, commenced on Sunday with a rousing Mix and Mingle event at nearby Station 26 Brewery. Under clear skies and a setting sun, attendees shared travel stories, book recommendations, and excitement for the upcoming week of author luncheons, education sessions, and peer consultation. The show runs through Wednesday, and we'll have more coverage throughout the week.
Monday morning's Kick-Off Keynote Author Breakfast presented a lineup of forthcoming titles spanning genres and age groups. It featured (l.-r.) Nicola Yoon with Always One More Time (Delacorte), a YA romance whose main character struggles to believe in love; Charlie Donlea with Behind Every Face (Kensington), a suspense novel about a financial analyst working as an FBI informant; Julia Armfield with Up to the Light (Flatiron), a mountaineering story with a chilling twist; Amy Stewart with State Bird: A Nation Elects Its Feathered Representatives (Norton), which looks into the history of states choosing their emblematic avians; Jeff Giles with Someone Saved My Life Tonight (Nancy Paulsen Books), a YA novel following the aftermath of a bombing at a pop concert; and Daniel Nayeri with This Is a Door (Stonefruit Studios), a middle-grade hero's journey through an imaginative landscape of words. The discussion was moderated by Arvin Ramgoolam (far right), co-owner of Townie Books in Crested Butte, Colo.
(l.-r.) Booksellers Lydia Kelley, from Amethyst and Ink Books, Lawton, Okla., and Sheena Johnson and Kara Sanders, The Page Society, Duncan, Okla., show off their book haul from the author breakfast.
Show floor smiles from (l.) Riley Smith, Bright Side Bookshop, Flagstaff, Ariz., and Teena Krueger, The Plains Trading Company, Valentine, Neb., with their armloads of books.
Conner Horak-Flood and Megan Murray from Bookstore on the Square, Fort Collins, Colo., heroically toting bag upon bag of fresh finds.
Eli McCann (Stitched) and Betsy Gaines Quammen (This Haunted Land) sign their books for Lydia Kelley, Amethyst and Ink Books, Lawton, Okla., at the Torrey House Press booth.
Heather Hall, Green Feather Book Company, Norman, Okla., gets her copy of Backwoods Banshee (October 2026) signed by author David R. Slayton at the Blackstone Publishing booth.