BookCon & Broadway: Stepping out of our comfort zone for our Spring '26 retreat
- Blake
- Aug 16
- 6 min read
We are, at our core, women who deeply respect the couch.
So you can imagine our surprise when we looked at each other last September and said "hey, should we plan a retreat around BookCon in New York next Spring?"
Manhattan? Real Pants? Not a (comfortable) couch in sight? US? It didn't really feel on-brand. And it sounded like... a LOT of work.
But then we remembered... our "brand" is all about encouraging ambiverts to take the leap and find like-minded friends. Isn't stepping out of our comfort zone and heading to one of the nation's biggest book conventions doing just that? And isn't that kind of unique, life-changing experience WORTH the work?
Turns out? It was.
We traded “let’s just relax” for “let’s paint the town”
Planning a reading retreat with an actual schedule felt like stepping into forbidden territory.
Our usual energy is sweatpants, blankets, quiet corners, open books, and the sacred question, “Are we eating again?” We love that version. We will never betray that version. That version raised us.
But Manhattan demanded a little more.
New York City does not really whisper, “Stay in and read.” It says, “Put down the bookmark, there is a show in twenty minutes and someone just found a tiny restaurant that looks like it was made for your favorite side character.”
So we leaned in.
Our Spring '26 retreat was really built around BookCon 2026, which meant we got to be surrounded by books, authors, readers, and the specific kind of chaos that happens when book people are trying to be normal in public. Spoiler: we were not normal. We were delighted.
Were the lines long?
Absolutely.
But were the vibes immaculate?
The smiles on our faces say it all.
We decided not to force a convention itinerary. We all went our own way during the days to sit in on the panels we wanted, meet the authors we loved, and buy allllllll the bookish things. No, sadly Blake did NOT get into the Heated Rivalry panel, she'd been coveting for months, but Marly did! And she happily relived it to us at dinner that night.
We also built in a two night stay at the absolutely stunning Library Hotel, because if you have the chance to sleep in a hotel that understands your attachment to books, you say yes. Immediately. Loudly enough to be shushed.
The Library Hotel was beyond perfect.
Our stay at The Library Hotel gave the weekend its perfect headquarters. Every reader got their own room and bathroom. It felt polished, cozy, and just theme-y enough to make every reader feel seen.
If you have the chance, we cannot recommend this hotel enough. From the day we sent our very first email inquiring about room blocks for our retreat, the hospitality of this staff could not have been matched. We have a forever friend in Justin, and the front desk team could not have been kinder.
As always, everyone received a personalized welcome gift with a few of our favorite things. The hotel contributed with their own package including a copy of The Astral Library by Kate Quinn and a drink ticket to their rooftop Bookmarks Lounge (where we hosted our welcome happy hour). They gave us our own private space to assemble the gifts, then helped us to distribute them into everyone's room before they even checked in so they could be waiting in welcome. These gifts are one of our favorite retreat traditions because they say, “We are so glad you’re here,” but also, “Yes, we absolutely did overthink this in the best way.”
But... the absolute BEST unplanned surprise about those welcome bags? They made us a new friend. Grab your popcorn, we have an amazing story to tell.
It turns out one of our retreaters, Michaela, decided to add an extra day in the city so she extended her stay at the hotel and checked in a day early. Because of this, when we distributed welcome bags on Friday morning, she had already been switched to a different room. Don't worry! We were able to make up another one for her and all was well. But, where did that original gift bag go, you might be asking?
Well... it went to Julia.
Julia was in town on her own adventure, stepping out of her comfort zone to travel to NYC solo for BookCon. Blissfully unaware that Novel Escapes even existed. Until Michaela's goodie bag - which included the full weekend itinerary, gift cards, wellness goodies and more - was mistakenly placed in her room.
"Wow, this bookish hotel really goes all out for BookCon," thought Julia! She could hardly believe they would go through all this trouble for their guests to enjoy their bookish weekend. So, she joined our gaggle of gals in front of the hotel and loaded into the limo to head to Bibliotheque for dinner.
But when we took a headcount and spotted an unfamiliar face, we decided that the more was DEFINITELY the merrier. Julia fit RIGHT in and while we all doubled over with laughter at the circumstance, we also knew it was meant to be. Beautiful, lovely Julia contributed to dinners and tips and wound up joining us for almost all of our weekend activities. She was the happiest accident we've ever met.
We chose being bougie over getting lost.
One of our biggest comfort-zone exits came with booking private limo bus for THREE WHOLE DAYS, carting us around to-and-from BookCon, to Manhattan bookstores, two book-themed NYC restaurants, and a Broadway show.
Was a limo necessary?
Define necessary...
Could we have taken the subway or walked?
Probably.
But honestly, that sounded more "fiscally responsible" than fun, so we chose going overboard and we're so glad we did.
Dinner and drinks gave the group time to settle in. By then, many attendees had already crossed the hardest threshold of the weekend: showing up without knowing a soul in advance.
That is not a small thing.
Walking into a retreat where you do not know the room takes guts. It takes hope. It takes the kind of personality that says, “Worst case, I brought a book.”
But by the end of happy hour, those strangers were already fast friends.
From book to stage
To add that extra layer of much, we decided to offer optional tickets to a bookish Broadway show as part of our itinerary. To our delight, almost everyone opted in!
After dinner at The Great Gatsby. We got to dress up, head out, and fully commit to the theme of books and Broadway. It was glamorous. It was dramatic. It was exactly the right amount of extra.
There is something wonderful about watching a story you know take on a whole new shape in front of you. It reminds you why we love books in the first place. Stories do not stay still. They follow us into hotels, restaurants, theaters, limos, and late-night conversations. We bonded over our millennial love of High School Musical star Corbin Bleu and the glamourous set and costumes. We sipped Gatsby-themed cocktails and danced in our seats. We loved every moment, old sport.
We came home with more than photos
This retreat reminded us that comfort zones are cozy for a reason. They are safe. Familiar. Full of throw pillows.
But sometimes the best memories happen when we leave the couch and let the plans get a little bigger than usual.
Our Manhattan weekend was part epic adventure, part literary ladies' night, and part proof that readers can absolutely go outside when properly motivated. It might not be "our brand," but it sure was an outstanding time.
Lynn made us all stickers. Michaela made us all bookmarks. Emily played DJ. And every single person contributed in one way or another to one of the very best weekends of our lives.
Would we still be happy with a weekend of lounging and reading in pajamas?
Obviously. We are still us.
But this trip taught us something sweet: a little itinerary can make room for a lot of magic. Especially when the 11 wonderful women showed up as strangers and left as forever friends.
That is exactly why we do what we do.
Love, Blake & Meg
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