Another occasion to see House Andrews live!
Ilona and Gordon will appear as Featured Authors at the 2026 Columbus Book Festival on July 11 and 12, 2026.
Hosted by the Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation, the festival events will be held at Main Library, 96 S. Grant Ave, and in the adjacent Topiary Park at the corner of Town and Washington Streets.
If you would like to see House Andrews in person, here is where to find them:
- Saturday, July 11 at 1:00 PM Spirits, Spells & Swoons: Romantasy | Stage 2
House Andrews will be talking romantasy, magic, danger, and all the delicious complications that come with throwing feelings into a fantasy kingdom that’s trying to kill you. Joining them on the panel are BFF Jeaniene Frost (A Curse of Beasts and Magic) and Shalini Abeysekara (This Blade of Ours).
- Sunday, July 12 at 10:30 AM Speed Matching | Room 2A
In Speed Matching, readers meet authors in small groups for quick five-minute rounds, getting a personal introduction to each book before the authors rotate to the next table.
- Sunday, July 12 at 3:00 PM God Complex: World-Building | Stage 2
Later that afternoon, Ilona Andrews will return to Stage 2 for a conversation about world-building alongside John Chu (The Subtle Art of Folding Space) and K.X. Song (The Dragon Wakes with Thunder). If your favorite part of fantasy is seeing how an author builds a world that feels layered, lived-in, and slightly alarming to inhabit, this is likely your panel.
Tickets?
All of these sessions are free and open to the public, with no tickets required. Seating for panel discussions is first come, first served however, so if there is a session you particularly want to attend, arriving early is your friend.
Signed books?
Yes! After each scheduled appearance (so both panels as well as the Speed Matching), Ilona and Gordon will head to their assigned table in the 2nd Floor Reading Room for a one-hour signing session, where readers will be able to meet them and have books signed.
The festival bookstore will also be set up there, with new releases as well as back-titles from all the featured festival authors available for purchase. By buying books at the Official Festival Bookstore you are supporting your local independent book stores! It is a partnership between Cover to Cover, The Book Loft, Gramercy Books, and Prologue Bookshop.
The festival organizers will also be announcing the full author lineup, exhibitors, and updated festival information through the official festival website which is here.
Book Clubs
One more quick note while I have your attention.
If you previously sent a request for a personalised book club letter from House Andrews and did not receive a response, please resend it with the subject line: Book Club Letter Request.
Both Ilona and myself have been truly buried under a truly ridiculous amount of fake “book club” spam lately, the ChatGPT-written kind that promises followers, Hollywood connections, immortal Texan ferrets in space, the works.
Some of the legitimate requests may have been accidentally sacrificed during the cleanup. Using that exact subject line will help real requests stand out from the nonsense.
Happy BDHing!
Oooh, to live close enough to attend such an event! I shall wait till Maggie #2 is such a big hit you come for PR to Europe 🙂
Oooh First 🙂 today is a good day
Have a good First day! 🙂
Squee!!! You’re coming to Columbus!!!
That sounds like fun! Except for the spam requests of course, ugh.
Ohh, the event sounds fun . . . says the introvert from her keyboard. For those of you who get to go: Enjoy yourselves on our behalf! Represent us well!
On an unrelated note, I’m still disappointed about the lack of immortal space ferrets.
+1 on the Texas space ferrets
+100
Yall, Jeaniene & Shalini?! That is a stacked group of talent! Thank you for letting us resend bookclub request emails, I just assumed yall were too busy and to try again later this year.
There’s such a thing as book club spam??? Why on earth!?? Thank you both for ensuring this blog is a safe space for my brain. It’s tired right now, working on the lit review for my doctoral project and this blog is where I remember who I was before I started this madness. BDH forever!!
Ohhh. The lit review was the most painful part for me. It got easier after that. Best wishes for your source wrangling. And yes, take the time to rest your brain and enjoy WHATEVER makes you happy.
Wish I was closer! Sounds like great fun!
Ahhh!!!! You come to my city!! HUZZAH!
What is a book club letter request please?
My book club read This Kingdom will not kill me at our April meeting. Were we supposed to ask first?
Not at all 🙂
A book club letter request is just that – Ilona has graciously provided a short note or message for book groups in connection with an IA book selection or discussion. It is completely optional and not something you need permission for in order to read the book with your book club.
If your group read This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me at your April meeting, that is perfectly fine. The note in the post was simply meant for anyone who had previously written in asking for a letter and may not have received a response.
Happy dance! Close enough for a day trip! Or two! Blocks out calendar for the weekend.
Ooh, great news, but I’d love to see you extend your Ohio visit to the Joseph-Beth bookstore in Cincinnati. It’s only two hours away from Columbus.
Just sayin’.
Enjoy, everyone in the Columbus area! So lucky you are!
My mind is wandering this morning..doesn’t want to do work. And I’m thinking of how much fun it would be if all the furry, feathered or four-legged characters from Cuddles, Bucky, and Turgan to Zeus, the baby, and the ferrets, to the First Scholar and his students, to Bear and the cat (what did Elias name him???) all got together. Dina could interview them! And Puffles! Can’t forget Puffles. 🙂
OK, I really need to go do some work. Happy Thursday!
Well, this is exciting! Guess I know what I’ll be doing in July.
Speed dating for books is freaking adorable. Sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun.
How wonderful… But now you have planted the seed about a book of immortal Texan ferrets in space!! LOL
So glad you are getting the recognition you deserve!
😅 Oh, the immortal Texan ferret has been solving space cases for a few months now https://ilona-andrews.com/blog/dirty-tricks-and-scammy-grifts/
Drat, I dont think I can get the whole weekend off but maybe…