(Sa) Nov. 8 | 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Main Library

Join us for Romance-Con with featured author Christina Lauren in conversation with Nikki Payne!
 
Romance-Con is a free event that is open to the public but intended for adults. No ticket is required for entry which includes an Author Fair, author panel discussions, and activities.
 
Tickets for our featured author talks have been claimed. If you didn’t get a ticket for a featured author, day-of wait lines will be available to fill no-show tickets. All other panels, workshops, and activities will be first come, first served. All tickets for Romance-Con are free, please be aware of any individuals trying to resell their tickets.
Tickets for our featured author talks with Christina Lauren, Susan Lee, C.M. Nascosta, Nikki Payne, and Chip Pons have been claimed. If you didn’t get a ticket for a featured author, day-of wait lines will be available to fill no-show tickets. All other panels, workshops, and activities will be first come, first served. All tickets for Romance-Con are free, please be aware of any individuals trying to resell their tickets.
 
We currently do not have any programs scheduled at this time. Please check back soon.
We currently do not have any programs scheduled at this time. Please check back soon.

Barnes & Noble will be selling books for Christina Lauren, Susan Lee, Nikki Payne, and Chip Pons, as well as other traditionally published Author Fair participants. Self-published Author Fair participants will sell directly to attendees.

Parking: There is free attached parking at Main Library. There is also nearby street parking (free on weekends) or paid parking lots.

On-site dining and refreshments: Food trucks will be available at Main Library from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Participating Trucks:

BD’s Lemonade King

Falafel King

Swingin Wieners Hot Dogs

Wanderdust Coffee

Merch: Jupmode will be selling romance-inspired gear exclusively available at Romance-Con. 

Library hours: Main Library will be open 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. the day of Romance-Con. 

M-Th: 9 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
F-Sa: 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Su: Closed 

Check out our partner businesses for deals, specials, and opportunities for Romance-Con attendees! 
 
Brew House Downtown
Specialty latte: Chapter One 
Specialty cocktail: The Beautiful Equation
114 N Summit St, Toledo, OH 43604
 
Culture Clash Records
20% discount, with proof of Romance-Con attendance.
912 Monroe St, Toledo, OH 43604
 
Handmade Toledo
15% off total in-store purchase on Saturday, 11/8, when you show your Passport to Romance
1717 Adams St, Toledo, OH 43604
 
House of Dow
25% off your in-store purchase on Saturday, 11/8, with proof of Romance-Con attendance
1501 Adams St, Toledo, OH 43604
 
Jupmode
15% off the entire in-store purchase on Friday 11/7 and Saturday 11/8 when you mention Romance-Con
1811 Monroe St, Toledo, OH 43604
 
Just Toledo
Bring in your passport and receive 10% off your entire purchase (plants and artwork excluded). We will also feature our LOVE scent for participants to try. 
909 Jefferson Ave, Toledo, OH 43604
 
Manhattans Pub n’ Cheer
Specialty Romance-Con themed drink and food features.
1516 Adams St, Toledo, OH 43604
 
Maumee Bay Brewing Company
Free appetizer with the purchase of an entree. Valid Nov. 8 and 9.
27 Broadway St, Toledo, OH 43604
 
Poco Loco
15% off your bill or a free appetizer dip with your Passport to Romance
1809 Adams St, Toledo, OH 43604
 
Off-site dining: Downtown Toledo has numerous restaurants, breweries, and coffee spots. Here are some great dining options.
 
Visiting Toledo: Make the most of Romance-Con with a visit to explore Toledo. Find lodging, nightlife, festivals, a visitor’s guide, and other information at Destination Toledo.
 

Headlining Author:

Christina Lauren
She/her
 
Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The #1 international bestselling coauthor duo has produced twenty New York Times bestselling novels and are published in over 30 languages. They are the authors of Love and Other Words, The Unhoneymooners, Autoboyography, The True Love Experiment and many more.

Featured authors

Susan Lee
she/her
 
Susan Lee is a USA Today bestselling author of both young adult and adult romantic comedies. Her work has been featured in national outlets such as Buzzfeed, NPR, People Magazine and Pop Sugar. Kirkus Reviews calls Susan’s voice “honest, fresh and thoughtful”. A graduate of UC San Diego, Susan built a career as an HR executive at some of today’s hottest companies, until she realized that writing love stories was a more impactful and powerful form of resistance and change. Now she channels her energy into publishing Happily Ever Afters for those historically underrepresented in Romance. When she is not writing (or painfully procrastinating from writing), Susan can be found down the rabbit holes of her many obsessions including listening to Kpop, binge watching K-dramas, collecting sneakers, building mechanical keyboards, and obsessing over her diva chihuahua, Buttercup. 

C.M. Nascosta
she/her 

C.M. Nascosta is a USA TODAY bestselling author and professional procrastinator from Cleveland, Ohio. She’s always preferred beasts to boys, the macabre to the milquetoast, the unknown darkness in the shadows to the Chad next door. She lives in a crumbling old Victorian with a scaredy-cat dachshund, where she writes nontraditional romances featuring beastly boys with equal parts heart and heat, and is waiting for the Hallmark Channel to get with the program and start a paranormal lovers series.

Nikki Payne
she/her 

By day, Nikki Payne is a Civic anthropologist building accessible government services for vulnerable populations, by night she dreams of ways to subvert Canon literature. Hailed as “incandescent” by the Washington Post, Nikki Payne’s debut novel Pride and Protest was a Phenomenal Book Club pick and was selected by the Library of Congress to represent the District of Columbia for the National Book Festival. Featured in the New York Times, NPR, Elle, Oprah Daily and BuzzFeed, Nikki Payne is writing black women into their happily ever after.

Chip Pons
he/him

Chip Pons grew up in a small lake town in Northern Michigan before eventually traveling the world as a photojournalist in the US Air Force, where he met and worked alongside his dream of a husband and better half. He’s spent his entire life swooning over the love stories filling up his shelves until one day, he was brave—or delusional—enough to write his own.

He currently lives in the heart of Washington, DC. and when he is not writing or chasing his pup, Margot, around, he can be found daydreaming of untold happily ever afters or on Bookstagram shouting about the books he loves.