The drama that’s rocking the YA and publishing world today is the YA novel Handbook for Mortals, an out of nowhere book that suddenly debuted atop the NY Times bestseller list. And thanks to some sleuthing by YA authors and bookstore clerks on, detailed on Pajiba, the book has been removed from the list. It […]
Wizard World expanding to smaller markets and getting back into print
Wizard World has been making some long-planned announcements. Although I’ve heard a lot of people try to say they are losing altitude fast, they are still making moves and investing. In this case, two smaller market shows were announced for 2017, Wizard World Montgomery, Ala., and Wizard World Springfield, Mo.. That brings the number of […]
Con news: Wizard World cancels Albuquerque and Orlando shows but may put on 40 in 2018
So much is going on in the con world right now. I don’t want to call it Con Wars yet, but the competition for guests, venues, vendors and fans is getting fierce as more and more people enter the space. And some old time players are revising their approach. Wizard World just announced they […]
Yet another lawsuit: Wizard World suing Shamus Brothers and friends over possible takeover – UPDATED
UPDATE: I’m told this lawsuit was also settled at the same time as the main one. So, all water under the bridge now. The other day we reported on the end of Wizard World’s lawsuit against former CMO Stephen Shamus for breach of contract. However, as a tipster mentioned in the comments, there is still […]
Wizard and Stephen Shamus reach a settlement in lawsuit – but not before a laptop was destroyed
According to court documents, the lawsuit filed against former Wizard exec Shephen Shamus for Breach of Contract and Misappropriation of Corporate Assets (among other things) was settled last month. No terms were announced. As you may recall, last November, Wizard sued Shamus, who had been Chief Marketing Officer at Wizard for years, for $1 million in […]
Wizard World now requires cash up front for booths, leaves TicketLeap
Yesterday a rather curious message went out from Wizard World to vendors with a new table policy: they will no longer accept credit card payments for booths and tables, but require payment by cash or check. In a separate email to vendors, WW confirmed that they are no longer using TicketLeap for ticketing, which they […]
Wizard World launches colocated SocialCon schedule
In an attempt to reach younger audiences, Wizard World is launching a series of SocialCons, which will be co located with Wizard World shows, but have separate admissions, show floors and guests lists. The first one kicks off Feb. 18-21 in Portland, OR. The events will spotlight stars of Snapchat, Instagram, Snapchat, etc such as Zach […]
Digging a little more into the Wizard World situation
Rob Salkowitz has an analysis of the current financial maneuvers at Wizard World, including the $2.5 million financing by chairman Paul Kessler we reported on yesterday. Since our understanding of finances extends to the level of “Starbucks is more expensive at airports” you might enjoy his analysis: So, to summarize, Wizard has borrowed nearly $2.5 […]
Wizard World chairman Kessler sinks $2.5 million into the company as “mom and pop” days are over
Thing have been looking pretty turbulent over at convention company Wizard World, with cash flow problems and office shut downs, but chairman Paul Kessler, who has been on the board since 2013 and was named Chairman in April of this year, has just come to the rescue via financing agreement with his company Bristol Investment […]
Wizard World cash flow issues close down New York Office
Barry Bostwick a.k.a. Brad Majors from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, during his panel at #WizardWorldPittsburgh! 👄👠😎 A post shared by Wizard World (@wizardworld) on Nov 5, 2016 at 2:30pm PDT Ever since Wizard World’s lawsuit against former CMO Stephen Shamus was made public, you can bet there has been a lot of gossip flying […]
