Yeah I was really disappointed in the sci-fi and fantasy section. It was only one row, and even then had significant blank space on the tables.
I went there looking for either my white whale of a book (Brimstone Angels by Erin M Evans—which is literally unavailable to buy new, and seems to go for hundreds of dollars second hand online) or the Wheel of Time prequel novella by Robert Jordan, which is the only book in that series I haven't already found but which I could easily buy new if I wanted. I was not at all surprised not to find any Evans books, but to find absolutely no Robert Jordan—apart from one book that someone had obviously accidentally placed in the rare books section by someone browsing—was quite surprising.
Other than a whole lot of GRRM and some franchise tie-ins like Star Wars, I actually can't recall anything "big name" in the sci-fi and fantasy section.
Is it possible they're grabbing those hard to find books and putting them on private markets before they even get to the floor? Surely wouldn't miss a trick to make a bit more cash and I'm guessing anything sci fi probably makes more money than generic fiction.
What did you get? Living vicariously through you tbh, I live in the UK now but used to love the bookfest.
The sci-fi/fantasy section is always disappointing at bookfest. One table at most, and there's rarely anything worthwhile. It's the main reason I rarely bother going anymore.
I wonder if it's largely due to sci-fi/fantasy fans not getting rid of their books the way readers of other genres do. That, plus the rarity of finding good SF/F books in second hand shops means that we tend to snap them up whenever we find them. I know I'll reflexively grab any Pratchett I find without bothering to check whether I already have it.