Crud! So sorry to hear this. I'm always open to suggestions on agents and acquiring editors to invite to future conferences if there's someone you'd like to connect with!

Most common costume theme: Harry Potter

Surprisingly underrepresented: KPop Demon Hunters. I expected this to be all the rage, but I only saw two! Possibly their outfits aren't conducive to October weather

Dark horse trend: Butterflies, for some reason?

What a great idea! I'm not aware of a way to automate this. Usually I've seen either:
A) The author collects the money themselves with the promise that they'll donate it to a specific charity, or
B) The author will send a free book file if the reader emails them a charity donation receipt

I think it's mostly a relief for those of us that are bad at summer, but hoo boy are those fighting words to some people... 😆