Mischief Management, LLC is a company that organizes fan conventions, including BroadwayCon, LeakyCon, GeekyCon, Con of Thrones, EnchantiCon, Obsessed Fest, and PodX.
In March 2026, they were heavily criticized for their mismanagement and poor production of Barbie Dream Fest in Fort Lauderdale. The company had previously faced criticism for its handling of Obsessed Fest in 2023 and RomanceCon in 2025.
On March 31, 2026, the audio-visual provider for Barbie Dream Fest sued Mischief Management for non-payment.
Background In 2009, Melissa Anelli of the fan site "The Leaky Cauldron" produced a Harry Potter themed fan event using of her own money. In 2010, the crew who had run LeakyCon in 2009 coordinated with Hank and John Green to organize the inaugural VidCon under the name "Mischief Management Services".
In 2011, Anelli established Mischief Management, LLC as a convention production company with her business partner Stephanie Dornhelm.
Mischief Management was perceived as a connection between the wizard rock bands and the larger Harry Potter fandom for LeakyCon, the temporary GeekyCon, and VidCon.
Events Some of the events that Mischief Management has been involved with over the years, listed in order of the inaugural convention for each event.
LeakyCon
LeakyCon ran from 2009 to 2024. Initially promoted as a charity event, the convention focused on the Harry Potter fandom but grew to encompass other fandoms, eventually leading to organizers splitting the convention so that LeakyCon could return to being solely a Harry Potter convention. The change did not last, and in 2021, Anelli stated that LeakyCon would not change names again.
The first LeakyCon was held in Boston, Massachusetts, May 21–24, 2009 at the Park Plaza Hilton, with an attendance of 750. The second convention took place in Orlando, Florida at Loews Royal Pacific Resort from July 13–17, 2011, with an attendance of 3,400. In addition to panels being broadcast over SiriusXM from July 15–18, LeakyCon attendees were able to tour The Wizarding World of Harry Potter after park hours overnight July 13.
The third LeakyCon took place August 9–12, 2012 at the Hilton Chicago, with an attendance of 3,800. Two conventions were held in 2013: Portland, Oregon, from June 27–30, at the Oregon Convention Center with an attendance of 5,000; and London, England, from August 8–11, at the Grand Connaught Rooms with an attendance limited to 1,500.
LeakyCon returned to Orlando for July 30 to August 3, 2014, this time held at the Orange County Convention Center, with another after hours event at Universal Orlando. Approximately 1,500 attendees had tickets for the special event; total attendance at the convention was estimated as surpassing 5,000. At the close of the convention, Anelli announced that the existing LeakyCon, as a multiple fandom convention, would be rebranded as GeekyCon, with the LeakyCon name returning to being a Harry Potter only convention. GeekyCon was the only convention Mischief Management organised in 2015.
The next LeakyCon was held October 19–23, 2016, at the Marriott Hotel in Burbank, California. It was promoted as an "immersive" experience, with attendance limited to 500. The 2017 convention took place at the Citywest Hotel in Saggart, Ireland, August 31 to September 3. Today FM reported attendance as being in the "thousands". The 2018 convention was held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, for August 10–12, 2018. There were a total of 18,000 attendees.
For 2019, LeakyCon appeared at events in three cities. Two were LeakyCons: the first again in Dallas, August 9–11, at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, with an attendance of approximately 10,000. The second was held October 11–13, at the Seaport Hotel and Seaport World Trade Center. In between these two events, LeakyCon was present at the Rose City Comic Con in Portland, Oregon from September 13–15.
Because of COVID-19, LeakyCon's 2020 and 2021 conventions were postponed. Two conventions were held in 2022, the first in Orlando, July 29–31, at the Orange County Convention Center; the second in Denver, Colorado, October 14–16, at the Crowne Plaza Denver Airport Convention Center.
At the beginning of 2023, Anelli announced that LeakyCon would be distancing itself from being a Harry Potter convention. The 2023 convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, August 4–6, at McCormick Place South. The final convention was held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, July 5–7, 2024, and had a reported attendance of 2,800.
The convention rebranded as EnchantiCon, as announced at the final LeakyCon in July 2024.
Attendees were "an intersection of largely female, queer-friendly youth cultures". Panels included discussions on civil liberties, the cultural impact of Harry Potter as a "phenomenon", its impact on literature, and social justice. Critique also extended to literary analysis and the question of objective consumption of the series. Some panels debated what material constitutes the canon of Harry Potter. At some of the conventions, they broached controversial social issues, expanding the context of depictions in Harry Potter to the real world and allowing debate of issues such as civil rights, white privilege, and segregation. Panels also included critique of Harry Potter in relation to diversity, which extended to the representation of Korean history in relation to Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, specifically with respect to Nagini.
GeekyCon GeekyCon was split off from LeakyCon in 2014 as a fantasy-focused convention. It was held in the Orange County Convention Center, July 30 – August 2, 2015, with Orange County mayor Teresa Jacobs officially declaring July 31, 2015 as "Geek Day". Convention organizer Stephanie Dornhelm stated that the name change was a reflection of how LeakyCon had expanded to include intellectual properties that were beloved by fans of Harry Potter but not related to the series. Represented fandoms included Doctor Who, Supernatural, Glee, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney, The Hunger Games, Game of Thrones, and The Hobbit. 2015 guests included Veronica Roth, Ransom Riggs, Dominic Barnes, Curt Mega, Titus Makin Jr., Kim Rhodes, and Anthony Rapp.
GeekyCon was the only event Mischief Management produced in 2015. Like at LeakyCon in 2011 and 2014, convention attendees had the option of purchasing "Open at the Close" tickets for a special event inside Universal Orlando.
The event returned to the same venue July 29–31, 2016. Guests included Curt Mega, Dominic Barnes, Titus Makin Jr., Kim Rhodes, James Moran, Ashley Clements, Mary Kate Wiles, Joanna Sotomura, Dayeanne Hutton, and Brent Bailey, with music from wrock groups Harry and the Potters and the Whomping Willows
On April 7, 2017, Anelli announced on Tumblr that GeekyCon was on hiatus.
BroadwayCon
BroadwayCon is a fan convention dedicated to Broadway theatre, musical theatre and live stage entertainment. It was developed by Mischief Management founders Melissa Anelli and Stephanie Dornhelm with actor Anthony Rapp, and grew partly out of Anelli's experience organizing LeakyCon and Rapp's connection to early Rent fan culture. Rapp described the event as fan-centered rather than industry-directed, with programming intended to let theater artists interact directly with audiences through panels, performances, workshops, autograph and photo opportunities and meet-and-greets.
The first BroadwayCon was held January 22–24, 2016, at the New York Hilton Midtown. The inaugural convention drew thousands of attendees and continued during the January 2016 United States blizzard, which shut down Broadway performances on January 23. Programming included panels, workshops, fan meetups, performances, a 20th-anniversary Rent reunion and a Hamilton panel featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda and members of the original Broadway cast.
After the first convention sold out the New York Hilton Midtown, BroadwayCon moved to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center for its 2017 and 2018 events. In January 2017, shortly before the second convention, the Actors' Equity Association placed BroadwayCon on its "do not work" list over payment terms for Equity performers. BroadwayCon and Actors' Equity reached a three-year agreement later that year establishing standard contracts for Equity members and provisions for shorter convention appearances.
BroadwayCon returned to the New York Hilton Midtown for its 2019 and 2020 conventions. The New York Times reported that the 2019 event drew an estimated 7,000 attendees over three days, with nearly 200 hours of sessions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, BroadwayCon's 2021 event was held online, and the convention returned to in-person programming in 2022 at the Manhattan Center and New Yorker Hotel after being postponed from February to July because of rising COVID-19 cases.
In the 2020s, BroadwayCon programming included panels focused on representation, access and working conditions in theater. The 2023 convention at the New York Marriott Marquis emphasized diversity and the future of the industry, while the 2024 convention at the New York Hilton Midtown included programming on mental health, sobriety, body image, autism and accessibility. The 10th BroadwayCon was held February 7–9, 2025, at the New York Marriott Marquis, and the 2026 convention was held January 23–25 in Times Square, with mainstage programming at Palladium Times Square and additional programming and the Marketplace at The New York Westin at Times Square.
In October 2025, the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, issued a decision in a contract dispute involving the 2023 BroadwayCon event at the New York Marriott Marquis. Marriott International alleged that Mischief Management owed $27,861.53 under a contract for the event; the court dismissed Marriott's motion for a default judgment without prejudice.
Con of Thrones
Con of Thrones was an unofficial fan convention focused on the HBO television series Game of Thrones and George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, produced by Mischief Management in partnership with fansite "Watchers on the Wall" and the podcast Game of Owns.
It originated as A Con of Ice and Fire, first held in Nashville, Tennessee, from June 30 to July 2, 2017. Zack Luye of the Game of Owns podcast directed the event, which had 35 different vendors in attendance and featured 120 hours of activity. According to The Verge, it was "the first full-scale fan convention" dedicated to the franchise.
Subsequent events were held in Dallas (2018) and Nashville (2019). Fan organizations and media platforms within the fandom collaborated on the programming, which included panel discussions, live podcasts, performances, and fan-driven discussions exploring themes, characters, and theories related to the franchise. Autograph sessions, photo opportunities, and interactive experiences such as workshops and themed activities were also included.
The convention featured appearances by cast members from the television series, including Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Jerome Flynn, Hannah Murray, Miltos Yerolemou, Kate Dickie and others, alongside creators, podcasters, and fan community leaders.
Cancellation Con of Thrones was scheduled for July 17–19, 2020 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 con was also scheduled to be held in Orlando, but was cancelled over concerns of not being able to meet attendee expectations.
HBO announced an official convention to be held in Las Vegas February 18–20, 2022, but that event was postponed until December 9–11, 2022 and moved to Los Angeles.
No Con of Thrones event was announced in 2022.