SmutFest 2026: Bookish Candles, Wine & a Very Spicy Day in Southern Maryland

There are worse ways to spend a Sunday than surrounded by books, candles, wine and people enthusiastically discussing their favorite romance tropes.

SmutFest 2026 was the very first SmutFest at Xella Winery—and one of The HoneyBee Dragon’s first big events since moving to Southern Maryland.

And Southern Maryland?

You understood the assignment.

The HoneyBee Dragon all set up for the first SmutFest at Xella Winery.

A Very Different Kind of Candle Setup

I’ve done a lot of vendor events over the last two years, but this one gave me something I don't normally get: an enormous built-in wooden bar to turn into one very long bookish candle display.

So naturally, I filled it.

Candles stretched across the bar alongside wax melts, minis and scents inspired by everything from favorite romance tropes to fantasy worlds. We had Feminine Rage, Dark Fairytale, Book Boyfriend, Grumpy x Sunshine, Forbidden Romance, Cozy Fantasy, Morally Grey and a whole lot more ready to sniff.

I even brought some of my fantasy-inspired favorites, including the ACOTAR-inspired collection and Viking’s Vow.

There were fairy lights.

There were approximately a million candles.

There was wine.

It was perfect.

Bookish candles + wine. Honestly, we could stop the recap right here.

I had every intention of taking approximately 700 aesthetically pleasing photos once everything was perfectly set up.

That did not happen.

People started arriving, candles started disappearing, and suddenly taking pictures was very far down the priority list.

By the end of the day, more than 80 candles, wax melts and minis had found new homes—which still feels a little wild for one of my first events here in Southern Maryland.

But honestly, the best part was getting to meet so many local readers. We talked books and favorite tropes, you smelled your way through what felt like my entire candle collection, and I got to watch that magical little moment when someone picked up a scent and immediately went, “Yep. This one.”

Turns out, Southern Maryland has some very strong opinions about its bookish candles.

And I absolutely love that. 🖤

What Southern Maryland Loved

And the favorites became pretty clear pretty quickly.

Feminine Rage and Dark Fairytale tied for the most popular scents of the day with seven sold each.

Behind them came:

Book Boyfriend — Bergamot, Spices & Worn Leather
Wild Fae Wine — Mead, Wild Berries & Oak
Grumpy x Sunshine — Citrus, Oak, Whiskey & Vanilla
Lord of Night — Citrus, Sea Salt & Amber
Black Cat Energy — Black Currant, Amber & Anise
Forbidden Romance — Red Currant, Smoked Coconut & Vanilla
Siren’s Call — Coconut, Amaretto & Vanilla
Cozy Fantasy — Blueberry Jam, Sugar Milk & Thyme

And I would just like the record to show that Wild Fae Wine became one of the bestselling candles at a winery.

As she should.

Apparently Southern Maryland likes its candles a little dark, a little romantic and occasionally full of feminine rage.

Yes, It Was That Hot

Now we need to discuss the other main character of SmutFest:

the heat.

September apparently looked at an event called SmutFest and decided subtlety was unnecessary.

It was HOT.

We were sweaty. The candles were living their most dramatic lives. Everyone was collectively questioning why September felt like the middle of July.

And somehow, everyone still showed up.

Readers wandered through the vendors, bought books, drank wine, ate good food, talked tropes and generally rolled with the fact that Maryland had decided the event needed to be literally spicy too.

The Best Part Comes After the Event

One of my favorite things about markets happens after I get home, unload approximately half my life from the car and start seeing your posts.

Someone I met at SmutFest shared her Viking’s Vow candle afterward and described the scent as smelling like “the forest, my happy place.”

And honestly?

That’s the assignment.

Candles are obviously about fragrance, but The HoneyBee Dragon has always been about the little story attached to it—the book it reminds you of, the character you immediately associate with it, or the feeling a scent gives you before you've even lit it.

Seeing one find exactly the right person never gets old.

Southern Maryland, I Think We’re Going to Get Along Just Fine

Moving The HoneyBee Dragon from Georgia to Maryland meant starting over in a lot of ways.

New home. New candle lab. New customers. New events. New bookish community.

SmutFest felt like one of those little moments where the new place started feeling a lot more like home.

So thank you to everyone who stopped to smell all the things, told me your favorite trope, bought a candle or wax melt, recommended a book, or simply came over to say hi.

And a huge thank you to Read & Rally Studio and Xella Winery for putting together the very first SmutFest and letting The HoneyBee Dragon be part of it.

SmutFest 2026: survived the spice AND the heat. 🌶️

I’d absolutely do it again.

Come Find The HoneyBee Dragon IRL

SmutFest may be over, but the fall event season definitely isn't.

The HoneyBee Dragon will be popping up at more book festivals, bookish events and seasonal markets throughout Maryland and beyond this fall.

→ See where The HoneyBee Dragon is popping up next on the Shop IRL page.