Author Marketing Guide: Author Events

Author events such as readings and Q&As are important ways for authors to connect directly with their audiences. These are often held at local libraries, bookshops, churches, and groups such as the WI. As well as a chance to market your book, you will often be able to sell copies directly at these events, which can be a useful (and potentially lucrative) supplement to your royalties.

Book Festivals

If you are interested in taking part in a book festival, don’t be afraid to get in touch with the festival organisers to pitch your event idea, but bear in mind that they often set their programmes a long time (sometimes as long as a year) in advance of the festival. That might mean approaching the festival organizers long before your book is published!

Some festivals even allow authors to hire a stall and sell their books for the duration of the festival – this can be a great way to earn some extra income from your book and meet other authors. Don’t be afraid to get in touch with festival organisers and find out what opportunities there might be for authors of a book like yours.

The Literary Festivals UK website no longer operates, but a 2019 archive of the website still lists of many (if not all) of the literary and book festivals across the UK.

Book Launches

Contact us well in advance of the release of your book if you would like to arrange a book launch. Not all titles need (or are suitable for) a launch event, but many bookshops and other venues welcome imaginative author events that are likely to attract people other than the author’s friends and family (i.e. people who don’t already have the book). Some might charge a fee to cover staffing and refreshment costs. However, we will always do what we can to support book launches, including liaising with the venue to ensure they have copies of your book – very important!

Next up: Mailing Lists