One of the best ways to find out about author visits is to sign up for events announcements from your local bookstores or follow stores on social media. Both independent bookstores and chains like Barnes & Noble host author events. Public libraries also announce author visits on their sites and social media. Festivals and conferences have their own sites where lists of authors who will appear can be found.
Via an e-mail I discovered that on Tuesday, September 2nd Politics & Prose, an independent bookstore in Washington, DC will be hosting an author chat between Louise Penny, Queen of Mysteries and Secretary Hillary Clinton. I am not sure of the connection between the two, but I am eager to find out when I participate in this virtual event.
See Authors at Independent Bookstores:
Before moving to Washington, DC I had seen few authors in person. This was not for lack of interest, but lack of opportunity. There was only one independent bookstore near enough for me to visit regularly. There I saw the authors Lydia Netzer, Joshilyn Jackson, and Madeleine Miller.
After moving to DC, the choices of independent bookstores to visit and authors to see became almost infinite. I could see an author every day and choose between options. Even now when bookstores are not hosting live events there are many in this area and the offerings have expanded to events around the world.
My first in DC was Joe Yonan, who is the food and dining editor at The Washington Post, at the Politics & Prose main store. The book was Eat Your Vegetables, a vegetarian cookbook. Since events like this are usually free, attendees are encouraged to purchase a copy of the book from the store, which is required if you want to have the book signed after the reading. In this case I did both. Sometimes you are permitted to bring additional books to have signed, but this is rare, especially for popular authors.
A note on signed books: I have mixed feelings about signed books. Their ubiquity makes it unlikely that even signed first editions will see a large jump in value. For me the value of a signed book is in the time I have to interact with the author as they sign my book. After having waited in long lines to have 20 seconds to interact with an author, I often skip the signing. This varies though by venue and author. If the venue is small, like the Virginia Association of School Librarians conference, I wait for the signing because the author is committed to interacting more personally. When the venue is large, like the National Book Festival, I skip the signing as the lines are long and for an understandably limited time. When I go to author talks at local bookstores my decision varies based on whether or not I plan to purchase the book or will read it from the library.
While many author talks at bookstores are free, this is not always the case.
Authors I have paid to see through bookstores: Generally when an author event is a paid event, a copy of the most recently released book is included with the ticket, which sometimes also means the book is signed or there will be an opportunity to have the book signed at the end of the event.
- Judy Blume - In the Unlikely Event - signed on site
- Neil Gaiman - This was part of his "An Evening with Neil Gaiman" tour and not connected to a specific new release, but signed backlist books were available to purchase
- Hillary Clinton - What Happened - pre-signed
- Louise Penny - A Better Man - pre-signed
- Patti Smith - Year of the Monkey - unsigned
- Bill Bryson - The Body - unsigned
Authors I have seen for free: These are in no particular order only as I remembered them. I have included the book I saw them touring for and where I saw them if I could remember it. Often these author talks are recorded and can be found on the store's site.
- Rainbow Rowell - Politics & Prose
- Stephanie Perkins - Hooray for Books
- Jenny Lawson - Politics & Prose - Furiously Happy
- Jacqueline Winspear - Politics & Prose - The Care and Management of Lies
- Laurie Halse Anderson in conversation with Scott Simon - Politics & Prose - The Invisible Knife of Memory
- Jasmine Guillory in conversation with Nicole Chung - East City Books - The Proposal & All You Can Ever Know (respectively)
- Victoria Schwab - One More Page Books - A Gathering of Shadows
- Sarah McCoy - One More Page Books - Marilla of Green Gables
- Libby Copeland - East City Books - The Lost Family
Authors I have seen virtually: I anticipate seeing more authors this way in the coming days especially with the National Book Festival going entirely online this year.
- Jesse Dougherty - I believe Jesse organized this himself on Twitter live. - Buzz Saw: The Improbable Story of How the Washington Nationals Won the World Series
- Robin Ha and Malaka Gharib in conversation - One More Page Books - Almost American Girl & I Was Their American Dream (respectively)
See Authors at the National Book Festival:
Another reliable way to see authors speak about their work is at the annual National Book Festival. The event takes place in Washington, DC because it is organized by the Library of Congress, and even in non-COVID years, the author's presentations are recorded for viewing on the Library's site. The Festival originally spanned two days on the National Mall under tents, but in 2014 the Library hosted the event in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center over one longer day, and it has been there ever since. In 2013 I introduced Holly Black at the Festival and Rita Williams-Garcia in 2014. These were exciting moments in my bookish life. I have seen a variety of other authors speak including Jack Gantos and Congressman John Lewis.
This year the Festival will take place online September 25-27.
See Authors at Non-Book Festival Library of Congress Events:
- Lois Lowry - I saw Lowry at the Library of Congress in conversation with Nikki Silver about making The Giver into a movie.
- Mukoma Wa Ngugi - I attended college with Mukoma and even sat next to him at our graduation where his father Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o was our commencement speaker. Mukoma visited the African and Middle Eastern Division of the Library of Congress to discuss his work.
- Jonah Solkoff Eskin Memorial Program 2015: National Ambassadors for Young Peoples Literature: A Tribute to Walter Dean Myers - This event took place on May 6, 2015 and included the Ambassador Kate DiCamillo, along with past Ambassadors Katherine Patterson and Jon Scieszka along with Myers's son author and artist, Christopher Myers.
- Tim Gunn - I was invited by a friend who had secured two tickets to this event to hear Gunn speak about Disco fashion as part of the Library of Congress's Bibliodiscotheque in May of 2017. His memoir The Natty Professor is wonderful.
See Authors at State and Local Book Festivals:
Every year (except 2020) the NOVA Teen Book Festival takes place at a high school in Northern Virginia. As part of that event, the authors come to town the day before to visit local schools for free. Schools are responsible for planning a program that will involve interested students in a small setting with the author. As part of this, my school was visit by:
- Rachel Hartman - Tess of the Road
- Heidi Heilig - The Girl From Everywhere and The Ship Beyond Time
This list of Writer's Conferences and Book Festivals from around the world has links to all the events it lists.
See Authors at Conferences:
I attend the Virginia Association of School Librarians conference every year that I am able, which has worked out to 8 times in the last 10 years. Many authors are invited to the conference as presenters, panelists, and keynote speakers. I have seen a number of children's and young adult authors talk about their work in small group settings.
See Authors at the Public Library:
Brad Meltzer -History Decoded: The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time
I saw both of these through the Smithsonian Associates program which makes available books talks, lectures, and classes.
- John Irving - Avenue of Mysteries - pre-signed
- Jodi Picoult - Leaving Time - signed on site
Writing this post has been a lot of fun, bring back many memories of sitting entranced listening to the authors I admire talking with passion about their writing.
What authors have you seen live and virtually?
