We are so glad you asked. We made a list to share with you to help make your two days at the festival as smooth and as worry-free as possible. Book festivals are a lot of fun whether you are working them or attending them. Being ready to go and bringing these things with you will ensure you are able to focus on making new fans and not on survival.
At the festival, you will most likely share a table with another author. Make sure to keep this in mind when packing your swag. You will not have unlimited room to spread out so please bring the items that highlight your work best. You can expect to have 4 feet of table, a chair, and a white tablecloth.
You will receive a time and information on when to arrive at the loading dock to unload. You should be set up and ready to greet a crowd at 10 a.m. See where the KICC is located and how it looks at this link. We recommend that you enter at the corner of 4th and Market Streets which is the side of the KICC where the festival will be.
Things we recommend you absolutely have:
- Your swag that tells an audience who you are. (People are drawn to signage. Please see the FAQ’s section on our website for sign restrictions.) Swag can be a lot of things. Most of these are talked about under the recommended things to bring section below.
- Copies of your books for promotional purposes only. You may only sell the books the festival approved for sale- this is in your email. However, you can bring all of your books for display. Direct interested parties to your website if they want to sell books not approved for sale by the LBF. Remember our goal is to highlight new work. You cannot sell any books at the festival that are not approved- not even from your table.
- Most self-published authors and many small press authors will need to bring their own books with them and a way to sell them. (This has largely to do with whether our bookstore partner can order your book. You will be notified if you are in this category.) It is difficult for us to recommend a number of books for you to bring because all sales are different, but definitely more than 20 copies.
- It’s a good idea to invest in easy-to-access and easy-to-carry rolling carts so you can move in and out of areas more quickly. Again, this helps reduce the stress of the day.
- A water bottle. You can easily refill your bottle at the KICC water stations.
- A battery pack for your phone or other items you want to charge. These are very very helpful and will greatly reduce the stress of you looking for approved places for you to charge and then stand there with your phone. Remember to charge both your phone and your battery pack both nights before the festival.
- Wi-Fi access. The Kentucky International Convention Center does not offer free electricity or wi-fi. They will charge you for accessing either.
- Patience. A must. A festival is a difficult event to plan. There are many factors out of our control. It will be a great two days, but yes, you may need to pack a little patience.
Things we recommend you might want to bring:
Sharpies (For book signings- they make few errors and dry quickly.)
Sticky notes (ask people to write out the name clearly of the person you are signing the book to. This reduces the chance that you write the wrong name in a book.)
Table drape (if you prefer)
A nice attractive way to display your books
Signage (if you prefer). (Sign restrictions are noted on the FAQ’s section.)
Water (Yes, we recommended a water bottle, but if you do not want to run often to the water station, bring water.)
Easy to eat lunch or snacks (There will be a coffee and snack shop open that has light sandwiches right outside the ballroom.)
Little candies in a bowl for your audience
Stickers
Bookmarks
Your contact information (business cards, postcards, or a dot). People need to know how to find you outside of the festival. It is easier to hand them something professional and premade as opposed to something you write out on the spot on a napkin.
Make sure your table (and you) looks inviting. Even if visits and sales are not going how you hoped, discouragement will only ensure that people feel less comfortable about approaching you to talk or to peruse your table.