BOOK LAUNCHES AND EVENTS AT THE BOOK ROOM COLLECTIVE

The Book Room Collective enjoys being the official bookseller for the wonderful Byron Writers Festival and being part of the incredible events organised by the BBWF. If you want to be part of the Byron Writers Festival or have any questions relating to BBWF events, please contact the festival office through their website https://byronwritersfestival.com

In addition, the Book Room Collective has a proud record of launching books written by local authors and hosting literary events for visiting authors.

BOOK LAUNCHES

Book launch events are usually held within a week or so of your book being available to purchase in our shops. The launch is your chance to invite your family, friends and colleagues for a celebration of your work. It’s also your chance to start the life of your book in-store - to bring it to the attention of bookshop staff, and customers in your area.

Which Shop?

We hold book launches at both of our shops. The shop you choose will obviously be influenced by how close it is to where you and most of your friends live, and the number of people you think will attend. Please note that the Byron shop can accommodate up to 80 people standing, or 40 seated. The Book Room at Lennox is much smaller and can accommodate up to 40 people standing. 

For events focussed on children we suggest a venue away from the shops to ensure a more child- friendly space. In the past we have used various garden spaces, libraries, or halls.

When Can I Launch my book at The Book Room?

We prefer to conduct launches and events at the shops on a weekday evening (Thursday seems to be the most popular with audiences) from February to November. Most events start at 6:00pm

Book events for kids or young adults can be scheduled earlier on weekdays, or on a Saturday or Sunday.

How to Get Started?

• Please direct all requests for book events to john@thebookroomcollective.com

• Please tell us, in a few sentences, about the book, the publisher, and its retail (shop) price.

  Please also tell us your preferred dates for the event and how many people, approximately, you expect will attend. We ask that you send an enquiry about a book event at least eight weeks before the anticipated launch date. Sadly, we cannot accommodate all requests.

• Most of our events involve wine and finger food and you will need to consider whether you would like to include either or both. We can help you organise this for your event. You will be invoiced for this cost.

You will need to decide if the event is to be free or if there is to be some cover charge. Either way we find it valuable to take bookings for the event because bookings tend to increase chances of attendance and provide helpful information in relation to catering. Next we need to know your preferred type of event (sit down event with Q&A, stand up event with a few speeches) and the names of others involved (M.C. , interviewer, guest speaker). Almost all of our book events are simply people talking and enjoying some wine, followed by a speech from the person who launches the event, and a speech from the author, general congratulations, and a chance for the author to sign copies of their book at the end. Some authors prefer to read an extract from their book, or be asked questions about it, in a Q & A session, instead of giving a speech. We do recommend that book readings be short, and we’ve found over the years that two speeches are the most that any audience will really listen to (nothing seems to spoil a book event as easily as a lengthy reading, or that third or fourth speech). The usual running order for a Book Room shop event is as follows:

6:00              Guests begin to arrive. Wine served.

6:15              An MC gives a quick introduction of author and/or speakers.

6:20-6:40     Speaker and/or author talks/book readings and/or audience questions. 

6:40-7:00     Book signing.

7:00              Event close.

How to Advertise

Once we have found a date for your launch and decided on all the above options, the Book Room Collective will advertise the event on our website and through our social media platforms. Your publishing house will usually provide posters for the launch (we are happy to display one in each shop) as well as invitation cards (postcard size) detailing the event. These cards are a very useful method of communicating with our regular customers about upcoming events. Having said this, we have found the most successful events are supported by energetic authors who bring along several dozen of their closest friends and family members.

Equipment

The Book Room can supply microphones, a lectern, chairs, wine glasses and napkins. We also have a projection screen,  wall space and equipment for PowerPoint or other kinds of visual presentation.

Further Questions

Please don’t hesitate to email us at john@thebookroomcollective.com