Book Festivals – What I’ve Learned + Tips

When I went to my first book festival, there were a couple things I wished I knew before I went. I was really glad I had my friend with me because she knew what she was doing and I didn’t. I just followed her around. I didn’t even know about the panels at that festival. That’s how clueless I was.

^^ me when my friend suggested we go to a panel at my first book festival

Anyway, I compiled a couple tips and things I’ve learned from the two book festivals I’ve attended. I am by no means an expert, but I hope this can help at least one person.

Before Attending

Do your research

This is probably one of the most important steps. If you don’t know what you’re walking into, you’re going to get lost and that won’t be all that fun. Research the schedule, the panels, the authors that are attending, parking, rules, etc. The more informed you are, the less likely you’ll be stressed.

Find a friend to go with

This is my own personal opinion, but festivals and events are more fun when you have someone to share the experience with. With bigger book festivals, I find that it’s easier to go with one other person rather than multiple people. The more people there are, the less you will probably get done because there are more people to keep track of. Different people have different preferences, and that includes books. Plus, it’s hard to find more than two seats together at panels unless you get there really early. If you do happen to go in a group of more than two people, then I suggest having an even number of people so there will be some sort of buddy system in case the group gets split.

Prioritize

There are only a couple authors and a ton of readers, so don’t expect to meet all of the authors you want to. That’s why you should prioritize who you want to meet and which panels you want to go to.

Plan your schedule

Going off of the previous step, you need to plan your schedule based on what you want to prioritize. The great thing about prioritizing is that you have a back-up plan in case you can’t do your first or second option. Now, I understand that schedules are not everyone’s thing, but if you like to be orderly and know what the expect, then I suggest you make a schedule. If you don’t really care about having a schedule, just have a general idea of what you want to go to.

Prepare the day before

Pack the things you need: books, phone, money, etc. I will also suggest having a pen and paper with you in case you need to jot something down or put your name in a book when you’re in line for a signing.

Day of the Festival

Get there early

Often times festivals have early incentives like tickets to meet certain authors, so I suggest you make sure you check out all the details of the festival and who you want to meet. Getting to the place early means that you have earlier access to… well, everything. You have earlier access to books, merch, information, etc.

Pack your own food

This is an advice I got from a friend, and boy, am I glad she told me about this one. Most of the time, the food at festivals is super overpriced and you have to wait in a long line to get a measly portion. Instead of spending all your money on food, you should just pack your own so you can wait in line for the next event you want to go to without having to pay for lunch. That’s what my friend and I did. Because of that, we were able to get into the BookTuber panel and meet people like Jesse from Jesse the Reader and Regan from Peruse Projects.

At the Festival

Don’t expect to meet all the authors

Once again, there are only a couple authors and a lot of readers, so they might not have the time to meet everyone you want to. That’s okay! There are always other authors you can meet and maybe you’ll find a new author that you’ve never heard of before and get to know them a bit better.

Patience is key

You’re going to be doing a lot of walking so make sure you wear comfortable shoes. Also, there will be a lot of standing in lines, so patience is key.

Get to the signing booth early

If there’s a famous author that you really desperately want to meet, I suggest that you skip the last panel before signings and just head over to the signing line. My friend and I really wanted to meet Marie Lu so we skipped the last panels and went down to where the line was waiting and it was already so long that part of the line was outside. Even though we were an hour early, there were still many people waiting to meet these authors. That being said, if you wait until the actual time of the signing, you’re going to be waiting for a really long time before you can meet any of the authors.

And lastly, just have fun!

This one is pretty self explanatory. Book festivals are meant to be a fun and carefree day, so why not enjoy it with people that share the same interests as you? Get to know people while waiting in lines! Talk to them. Surely you’ll find someone who loves the same books as you. Just have fun!

What are some of your tips?

Are there any book festivals or author events you’re planning on attending?

What is one author you’d like to meet?

Until next time….