book author tours

AUTHOR VISITS, BOOK CLUBS, STORYTIMES AND MORE!

Barnes & Noble hosts thousands of events every year both in our stores nationwide and virtually online. These events range from author visits to local book club meetings to children's storytimes and much, much more.

Author Events :

Annually, our stores host thousands of authors from every genre for book readings, discussions and signings. These author visits range from national touring writers to the hottest celebrities to local authors telling their stories to their communities. Prominent authors who graced our stores recently include Brad Meltzer, Elin Hildebrand, Jimmy Fallon, Holly Black, Victoria Aveyard, David Baldacci, Nicolas Sparks, Channing Tatum Jenna and Laura Bush, Harlan Coben, Chris Colfer, Simu Liu, Neal Shusterman, Jeff Kinney, Colson Whitehead, Anthony Doerr and Anderson Cooper to name just a few.

Our national Virtual Events program showcases a variety of authors for in-conversation and panel events that you can enjoy from the comfort of your home. We offer a variety of free and ticketed programming that can include signed books with your purchase/registration.

Book Club Meet-Ups :

Local Book Club meetings may be available at your local store (or if not, you can be the person to start one up locally!), so check with your local store to see what might be available. We also offer our national monthly Book Club selection that is announced at the start of each month and culminates in a book club discussion with the chosen author/title that airs virtually. You can get information on our national Book Club selections here .

Storytimes :

Stores offer a variety of storytime programming with both local authors and high-profile touring authors/celebrities. Programming varies from store to store, so please check listings for your local Barnes & Noble. We also offer storytimes and other event programming that you can watch online on our Barnes & Noble YouTube page.

You can find the latest on all B&N events by heading to our Store Locator page on BN.com . Just type in a specific store or your geographical location and you’ll find an amazing array of both virtual events and local in-store events near you.

Photos of authors who have visited our stores or who we have hosted virtually are below!

Authors Naomi Novik and Holly Black at Barnes & Noble Union Square.

Jimmy Fallon discusses Nana , his newest children’s book.

Simu Liu at The Grove in Los Angeles.

Neal Shusterman at Barnes & Noble in Frisco, TX.

Anderson Cooper discusses his new book with Kelly Ripa as part of our national virtual events program.

Colson White and Michael Connelly virtually discuss Harlem Shuffle .

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Helping authors find their readers

Are you an author of fantasy, romance, paranormal, sci-fi or dystopian fiction looking to reach new readers? We're here to help! At Book Tour Gals, we believe Indie authors deserve the same quality promotion given to traditionally published titles. This is why we offer our multi-year experience as content creators to help authors reach new readers across multiple platforms with boutique, tailor-made tours catered to every budget. Unlike other tour companies, Book Tour Gals is not an intermediary between the author and the content creators. We establish a direct relationship with our authors and guarantee a professional and friendly experience. Our services include content creation, release week tours, cover reveals and backlist titles promotion. Are you ready to book your tour? Contact us for more information on our packages by filling out the form below!

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INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT OUR SERVICES?

Fill out this form and we will reach out with more information!

The Book Tour Gals specialize in creating customized marketing campaigns for authors and book related businesses. As the first ever tour company to operate with set hosts, Book Tour Gals pride ourselves in offering the best custom marketing campaigns for our authors and businesses. Below you’ll find a description of the different tour types we offer. Our tours are 100% customizable and pricings will vary based on your choices. Please contact us via email on [email protected] or Instagram DM on @booktourgals for information and pricing. Should you choose to book a tour, we do require a $50 (USD) deposit to reserve your spot on our calendar which will be deducted from your total tour cost.

starter pack and cover reveals

This package includes: An Instagram photo on the scheduled day of posting featuring your book/product, and a story post with link sticker to the book's Amazon or Goodreads page. Hosts will not be responsible for reading and reviewing the book with this option. We will also share any sale or pre-order information in the caption upon request. Author/company will be tagged in all content.

photo promo package

This package includes: An Instagram photo on the scheduled day of posting featuring your book, a story unboxing upon receiving the book (if provided), a currently reading story post, a story post with Amazon purchase link sticker and a story post with Goodreads link sticker on scheduled day of posting. Hosts will also share reviews on Goodreads and Amazon within 4 weeks from the tour's end. We will also share any sale or preorder information in the caption upon request. Author will be tagged in all content.

reels and tiktok feature posts and cover reveals

This package includes: An Instagram Reel on the scheduled day of posting featuring your book/product, a story unboxing upon receiving the book/product (if provided), and a story post with link sticker to the book's Amazon or product page on scheduled day of posting. Hosts will not be responsible for reading and reviewing the book with this option. We will also share any sale or preorder information in the caption upon request. The reels will be reposted on TikTok. Author/company will be tagged in all content.

reels and tiktok promo package

This package includes: An Instagram Reel on the scheduled day of posting featuring your book, a story unboxing upon receiving the book (if provided), a currently reading story post, a story post with Amazon purchase link sticker and a story post with Goodreads link sticker on scheduled day of posting. We will also share any sale or preorder information in the caption upon request. The reels will be reposted on TikTok. Hosts will share reviews on Goodreads and Amazon within 4 weeks from the tour's end. Author will be tagged in all content.

feature deluxe package

This package includes: An Instagram Reel AND an Instagram Post on the scheduled days of posting featuring your book/product, a story unboxing upon receiving the book/product (if provided), and a story post with link sticker to the book's Amazon or product page on scheduled days of posting. Hosts will not be responsible for reading and reviewing the book with this option. We will also share any sale or preorder information in the caption upon request. The reels will be reposted on TikTok. Author/company will be tagged in all content.

promo deluxe package

This package includes: An Instagram Reel AND an Instagram Post on the scheduled days of posting featuring your book, a story unboxing upon receiving the book (if provided), 2 story post with link sticker to the book's Amazon page on scheduled days of posting, and a story post with link to the book's Goodreads page. We will also share any sale or preorder information in the caption upon request. The reels will be reposted on TikTok. Hosts will share reviews on Goodreads and Amazon within 4 weeks from the tour's end. Author will be tagged in all content.

Note about reviews: The rates are for advertising and promoting on our platforms and for organizing a tour on Instagram. Our rates are NOT for reviewing the book and do not guarantee a specific rating. With that in mind, our reviews tend to focus on the positive aspects of the book, but also offer constructive criticism when necessary. If an issue arises when reviewing, we will contact the author to clarify before posting it publicly. If you'd like to take note of each host's reviewing style, links to their Goodreads pages can be found in the "About Us" section of our website.

testimonials

Raven Kennedy, International Bestselling Author of The Plated Prisoner series "The Tour Gals are the top of my list recommendation for book tours. Each and every one of them puts so much heart and effort into hosting. Not only do they have beautiful feeds that enrich the Bookstagram community, but they are the nicest, most supportive people with a serious talent for gorgeous photos. I cannot recommend them enough, and yet, I want to keep them to myself!"

Ivy Asher, International Bestselling Author of Order of Scorpions and The Osseous Chronicles "The Tour Gals are the best in every possible way! The way they support and promote is leagues above other tours because they actually read and are passionate about the books they support. They put so much thought and care into everything they do and it makes a world of difference!"

Jane Washington, Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of Plier "I couldn’t recommend the Book Tour Gals more. Their content is genuine, authentic, entertaining, and visually STUNNING. They’re an asset not just to authors, but to the whole book community. They were also very friendly and professional, and I’ll be recommending them to every author I know looking to boost their next release!”

S.G. Blaise, Award-winning author of The Last Lumenian series "It’s always a pleasure to work with the Book Tour Gals! They deliver!”

Ann Denton, Author of the Tangled Crowns and Feral Princess series, and of the poetry collection Ridiculous Truths "The Tour Gals are thoughtful and always seek to find beautiful and engaging ways to present the books they read. It's so easy and wonderful to work with them, and I can definitely say they've helped increase the visibility of my work.”

Cassie Alexander, Author of Bend Her "I was so happy with the time and attention the Book Tour Gals gave to promoting my new series -- all of them created really beautiful pieces of social media for it, and they really helped get the word out -- my pre-orders spiked! ”

Megan Van Dyke, Author of Second Star to the Left "The Book Tour Gals were so great to work with. They were organized, timely, and professional, but also so much fun. A genuine joy to work with. Each of the ladies embraced my book and made beautiful posts that helped me reach a whole new audience. During the tour, my book reached the #1 new release spot in its very competitive category on Amazon, which was so much more than I expected. I would certainly recommend them to other authors.”

Lit Haven Booktique, company specializing in Exclusive Collector's Edition Romance books and book boxes "The Book Tour Gals truly bring spectacular work to the table. You receive influencer size exposure, high quality content, top notch customer service, and passion for the project that’s so hard to find anywhere else. We highly recommend each of the hosts, and couldn’t have had a better experience.”

S.A. Christianson, Author of An Incarnation of Shadow and Light "An overwhelmingly positive experience from start to end. The gals were equal parts kind and professional and I can't imagine having a book launch without their services. I would work with them again in a heartbeat.”

Brian Paglinco, Author of the poetry collection Midnight Light "The Book Tour Gals are an absolute pleasure to work with. They know books, they know how to market books, and they know social media. So there’s no need to worry about it! They are confident, and they are organized. They are also kind, and they are also great at communicating. So don’t worry about that either! Their rates are great and they work very hard to make sure your investment pays off! I highly recommend the Book Tour Gals. I look forward to working with them again in the future.”

Emma V.R. Noyes, Author of The Sunken City "I can proudly recommend the Book Tour Gals to any author looking to publicize their book. The gals are absolutely fabulous to work with - fun and communicative, with top-notch social media content creation. 10/10 recommend!”

Havana Wilder, Author of the Iron Mountain series and the Kingdom Alliances series "All the gals are wonderful to work with. I definitely recommend them to all authors.”

Kitt Lynn, Author of Sana's Escape and the Hund Valley series "The BookTour Gals are the best! Their photos are creative, beautiful, and when I was unable to get the paperbacks to them in time, their photoshop skills where flawless!”

Madison Lawson, Author of The Registration "The Tour Gals were a joy to work with! They were kind and creative. The content posted was absolutely beautiful with stunning photos, thoughtful reels, and informational captions.”

Marion Blackwood, Author of Ruthless Villains "I highly recommend Book Tour Gals! They're professional and kind and put a lot of work into creating an amazing tour. The reels and photos they created were absolutely incredible! I will definitely be back for another tour with them!”

Nikki Robb, Author of Shadows of Verihdia "The Tour Gals made beautiful posts about my debut novel “Shadows of a Verihdia”, I loved having people who love books so much share their love of my story. ”

Scarlett D. Vine, Author of The Twice-Cursed Serpent "I wasn’t sure what to do expect from a book tour, but what I got from the Book Tour Gals was an amazing professional experience. I can’t recommend them enough.’ ”

I.P. Eviston, Author of The Vanguard Chronicles series "I worked with Book Tour Gals for my first and second books and couldn’t be happier with how professional each post and reel looked. Everyone was helpful and communicative through the whole process and I’ve gained a lot of new readers with their help!”

Mikaela Bell, Author of Taken by Nightfall "The Tour Gals were a pleasure to work with. They went above and beyond and helped launch my book. I highly recommend their services to everyone.”

Camilla Andrew, Author of the When the Stars Alight "Book Tour Gals was an essential component to having a successful launch week, I attribute a lot of my sales to their book influencer expertise. I will definitely be thinking of using their services again.”

Lucy Holden, Author of Woven in Darkness "I've collaborated with the Book Tour Gals on two releases, and in both cases have seen a huge jump in sales and online buzz. They are professional, efficient, reliable and very, very supportive of their authors. I will definitely work with them again.”

Holly Roberds, Author of The Lost Girls series "Working with the Book Tour Gals I saw a visible increase in sales, had so much quality content to reshare on my own platforms, and they made everything so easy! I highly recommend their services, they are professional, prompt, organized, produce amazing bookish content, and I have all my author friends running to sign up with them. I will 100% be touring again with them in the future."

R.M. Muller, Author of Sands of Ruin "Working with the team of Booktourgals was easy, and fun. Every member of the team was supportive and helpful. Highly recommend the service to indie authors looking to get their book seen!"

S.T. Fernandez, Author of The Legend of Gasparilla "The Book Tour Gals were a joy to work with. The level of creativity and enthusiasm they have is amazing. They really understand their audience and how to market to them."

Amy Boyles, Author of How To Fake It With A Fae "Doing a promotion with Tour Girls was a great choice. At first I wasn't sure if it would pay off, but the tour helped my book get wings and hold rank in Amazon, even weeks after the tour."

Ashley R. O'Donovan, Author of the What Lies Beyond the Realms series "I love working with the Book Tour Gals. Their posts are always so pretty, and I like reusing them on my own page as well. I would definitely recommend them to authors of any size! It’s a great way to gain more visibility for my books and interact with new readers. If you’re debating whether to book a tour, stop debating and just do it! :)"

Catherine Oni, Author of If Her Love Was Enough "The Book Tour Gals are WONDERFUL! They are extremely knowledgeable on content creation, authors, genres of books, and what the people want! Each gal really highlights the positives of each novel in a fun, honest, and creative way! I can’t wait to continue working with them for my next books! "

L.J. Shen, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of Thorne Princess "I absolutely recommend working with each and every one of the Tour Gals. It was a pleasure and I cannot wait to do it again soon!”

Saffron A. Kent, USA Today Bestselling Author of You Beautiful Thing, You "I loved loved loved working with the Book Tour Gals. They were so easy to work with, so accommodating and so understanding of my situation — I was pregnant at the time the book came out and we were juggling the dates. I truly felt loved and supported and their love for my book was shown through their posts.”

H.M. Hodgson, Award-winning Author of The Immortal Keepers series and the Three Gifts trilogy "I loved taking The Last Keeper on tour with BookTour Gals! The content created by everyone on the team was high quality, perfect for the theme of my book, engaging and individual. I’ve loved connecting with new readers through the BookTour Gals social media network, and of course it’s wonderful to see people reading my book!”

Danielle Harrington, Award-Winning Author of The Hollis Timewire series "The Book Tour Gals were so kind and supportive! They took gorgeous pictures of my books, provided insightful reviews for the Instagram Tour posts, and communicated quickly. The best part of the Book Tour was how special they made me feel! It was incredible seeing my book promoted alongside some of the big names on Bookstagram. It gave my platform and book series wider visibility and new fans who are dying to find out what happens next. I highly recommend these ladies. They were such a treat to work with!”

Sarah K.L. Wilson, USA Today Bestselling Author of the Bluebeard's Secret series "Very professional.”

Reina Bell, Author of the Kismet, New & Unbroken and Trust Me "Book Tour Gals are by far and away the very best at what they do. From start to finish, they are excellent communicators and make the process seamless. As an indie author with little social media experience, new to self-publishing and marketing, they are a godsend! I highly recommend. They are all fabulous with their own uniqueness and style, which I appreciate. I look forward to working with them for all of my future releases!"

Abby Millsaps, Author of Too Safe "I was thrilled with my promotional tour for Too Safe with the Book Tour Gals! From their professionalism and communication leading up to the tour, to their enthusiasm and excitement for my story, I couldn't imagine a better experience. The content they created was gorgeous, engaging, and on trend. I would highly recommend their services, and look forward to working with them again soon. ”

Angela J. Ford, Author of Married by Wind and the Tower Knights series "Working with Book Tour Gals was a pleasure, they took the time to create something exciting that would capture readers attention and I saw the boost in sales I needed. I will certainly be back to work with them again!”

Jessica S. Taylor, Author of The Syren's Mutiny series "Working with the Gals was amazing! Beautiful pics, noticeable engagement, and definitely worth the price!”

Whitney Dean, Author of The Four Kingdoms series "Book Tour Gals is made up of some incredible ladies who take the time to create content specifically for your book. I’ve worked with them twice so far with another tour scheduled for my second release. In my most recent tour, their reels catapulted my book onto the Amazon best seller list! Out of multiple tours, Book Tour Gals will be the only one I use for the rest of my series. I highly recommend them!"

Melissa Cassera, Author of Control "The Book Tour Gals are INCREDIBLE! Hands down best tour experience. The visuals they create are so eye catching, the posts are fun, there’s a ton of engagement, and they really work hard to rally behind your book. I loved all the care and attention they put in and can’t wait to work with them again!"

Clare Archer, Author of The Divine Oblivion "I greatly enjoyed working with BookTourGals. They were very professional and their posts were creative and beautiful. I was blown away by the amount of preorders I received by the end of the tour and it’s still rising!”

Kira Stanley, Author of Reluctant Queen "These gals are so creative and professional. They promise on what they deliver and are so kind and understanding about any questions you might have. They are responsive and quick (which is SOO helpful!) I would use them again in a heartbeat!”

Sara M. Schaller, Author of the the Empyrean trilogy "The Book Tour Gals are fantastic! I’ve gotten so many new readers and followers because of them. They made my book shine!”

Stephanie Storm, Author of The Confidential Heir "Loved this experience so much, that I'm already planning my next! In a world where it almost feels impossible to stand out amongst the 100s of 1000s of books that get published per day, the Book Tour Gals helped me stand out a bit, and sometimes it can be so scary because no indie author really knows what they're doing, and they're so friendly, helpful and approachable and help make this part of the journey a bit easier for us. Thank you!”

Morgan Gauthier, Author of A Song of Shadow and Starlight "Working with the Book Tour Gals was fun and easy! They are quick to respind, creative with their content, and are genuinely wonderful human beings! I will definitely work with them in the future!”

Santana Saunders, Author of A Curse of Blood and Bloom "The Book Tour Gals are AMAZING! They communicated everything well, and the results were better than I imagined.”

Raluca Narita, Author of Dark Magic "The Book Tour Gals are amazing! Working with them to prepare for the book tour was a positive experience. They clearly communicated about what to expect, and the posts that were made on social media were unique and engaging. Highly recommend!”

Kristie Price, Author of The Restricrions of Cora "This was such a great experience! The girls were knowledgeable and friendly, and their photos were beautiful! They increased my books exposure and my followers. I highly recommend BookTourGals, and would love to work with them again!”

Mellie T. Tollem, Author of A Tale of Treachery "I loved working with the Book Tour Gals! This was my first tour as a debut indie author, and the ladies made it a very positive experience. The photos and posts were beautiful, and helped my book reach a whole new audience of readers. I would absolutely recommend them to other authors looking to expand their audience.”

Carter Pugh, Author of Death Rattle "The whole experience was so amazing. Each BTG crafted beautiful posts and I am so thankful. They made the process for promoting my first novel feel like the best week of my life. I was truly touched by their words and reviews and feel energized and excited about this amazing journey that I am on."

C.L. Qvam, Author of the Spindle of Life series "I absolutely loved working with the Book Tour Gals both for my debut and its sequel. I struggle with a lot of anxiety and decision-overwhelm, and they patiently helped guide me through the process whenever needed. They're a steady lighthouse in a storm for any beginner author, but I'd especially recommend for authors with romantasy novels. As a reader and regular consumer of their content, I can vouch for their excitement over a good (spicy) romance being an unparallelled force to putting a book in a reader's TBR!"

Tara Lynn, Author of the Tales of the Immortals series "The Book Tour Gals are an absolute pleasure to work with. They are kind, efficient and thoughtful. Every reel posted was tailored to my books genre. The hype they present with it, the reel is engaging and allows readers to get a sense of what the book is about. I would work with this company again in a heartbeat."

Asha Nyr, Author of The Mistake and the Lycan King "The Book Tour Gals is the place to go for fun and effective promotion. Not only are they a delight to work with, but they’re an incredibly skilled team that will apply their talents to marketing industry standard levels. They also made me feel comfortable and encouraged during a process that normally makes me vulnerable. I will swear by these gals."

Laura Burton as Athena Rose, Author of the Romancing the Seas series "If you are looking to build exposure to a new book or an existing series, the Book Tour Gals are friendly, professional and post great content that you can then share! So much fun, will book again!!"

Elizabeth May, International and Sunday Times Bestselling Author of To Cage a God "The Book Tour Gals are such a delight to work with. Lovely, supportive and kind, with book posts that are so beautiful and professional. I can't recommend them enough, they're so wonderful!”

Sarah A. Parker, International Bestselling Author of To Bleed A Crystal Bloom "The Book Tour Gals are everything and so much more. Each and every one of them are artists in their own right, and the amount of effort they put into my book tour was astonishing—from the stunning pictures to the engaging posts and reels, all pulled together by their dedication and outstanding communication. I felt like a queen for the entire 8 days of my tour, because they treated me and my book with THAT much care and consideration. Mushy stuff aside, my sales skyrocketed over the course of the tour, and I feel a lot of that is thanks to these amazing gals. I cannot recommend them enough.”

Kate King, USA Today and International Best-Selling Author of Wilde Fae: Lords of the Hunt "I absolutely loved working with the tour gals and found it to be absolutely worth it for entering the Romantasy space. I’ve done more standard Instagram PR tours before that had more participants, but far less return on investment. Every post made a huge difference to my Amazon ranking, and introduced me to readers I never would have reached otherwise. 10/10.”

Jessica Wayne, USA Today Bestselling Author of Rise of a Warrior "The Book Tour Gals were wonderful to work with! The images and videos they put together for my book were spectacular, and I am looking forward to getting to work with them again!”

Nicola Tyche, Author of North Queen "The Book Tour Gals are exceptional! They were incredibly professional, creative, and so much fun to work with. They genuinely support indie authors, create beautiful content, and make the book release process so much more exciting. North Queen made top release charts in two large genre categories, and—as a debut author doing very little other marketing—I attribute this to the book tour. 10/10—I absolutely recommend!”

L.A. Gardner, co-owner of Papier and Pages Author Services and former PA and PR rep for USA Today and NYT Best Selling Authors "I have had the pleasure of partnering with the Tour Gals for a number of client releases. What strikes me the most is their professionalism, creativity, and genuine love of reading. They go above and beyond to create gorgeous reels, stories, and posts for their tours while keeping in tune with their audience expectations. I have seen firsthand the success of their tours with book launch after book launch and would highly recommend them to anyone needing book promotion.”

J.M. Failde, Author of The Crow Lord "I will never stop singing praise to Book Tour Gals. This tour was probably the best decision I have made for my book and its marketing. Not only were all the gals incredibly sweet, supportive, and fun to work with, they also brought me an influx of readers and followers. It's been almost a month now and I'm still seeing results from it! New readers message me often that they found me through BTG, and I just cannot recommend them enough. They are all so sweet and I will DEFINITELY be coming back to do another tour with them."

S.J. Tilly, Author of the Sleet series "Working with the Book Tour Gals was an absolute pleasure! Each and every one of them was super responsive and interactive with the Book Community, both before and after my tour, and made me feel like a part of their squad. I’m happy to have worked with them and even happier to call them my friends.”

Kate Golden, Author of A Dawn of Onyx "The gals were so easy to work with, thoughtful, creative and I saw a huge boost in sales and interactions when they posted. I will be doing all of my book launches and cover reveals with them!”

Veronica Douglas, Author of the Magic Side: Wolf Bound series "The Book Tour Gals made our last launch come alive. From showstopping photos to in-depth reviews to hilarious reels, it was a blast seeing each of their super creative posts. They helped us reach a much wider audience and made us feel like superstars. Thanks gals for our best release ever! ”

Alonna Williams, Author of the Pirates of the Withering Coast series "Love working with the Tour Gals! The pictures are always so beautiful and elegant and the communication is clear and everything runs smoothly!”

Alyssa Green, Author of Of Flesh and Steel "BookTourGals were so easy to work with. Communication was seamless and professional. I highly recommend them to any author looking to promote their book.”

T.R. Slauf, Author of the Legends of Lightning series "The Book Tour Gals were a pleasure to work with. Pre-tour they were extremely kind and patient with the numerous questions I had about the different services they offered. Each of them have their own unique way of creating lovely content, yet all of their styles blended together to make for a wonderful tour experience. I look forward to working with them again!”

Jessaca Willis, Author of A Delicate Betrayal "You can’t go wrong working with the Book Tour Gals! They’re friendly, professional, and super excited about hyping indie books! Highly recommend!”

Israh Azizi, Author of Heroes of the Empire: The Cavalier "I had a wonderful experience working with Tour Gals! I definitely recommend their services.”

C.H. Lyn, Author of Hope and Lies "I loved sending out my debut novel for a review tour with book tour gals. They were professional, kind, and helpful at every step. I'm thrilled that they enjoyed the story and I will absolutely be using their services again with the next installment of the series.”

E.V. Sauvage, Author of the A Sound of Battle series "Working with the Book Tour Gals was perfect. They make you feel at home with them while they prepare for the upcoming tour. You get to see in advance what is going to be posted and they always make sure it’s all good for you. I will 100% work with them again.”

Alexandra St. Pierre, Author of The Origin's Daughter "I would recommend touring with the Book Tour Gals to any authors who are looking to get exposure for their titles in the bookish community! Professional, fun and creative, they are so amazing to work with!"

Jacqueline Pretty, Author of Powerless "I had such a good experience with the Tour Gals - communication was fast and they seemed genuinely enthusiastic about my book. We had a shared Instagram chat with the hosts which I really appreciated, as it made it easy to talk about tour dates, post copy and to share post images when they went live. It was a wonderful experience and I'd highly recommend working with them!”

Emily North, Author of The Golden Alpha "Working with the Book Tour Gals took my book’s release week to the next level! I appreciated their friendly professionalism, and saw great results on my sales and social media presence. I look forward to working with them on future books!”

Steffanie Holmes, Author of You're So Dead To Me "I loved working with BookTourGals! The content they created around my book release was so fun and special – they take care to make the world of your books come alive to their audience and they know the tropes and aesthetic that will attract readers. I'll absolutely work with them again!"

E. A. M. Trofimenkoff, Author of the A Kiss of the Siren's Song "If you haven’t booked the Gals for your book tour, what are you waiting for? This was hands down one of the best experiences I could have ever asked for. Each one of the Book Tour Gals were so fun and easy to chat with, I loved the personalized and original content that each of them put into their posts and reels. I can’t recommend them enough! I’ll definitely be coming back for my future books!"

L.A. Goff, Author of Freezing Reign "Loved the convenience of working with so many book loving influencers at once!”

Brittany Ranew, Author of Lion of Fire "BookTourGals are such professionals! They approached each promotion with care and diligence. I felt like each of them really cared about my book and getting it out there to readers. Their aesthetic is beautiful and creative. Would definitely use them again!”

Braidee Otto, Author of Songbird of the Sorrows "If you’re looking for a way to build hype, spread awareness of your book, and grow your audience, Book Tour Gals are perfect for you! Working with the lovely hosts was such a seemless process and added so much value to my book launch. Not only was the content created beautiful, but it was such a joy working with people who were genuinely passionate about my book. I highly recommend booking them for a tour!”

While we specialize in promoting fantasy, romance, paranormal, sci-fi and dystopian titles with a strong romantic component, over the years we have partnered with hundreds of authors and hosted over 400 tours in most literary genres and age groups, including partnerships with award-winning and bestselling authors. Click on the book covers to find out more about these amazing titles!

our fantasy and paranormal shelf

our romance and contemporary fiction shelf

our dystopian and sci-fi shelf

our fiction and thrillers shelf

our non-fiction and poetry shelf

We've also partnered with some companies! Click on the logos to find out more about them.

get to know the book tour gals

Established in 2021, our company is run by five women united by a love of reading and photography. Our story is about a group of friends that decided to discover new books together and share the love of indie books with their communities. Click on the photos below to find out more about our hosts.

Instagram tata.lifepages
Goodreads Goodreads

Thais (also known as Tata) is secretly an energy engeneer with a not-so-secret passion for books and a new mama! She's a Latina living in Belgium with her husband, their newborn son and ragdoll cat, Kaz. Her favorite genres are romance and fantasy, and she loves morally gray characters! Enemies to lovers is her all time favorite trope and she has more book boyfriends than one could count! Now she hopes to influence her husband to become a reader like her! You might see him often in her content as he is her biggest supporter and filming assistant.

Instagram ve_xo

Vanessa or Ve as her friends and family call her, is a career mom and a student. She is a native New Yorker living in Fort Collins, CO. She has a Bachelors in Education from BAC. She is a huge advocate for Human Rights, her motto in life is to always be kind. Some of her passions are reading, photography, and home decor. She loves sharing her cozy mountain lifestyle with followers and friends. Ve's had her bookstagram account for 4 years (time flies!). She loves all things that are hygge and neutral colors. Her love for reading started in early elementary school thanks to C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia and Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree . She gravitates towards Fantasy and Romance, her favorite series is Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. She also loves to dive into Sci-Fi, Dystopian, and Paranormal. Although it's not her regular go-to she enjoys reading a good thriller from time to time and is always open to read other genres.

Instagram wordsbychiara

Chiara is a dedicated dog mom of one very eccentric terrier mix puppy named Indie! Though she currently lives in Naples, Italy, the years of her childhood spent in Bellevue, Washington shaped her as a reader and nurtured her love for the English language. She likes to say that Bilbo Baggins, Daenerys Targaryen and Taylor Swift gave her life direction, sparking her love for fantasy adventures, complex characters and storytelling. When Chiara isn’t reading, you’ll find her writing with her sister, Maria, cooking up her next red flag fictional boyfried, or obsessing over Damiano David (frontman of Måneskin) Chiara's favorite genres are fantasy and romance (especially the spicy kind!) She is a firm believer that red flags are just pretty shades of pink, so the more morally gray the character, the more likely she is to love them!

Instagram pagesofmaria

Maria currently lives in Italy, but she spent a big part of her childhood in Bellevue, Washington. Those years shaped her love for reading and writing, and to this day, she still reads and writes in English. Aside from Bookstagram, her other great passion is writing. Like most things in life, it’s something she shares with her sister, Chiara, with whom she co-writes everything with the pen name C.M. Karys. Their first novel, Ilahara: The Last Myrassar , was published on November 1, 2021! Maria’s favorite author is Sarah J. Maas, Cassandra Clare, Tessa Bailey, Emily Henry and Ali Hazelwood, but there are so many more! She reads anything ranging from YA to Adult, mostly Fantasy, Paranormal, and Contemporary Romance, but she also enjoys Sci-fi and Dystopian. Smut or no smut, romance is one of her favorite elements in a book, though she can just as well enjoy one that favors other aspects like mystery and political intrigue!

Instagram canxdancexreads

Candice is stay at home mom, book hoarder, one day finish BA English major, and has dreams of being a writer. She lives in between all of the book worlds and Michigan, US. Candice has been a reader all of her life but vividly remembers early teenage years Tamora Pierce sucking her completely into the pages of books. Her favorite genres are Paranormal romance and pretty much all smut. Romance is a must have for her to really enjoy a book. That all consuming, swoon and die for each other while ripping your heart out story. Her favorite authors are Raven Kennedy and Heather Lyons and she tends to read mostly indie books. She enjoys recommending all the books for people to read and is very passionate about her bookstagram. She started her bookstagram in May 2017 and has found herself in her whimsy, blue and busy style of photos.

If you are interested in learning more about our tours and/or availability for booking please contact us via email at: [email protected] or fill out the form below. We'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Have a great day!

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Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

A book tour may sound like some fanciful dream for an indie author, the kind of thing that’s only available to traditionally published authors with six-digit advances. But plenty of independent authors plan and execute successful book tours. In the end, bookstores don’t care if your book was published by one of the Big 5 publishers or if you self-published it; they only care that you can drive traffic to their store.

Table of Contents: • Before contacting bookstores • Create a sell-sheet • Scaling your tour • How can I find suitable venues for my book tour? • Schedule way in advance • Collaborate with other writers or influencers • Create promotional campaigns • Adapt to the ambiance • Rehearsal and dry runs • Day of the event • You need books for your tour!

Book tours offer independent authors a chance to forge partnerships with bookstores, libraries, and other venues. They also offer opportunities to meet their readers, find new ones, and get a better sense of how their writing connects with their audience. So how do you plan a successful book tour?

Before contacting bookstores

Before you start calling bookstores to schedule dates, you’re going to need some essential information on hand. When is your exact release date? How can the store get copies of your book?

A good idea is to create a sell-sheet you can deliver to venue owners so they will have everything they need in one organized, complete document.

Create a sell-sheet

A sell-sheet should include:

A prominent image of your book’s cover.
A three-to-five sentence blurb describing your book.
General information, including your release date, publisher/ imprint , the book’s ISBN, page count, and purchasing info.
A short about the author paragraph introducing who you are. Mention anything that will make you look great, like other published books or awards.
Your contact information, including website, email address, and phone number.
Any testimonials or reviews you’ve amassed that can vouch for the quality of your book and writing.

Here is an article that offers up great design ideas for sell-sheets. If you’re not a designer, consider hiring one.

Scaling your tour

The words “book tour” tend to evoke images of flying off to distant and glamorous locales across North America, but if this is your first tour, think locally. Start with a library, bookstore, and school in your hometown and branch out from there. Draw a circle around your house and find appropriate venues within an hour’s drive so you’re not dealing with hotel and travel expenses.

Also, by keeping it local, you are more likely to be a draw — and you’re more likely to know people who can come out to your event. Once you’ve hit all the places in your region, you’ll have a better sense of how well your tour is going and how people are reacting to your live event. Then you’ll be in a better place to expand your tour to other regions.

When choosing your next region, hit areas where you have friends first, or bring friends with you and make it a road trip.

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How can I find suitable venues for my book tour?

Bookstores seem like the most logical venues for hosting a book signing or reading, but that may not be the only or best place for you. (Not to mention, bookstores tend to book up, especially in the holiday season.) If you’re a children’s book author, you might want to focus on schools. Libraries are always open to hosting events, especially if the author is local and especially for nonfiction authors who can work educational angles into their presentations.

Cafes, community centers, art galleries, museums, and universities can also be excellent places to host an event. Consider the demographics of your target audience as well as the subject matter of your book. Tailoring your venue choices to your readers’ preferences will enhance the overall experience and boost attendance.

Research local book festivals and conferences to see if you can attend as a reader, panelist, or judge.

Schedule way in advance

If you wait until the last minute, you’re not going to have many options available to you. You also won’t have time to promote your appearance. Consider booking your tour four-to-six months ahead of time. Not only will you be more likely to get the dates you want, but you’ll have time for promotion and more flexibility should plans change.

Collaborate with other writers or influencers

Consider teaming up with other authors or influencers who share your target audience. Collaborative events can draw a larger crowd and provide a dynamic experience for attendees. Plus, these joint efforts will lighten the workload for you when it comes to promotion and planning.

Create promotional campaigns

Adapt to the ambiance

Each venue has its ambiance, and you should tailor your event to match. If you’re in a cozy cafe, an intimate, conversational format might be suitable. In contrast, a bookstore might accommodate a larger crowd for readings and Q&A sessions.

Rehearsal and dry runs

If you’ve never read your work out loud before, you will definitely want to practice. If possible, conduct dry-run events with a small group of friends or colleagues to gather feedback and identify spots to address in your presentation. Or try recording yourself and review to determine what works and what doesn’t. Make sure you are confident and rehearsed when it comes to showtime.

Day of the event

On the day of any of your tour events, arrive early to set up. Greet attendees with warmth and enthusiasm and create a welcoming atmosphere. Engage in meaningful interactions, sign books, and make an effort to connect with your readers. Capture the moments through photos and videos to share on your social media platforms and keep the tour’s momentum alive.

You need books for your tour!

Planning a book tour requires meticulous preparation and creativity. And if this is your first book tour, keep your expectations realistic — it’s not likely you’ll have 400 people showing up for each stop. Your goal with this first tour is to plant the seeds for your future tours: form personal connections with readers and venue owners, showcase your work, and build your email list. These should be the hallmarks of a successful tour.

Of course, the first thing you need for a book tour is your physical books, and BookBaby’s Complete Self-Publishing Packages have everything you need to publish printed books that will impress your readers at every tour event.

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Related Posts The Power of Self-Publishing: Why It Outshines the Big 5 Publishers What is Imprint Publishing? About the Author Examples to Get You Inspired Common-sense Tips To Get People To Your Book Signing 10 Book Launch Don’ts

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20 Things Every Author Should Know Before Starting a Book Tour by Stephanie Steinberg

Posted by Stephanie Chandler | Dec 7, 2015 | Blog , Past Events | 2

Stephanie Steinberg

Before my book was published, I thought book tours sounded charming. What could be better than talking about your book to interested readers, traveling the country and – hopefully – making a little money? Sign me up! By the time I finished applying to book fairs and scheduling book talks, my tour included 13 cities from coast to coast. But once I actually set off for my first stop, I learned a tour isn’t so charming – in fact, it takes a lot of work. With no publicist or agent giving me advice (I’ve gone the DIY-book promotion route), I’ve learned through trial and error what makes a book tour successful.

I wish someone had shared these tips before I started my journey. So here are some book tour best practices and must-do’s I’ve picked up (and stole from veteran authors) that you might find helpful if you’re a book tour rookie, too.

Pack your books in a rolling suitcase. Ladies, trust me when I say you do not want to schlep heavy cardboard boxes from your trunk to your book table in heels. Rolling a suitcase across a parking lot is a lot easier. This tip is for the strong guys too, though. If you’re flying to an event, you can avoid the cost of shipping books by packing them in a carry-on (assuming you choose an airline without bag fees).

Bring your own tablecloth. Never assume your table will be covered – unless event organizers tell you it will be. It’s worth buying your own tablecloth to tuck in your bag. Otherwise, you might run into trouble. I saw one author dash to Bed, Bath & Beyond 20 minutes before a Washington D.C. book fair because she missed the organizer’s email warning that card tables would be bare.

Pro tip: Pick a color that complements your book jacket. Or find a pattern from a craft store or online that relates to your book’s theme. (My book focuses on the University of Michigan, so I found a maize and blue table cover on Amazon for my signings at Michigan bars.)

Make a poster of your book cover to display on your table. Sure, you can arrange your books nicely, but a poster takes a display up a notch. Your publisher might even make this for you. If not, it’s easy to do at FedEx. You can walk in a store and provide a high-resolution image of your cover via email that they’ll print in a day or two. Or submit an order online here , and pick up your poster the next day. An 18×24-inch mounted foam board costs roughly $35. Staples also offers same-day printing and a banner stand option if you really want to stand out.

Set out a candy dish. In all honesty, people will likely wander over to take a Hershey kiss, maybe ask what your book is about, and then walk away. But the chocolate accomplishes your No. 1 goal: Draw people to your table. Even if just one piece of candy entices one new reader, you win. Just beware of fairs with kids: Your candy dish might empty before you can say the title of your book.

Order a Square reader. People don’t always carry cash. And if your book is worth more than 20 bucks, they might not want to part with whatever cash is in their wallet. Rather than risk missing a sale, get a Square reader at squareup.com so you can accept credit cards. It takes a few days for the small white device to arrive in the mail. All you have to do is attach it to your phone, download the Square Register app, enter pricing information about your book (don’t forget the sales tax) and you’re good to go. It’s free to register, but Square does take a 2.75 percent cut from every transaction. I promise the convenience and ability to track sales is worth it.

Don’t for get to bring …

Extra pens. Find a pen you love, and buy it in bulk. You don’t want to get stuck at a signing with your favorite pen out of ink. (Unfortunately, I’ve been there.)
A phone charger. Because the last thing you want is your phone to die mid-Square transaction.
Change. If you’re taking cash, have singles, fives, 10s and 20s on hand.
Snacks. Thoughtful event organizers should provide a water bottle, and if you’re lucky, lunch. But not all book fairs have a big budget, so bring whatever you need to keep your energy up when you’re answering – for the zillionth time –how you got the idea for your book.
Friend(s). If a friend is free and offers to help at a book fair or signing, accept! You can leave her in charge when you need a bathroom break, want to stretch your legs or feel like scoping out the competition at other tables.

The Promotion

Print a press release. There will be times you’ll have a line of people waiting to talk to you. You might not have time to give each person your book pitch (especially if the woman at the front won’t stop asking questions). That’s where a press release comes to your rescue. People who see you’re busy can read the paper to get a synopsis of the book instead of waiting impatiently in line. Include a few quotes from reviews and the cover image, too. If the book catches their eye, they’ll come back. If not, at least they’ll be happy you didn’t waste their time.

Print tour date cards. David might not buy your book, but if he sees you’re heading to Chicago, he might know a friend there who would. That’s why you need to offer another handout with a list of tour stops. I found a local company to make a 4-by-6 inch card printed with my book cover on the front and the dates and locations of my book stops, social media accounts and ordering information on the back. You can make this any dimension, but an index card size makes it easy for women to stick in their purse – plus, it can double as a bookmark. Which brings me to…

Give away swag. If you can swing the cost, turn your book cover into a giveaway. My publisher was nice enough to make tote bags with my book title printed on the front. (My friends use it for errands and groceries, and it’s great free advertising around town!) I’ve seen other authors make pens, and you could order anything from mugs and hats , to T-shirts at Staples. If you’re on a budget, bookmarks are easy to print at home.

Take pictures. Of the table. Of you with the book. Of readers with the book. Of you and readers with the book. Anything you can use to promote on your social media accounts. Plus, if you take pictures with your readers, odds are they’ll share them on their Facebook page, and you might gain another reader who didn’t know about your book until you popped up on their timeline with their best friend.

Create a hashtag. You may be thinking, does my book really need a hashtag ? Yes, it does. A hashtag will make it easier to track what people are tweeting or posting about your book. It can also help you engage with your readers who will appreciate a RT (which means you need a Twitter account if you don’t already). Just don’t get hashtag crazy. Pick a short one that matches your title or a recognizable theme in your book. (Mine is #EditorialFreedom.) Then slap it on your marketing materials and social media bios. And tweet it with those pictures you just took.

The Signing

Write fast – but not so fast you spell your name wrong. True story: I got so overwhelmed by the line at my first signing (a good problem to have, I know) that I started writing too fast and transposed letters in my last name. Whether you have two people in line, or two dozen, it’s OK to take a minute to write a message and chat with each person. They stood in line to see you. The least you can do is write a legible and correctly spelled autograph.

Think of a few go-to messages. Sure, all readers want a personal note addressed to them, but you might not have time to think of something on the spot. Instead, come up with three or four short messages you can rotate among readers. It will save time, and you’ll avoid the stress of not knowing what to write while someone’s hovering over you.

Make people spell their name on Post-its. You can pass the sticky notes down a line, or keep them on your table. No matter how well you know someone, request that everyone writes their name or who the book should be addressed to. What’s worse than spelling your own name wrong? Spelling your cousin’s name wrong…right in front of her…in a book she’s paying $20 for…that she’ll have forever as a reminder.

Steal secrets from other authors. The author at the book fair table next to you is hogging all your potential customers. He doesn’t have George Clooney’s looks, and he’s not a bestselling author. So what’s the deal? Chat him up (when he has a minute), and find out why he’s the center of attention. Authors tend to be friendly people, and chances are Mr. Popular will be happy to share his tricks.

Have fun. This tip comes last, but it may be the most important. You spent months, perhaps years, on this work, and it’s finally in your hands. Share the joy. Readers will absorb your I-just-published-a-book glow, and they’ll be excited to read it if you’re excited to talk about it.

I’m still mid-book tour, so if there’s something I missed on this list, I want to know! Email me at [email protected] . Good luck on your tour!

Author Bio:

Stephanie Steinberg is an editor of the Health and Money sections at U.S. News & World Report in Washington D.C. and a proud native of metro Detroit. Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, USA Today, The Washington City Paper, CNN.com, WTOP.com and several Detroit publications. In college, she was editor-in-chief of the University of Michigan’s student newspaper The Michigan Daily. In celebration of the Daily’s 125th anniversary, she edited “In the Name of Editorial Freedom: 125 Years at the Michigan Daily,” which is a compilation of essays by alumni who take readers behind the scenes of major stories they covered. You can follow Stephanie on Twitter at @Steph_Steinberg and visit her website www.stephaniesteinberg.com .

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Stephanie Chandler

Podcast Interview: Marjorie Turner Hollman 10/14/2020 – How to Develop Strategic Partnerships with Corporations and Nonprofits

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Thanks for sharing these tips! I’m not sure I would have figured all of them out by myself, when my turn comes to do a book tour!

Woishing you all the best on your tour! Tamara Kulish Author of “On Becoming a Lemonade Maker”

Thanks for these very helpful tips. I will be having my first tour in a week.

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Kelly Lacey & Love Books Tours

Organising successful book promotion for authors. visit the author services tab for more information. for book reviews from kelly lacey, click the book blog tab., love books tours.

Welcome to Love Book Tours. My mission is to provide tailored promotional tours and help to spread the word about your book. Whether it’s a book tour, cover reveals, or a release day party, I’ll create a package tailored to your needs.

I specialize in working with small independent publishers and authors from various genres. I am open to both newly released and previously published titles.

I have a lot of experience creating effective campaigns for books, and I’ll ensure you get the most out of my services. Download my info kit and booking form below and drop us an email at [email protected]

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If you have any questions, please contact us; I’ll be more than happy to answer them. I am excited to collaborate with you to create a successful campaign.

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Looking for swift assistance with cover reveals , one-day promotions, and more? You’re in luck – our talented super host team is on standby to assist you! Simply send an email to Kelly to start the process today. These are available at short notice.

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iRead Virtual Book Tour Packages and Services

This tour guarantees 10 scheduled reviews by creators on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or X .
Option to add the Tiktok SparkAds, for extra promotion.
This tour guarantees 20 scheduled reviews by creators on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or X .
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This tour guarantees 30 scheduled reviews by creators on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or X .
Option to add the Tiktok SparkAds, for extra promotion.

This tour guarantees 5 book reviews, plus additional stops featuring your book on quality book blogs or sites.
The tour stops will include 5 book reviews along with additional promotional stops such as book spotlights, guest posts, author interviews, book giveaways or a combination of these.
Author has the option of scheduling additional review stops for a fee. This option is ideal for authors starting out on their first tour or those on a tight budget desiring a quality review tour!
This tour is done within 2 weeks
This tour guarantees 10 stops featuring your book on quality book blogs or sites.
The tour stops will include between 5 -10 book reviews along with other promotional stops such as book spotlights, guest posts, author interviews, book giveaways or a combination of these.
This tour is done within 2 weeks
This tour guarantees 15 stops featuring your book on quality book blogs or sites.
The tour stops will include between 10-15 book reviews along with other promotional stops such as book spotlights, guest posts, author interviews, book giveaways or a combination of these.
This tour is done within 2-3 weeks
This tour guarantees 20 stops featuring your book on quality book blogs or sites.
The tour stops will include 15-20 book reviews along with other promotional stops such as book spotlights, guest posts, author interviews, book giveaways or a combination of these.
This tour is done within 3-4 weeks

The tour stops will include 16-20 book reviews along with other promotional stops such as book spotlights, guest posts, author interviews, book giveaways or a combination of these.
This tour guarantees 10 scheduled reviews by creators on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or X , plus 6-10 book reviews by book bloggers.
This tour is done within 8 - 10 weeks
This tour guarantees 30 stops featuring your book on quality book blogs or sites.
The tour stops will include 26-30 book reviews along with other promotional stops such as book spotlights, guest posts, author interviews, book giveaways or a combination of these.
This tour guarantees 20 scheduled reviews by creators on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or X , plus 6-10 book reviews by book bloggers.
This tour is done within 8 - 10 weeks

This tour guarantees 10 stops featuring your book on quality book blogs or sites.
The tour stops will include a minimum of 5 audio book reviews along with other promotional stops such as book spotlights, guest posts, author interviews, book giveaways or a combination of these.
This tour is done within 2 weeks .
This tour guarantees 15 stops featuring your book on quality book blogs or sites.
The tour stops will include a minimum of 10 audio book reviews along with other promotional stops such as book spotlights, guest posts, author interviews, book giveaways or a combination of these.
This tour is done within 3 weeks .

Book reviews along with other promotional stops such as book spotlights, guest posts, author interviews, book giveaways or a combination of these. Our focus, however, is mainly on getting you reviews.
A personalized Book Tour Home Page will be created on the iRead Blog to promote your tour with the links to all your stops. It includes your book cover, book synopsis, author pic, author bio, links to your social media sites and links to where to buy your book.
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Assignment of a tour coordinator who will work one-on-one with you throughout the tour and will guide you step-by-step to ensure a smooth progression of your tour and will answer all your questions in a timely manner.
Documentation with complete information on your tour, given when the tour is booked and to prep you at the start of your tour. An end of tour report is also included.
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BookBub Partners Blog

Book Marketing & Publishing Tips

Virtual Book Tours: 14 Must-See Strategies from Authors

November 17, 2020 by Leila Hirschfeld

Book tours are a traditional promotional tactic for authors when launching a new book. With the COVID-19 crisis making in-person promotional events unsafe, authors have been finding creative ways to circumvent the pandemic’s challenges and interact with fans. One tactic helping them connect with readers is virtual book tours!

To help you plan and publicize your own virtual book tour events, we’ve compiled a list of strategies we’ve seen authors use when launching their virtual tours. While missing out on IRL tours might be a bummer, there are many benefits of online events beyond just saving on travel expenses. Going virtual provides greater accessibility, allowing more people to tune in than ever before and leading to great opportunities for fan engagement.

We hope the following examples provide inspiration for your book marketing and reader outreach approach when launching a new book, both during the pandemic and beyond.

1. Add the event schedule to your author website

Many authors add their complete virtual tour schedules to their author websites. Making the full schedule easy to find helps them keep their tours organized and helps readers see which events are the best fit for them — both in terms of timing and interest in topic or co-speaker.

Yamile Saied Méndez added her virtual tour schedule to the Events page of her website. She has a drop-down filter for event type so someday readers can distinguish between in-person and virtual events.

On her website’s Events page , C Pam Zhang divided her book tour schedule by past and upcoming virtual appearances.

2. Post the virtual book tour schedule on social media

Announcing virtual tour stops on social media has been another popular tactic for authors promoting their book events. Various social media platforms enable writers to share their most important news directly with fans.

Jodi Picoult shared her schedule on Twitter, tagging all the authors making appearances at her events. Tagging those you collaborate with helps their names stand out to your audience and makes it easier for them to reshare your news!

Meg Cabot shared her virtual book tour schedule on Facebook, linking fans to register on her website. Meg’s tour included a variety of events, including a watch party for a movie based on one of her previous books!

3. Answer fans’ logistical questions

People are still getting used to the new reality of virtual events, so it can be extra helpful to answer questions fans might have about the logistics of a book tour.

V.E. Schwab answered many questions about her virtual tour in her announcement post, including those about the format, international tour dates, and more.

At in-person events, readers had the option to buy books on-site. When one reader commented on Alyssa Rosenheck ’s virtual book tour announcement with a question about purchasing her new book, the author promptly responded with a helpful answer.

4. Host a virtual book club

Some authors looking for a conversational atmosphere have hosted a book club series or joined book club sessions. These events provide them the chance to interact closely with fans and hear their thoughts on their book.

Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi hosted a digital club to discuss their book on antiracism. In this series, Reynolds and Kendi engaged with a different chapter each week. These authors used Eventbrite to organize their book club.

Ruta Sepetys took part in a series of virtual book club gatherings to discuss her new novel. When people purchased the book through a participating independent bookstore, they got an exclusive discussion guide with behind-the-scenes insights, photographs, and recipes inspired by the book as well as the opportunity to talk directly with Ruta.

5. Share recaps from early tour stops to build buzz for upcoming ones

While authors might not be able to pose for photos with fans anymore, there’s still plenty they can share from virtual events. Many authors have posted fun photos and anecdotes from past appearances, which could get readers excited for upcoming tour stops.

Middle grade and YA author Aisha Saeed thanked readers on Instagram for tuning in to her virtual book tour event and let her audience know where they could buy a signed, personalized copy.

Health care reformer Rosemarie Day shared a screenshot of her first virtual book tour event. She highlighted the success of the session, declaring that it indicated “distance socializing” could work well!

6. Host a virtual party

Several authors have added festive elements to their virtual book tours to make their events more interactive and celebratory. While one can’t host in-person parties right now, digital parties let authors and their readers engage in fun conversations.

Christina Baker Kline hosted an after-party following her main book tour conversation. The event page advertised the party as an intimate chance to ask Christina “everything you always wanted to know but didn’t ask during the event.”

Former prosecutor and legal thriller writer Marcia Clark hosted a virtual happy hour to celebrate her new release. She encouraged fans to bring a drink to the discussion.

She posted a lively event photo on Instagram along with a link to the recorded event so fans could join in on the party even if they missed it the first time around.

7. Ask fellow authors to help launch your book

Many authors recruit help from other writers to interview them for their book launch events, creating an extra draw for people to tune in to virtual tour stops. Additionally, when well-known authors in conversation with newer authors share event details with their own audiences, it can help attract new fans to the newer author’s writing.

One of J. Courtney Sullivan ’s book tour stops was a conversation between her and Lily King , who shared event details on her own Twitter. Accessing Lily’s audience gave additional exposure to Courtney’s new release.

8. Team up with another author to discuss both of your books

Some authors have partnered with a fellow author on virtual book tour events to market both of their books. A major perk is that a fan of one author might leave the event a fan of both authors.

Brit Bennett and Megha Majumdar teamed up for a Zoom conversation on both of their new releases.

9. Partner with bookstores

Virtual book tours provide a fabulous chance to support independent bookstores. Many authors have organized online events with independent bookshops and encouraged their fans to buy their books from them.

Christopher Paolini planned virtual tour stops at numerous independent bookshops in the US and UK. He highlighted the involvement of these businesses in his website tour announcement, noting that his fans can see him at their “favorite bookstore” while staying safe at home.

10. Add virtual book festivals to the tour

Virtual book festivals offer a great chance for authors to get their names out there, network with fellow authors, and reach new audiences. Now that many book festivals have moved online, they’re more accessible, without prohibitive costs and travel requirements.

Tiffany D. Jackson spoke at the Salem Literary Festival as the first stop of her book tour.

This year, the Unbound Book Festival rebranded as “Housebound Unbound” because of the need to cancel in-person gatherings. Historical fiction author Alex George organized the virtual book festival and discussed his new book at one of the digital events.

11. Host an online book signing

Some authors have created virtual book signing events. Readers can watch as the author adds a personal touch to their books while listening to insights they have to share about their work.

Educational writer Danica McKellar hosted a live signing of her new math guide, during which she autographed books while chatting about STEM and learning.

Singer-songwriter Tori Amos hosted a digital book signing on Facebook Live to celebrate the release of her memoir. She answered questions as she autographed copies of her book.

12. Write out answers to fan questions

Book tour stops don’t all have to involve video! Several virtual tours have involved written-out answers to reader questions as a method for authors to engage with fans and publicize their books.

N.K. Jemisin ’s publisher announced on their website that N. K.’s first digital tour stop would be answering reader questions through Goodreads’s “Ask an Author” feature.

N.K. wrote out thoughtful, personal answers to over 100 questions.

Gene Luen Yang went on an Instagram book tour as a cartoon version of himself. He discussed topics he would have delved into at in-person events and wrote out answers to fan questions, with an amusing cartoon twist.

13. Post book tour videos on YouTube

Some authors have posted one-off book events or a full tour series on YouTube. Some benefits of this approach are that YouTube content stays on your channel so fans can tune in anytime, you can monetize these videos if you have a sizable following, and all tour videos can be in one easily accessible location.

Cookbook author Gaz Oakley gave YouTube viewers a look into his new vegan cookbook.

To help his fans navigate the video, he included timestamps for different topics in the comments section.

Science writer and historian Amy Shira Teitel posted a series of virtual book tour events on her YouTube channel. Each video had a different discussion topic, such as this one covering details that didn’t make it into her book.

14. Thank fans for participating

Thanking those who came to your virtual book tour stops is a fantastic way to show appreciation to fans. Many authors have expressed gratitude at different points in their virtual book tours.

The band Tenacious D went on a virtual book tour for their new graphic novel. At the conclusion of their tour, they posted a fun compilation of digital meet-and-greet moments to their YouTube channel.

Sarah Henning warmly responded to numerous fan comments, expressing her happiness at their participation in her virtual events.

What other ways have you seen authors promoting their books virtually? Let us know in the comments below!

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This weekend I’m at the LA Times Festival of Books — one of my favorite literary events of the year, and I’m not just saying that because The Times pays me to be a critic at large — and my stop here is only part of a long book tour that takes me from Boston to Houston to Seattle to Los Angeles and beyond.

For those of you on the other side of the tour, the ones who come to see us at our events and stops, it can seem like a pretty sweet gig. We show up, people are happy to see us, we sign books and take pictures. Easy, yes? Sure! Once! But when you do a full tour, it begins to be work — actual work. So for everyone who’s never been on book tour, here are some things about touring you might not have known.

1. It’s disorienting

My tour this year took me to 24 cities over five weeks, with many stops having more than one event (a lunchtime private event at a tech company, an afternoon mixer with booksellers and then a bookstore event in the evening, for example). As a result, you experience time-slippage: After a few days it’s hard to remember which day it is or what city you’re in, and you suddenly sympathize with touring musicians who yell “Hello, Cleveland!” from the stage when they’re in Detroit. Fortunately ...

See John Scalzi at the Festival of Books on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in conversation with Cory Doctorow. »

2. Your author likely has a handler

Publishers will frequently hire “media escorts” for writers at each stop of the tour. These are folks who pick the author up from the airport, ferry them to and from their hotels and events, feed them snacks to keep their blood sugar up, and help make sure events run smoothly for the author. The first time I went on tour I was told I’d have these handlers and I wondered why I, a then-thirtysomething grown man, needed a hand-holder; by the end of the first week I was desperately happy I had someone telling me where to go and when to go there and occasionally shoving a granola bar into my hand.

3. It’s a grind

It’s a very good thing when a publisher decides to tour an author; it’s a vote of confidence. But on the author end it means: Wake up super early to get to the airport, wait in security lines (pro tip: TSA Pre is your friend), get on a plane, hope you don’t miss your connection, go to a hotel, go to your events, read to crowd and sign books, go back to a hotel, sleep, and then repeat all the steps again. Somewhere in there, eat and shower (pro tip: Not at the same time, tempting as it might be). It’s not glamorous! But, glamorous or not —

4. You have to be “on”

When people show up to your event, they expect to be entertained — yes, even at an author event, when technically all you’re doing is reading from your book and maybe answering some questions. As the author, you have to be up and appear happy and be glad people showed up, and you have to do that from the moment you enter the event space to the moment you get in a car to go back to the hotel, which can be several hours. It’s tiring even for extroverts and, well, most authors aren’t extroverts. Being “on” for several hours a day, several days in a row, is one of the hardest things you’ll ask an introverted author used to working alone to do. And speaking of work …

5. Many authors are also working while they tour

The touring itself is actual work, mind you. But I mean that many if not most are also trying to do their “regular” work — writing or editing what they’ve written. Whether they succeed is another question. My friend Cory Doctorow (with whom I am doing several events on tour) has mastered the habit of popping open his laptop in airports and on planes and writing in his next novel; I myself usually can only manage emails and short pieces. The point is that life doesn’t stop and most authors are looking toward their next work, even as they’re presenting their current one on tour.

Every author can tell you the story of the time they did an event and it was attended by crickets and dead air. — John Scalzi

6. The author is worried no one will show up

Every author — every author — can tell you the story of the time they did an event and it was attended by crickets and dead air. My own story of this was on the first tour stop of my very first book, in 2000: I had a lunchtime event at a Chicago Barnes & Noble and the only person who was in the audience was a store staffer who attended, I suspect, out of pity. These days I worry less about no one showing up, but the worry is still there. It’s not only about whether you are a draw, but also any other number of factors, including bad weather, insufficient advertising of an event, competing attractions in the city, or even just doing an event somewhere that your many fans... aren’t . There are lot of ways for people not to show up! And trust us, we’ve imagined them all. Paradoxically, however —

7. Your author is coated in hand sanitizer

Just in case people do show up for their event. See, here’s the thing: People are covered in germs, and they also want to shake the author’s hand and get in close for pictures, and sometimes they even ask for a hug. As much as authors may be willing to accommodate those requests (and please don’t be upset if they don’t — everyone has their own comfort level with these things), the fact is they don’t know you or where you’ve been, and they have more tour stops to go. So authors slather on the hand sanitizer, suck on throat lozenges and otherwise try to keep from collecting a full set of viruses on the road. It works the other way too — the author does not want to get infected because they do not wish to infect you! — but either way, yeah. We actively support the hand sanitizer industry.

8. We like that you want to give us gifts, but …

I have received some pretty amazing gifts from fans while on the road, things like military insignia, challenge coins, knitted hats, books and edibles — cookies and pies and churros. Generally speaking these are all very cool to receive, and we appreciate that you’ve given them to signify how much our work has meant to you. The flip side of this is that we are generally very tightly packed for travel so transporting your gifts is often a challenge. I usually end up asking the bookstore or my media escort to mail them back to me, except edibles, the uneaten portions of which — sorry! — are left in hotel rooms. Be aware some authors don’t eat your food gifts for dietary reasons and/or the entirely reasonable concern they don’t know you or the cleanliness standard of your kitchen. Please don’t be offended. On that same note:

9. We’re probably not going to hang out with you outside the event

Whenever I announce a tour I get emails and tweets from fans inviting me to come hang out with them before or after events, promising to take me to secret cool places in their town, and so on. I always, always appreciate the gesture, and I think most authors do. But we’re probably going to decline. One, because, as noted above, we’re on a treadmill when we’re on tour. Two, because often what little free time we have will be used seeing old friends whom we do not get to see enough because the real world conspires to keep you away from the people you love. But also three, which is that although you know us (through our work), we don’t know you . While there’s no doubt you are a lovely person, every author can also tell a story about That One Fan, the one who wasn’t clear on boundaries and who made us feel uncomfortable or unsafe or even genuinely scared. That One Fan doesn’t always advertise themselves up front. Sometimes it takes a little while for them to reveal themselves. So we don’t know. And we have to keep ourselves safe. With that said:

10. We are really going to work to make it worth your time to come see us

My friend Wil Wheaton, who is a writer as well as an actor, once told me the secret to doing events. He told me that at events you’ll meet hundreds or even thousands of people, and you won’t remember them all — it’s impossible. But they’ll remember, because they’re not seeing thousands of people, they’re here for you . So no matter what, make sure that moment you have talking to them personally, signing their book or taking that picture, is a good one for them. Because that’s what they’re there for. I take his advice to heart, and I think every author I know feels similarly; we want you to come away from our event feeling like it was time well spent. And when that happens, despite the grind and disorientation and the hand sanitizer, it becomes time well spent for us too. Those moments add up to a good tour. Thanks for letting us have them with you.

Scalzi, a Times critic at large, is a Hugo Award-winning novelist. His latest book is “The Collapsing Empire.”

Get the latest news, events and more from the Los Angeles Times Book Club, and help us get L.A. reading and talking.

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John Scalzi, author of the bestselling “Old Man’s War” series, is the former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. His novel “Redshirts” won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel. In addition to publishing more than a dozen books, Scalzi served as creative consultant on the television series “Stargate: Universe” and was writer for the video game Midnight Star. Raised in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, Scalzi now lives in Ohio.

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Book Tours in 2024: Eight Options for Indie Authors

April 15, 2024

Photo by Eugenio Mazzone on Unsplash

As we venture further into 2024, we explore how indie authors can update the traditional model of book tour promotion to increase the visibility of our work. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the options you can keep in your toolkit to build a book tour that suits your time, budget and preferences, including signposting top Alliance of Independent Author posts and guides for further reading.

The evolution of book tours in 2024

Book tours have undergone significant transformations over the years, adapting to changes in technology, reader preferences, and the publishing industry. But a book tour in essence remains a series of activities over a distinct period of time to promote the launch of your books.

In 2024, the modern book tour now encompasses a diverse range of promotional activities across a range of platforms. We, as indie authors, have the chance to tailor our tours to our own needs and preferences, as well as those of our readers. Read on for eight of the top options you can consider.

Top book tour activities for 2024

1. virtual author events:.

Platforms like Zoom, Crowdcast, Facebook Live and Instagram Live enable you to host your own interactive Q&A sessions, readings, and panel discussions for your book tour. This offers direct engagement with readers regardless of geographical barriers.

You could run one big event, or a series of smaller events to suit a range of time zones or audiences across your book tour period.

Virtual author events can be promoted across your own channels, as well as through your author connections. Consider incentives to draw people to attend, such as book giveaways or special guest speakers to talk alongside you. This works particularly for non-fiction launches where experts in your field could be invited. For fiction, consider collaborating with other authors in your genre, or for poets work with those that complement your work. This will benefit both your own sales and theirs.

Preparation is key, so consider the following steps ahead of time:

Who will you invite and how will you know who has RSVPd? Platforms such as Eventbrite can work well for managing invitations.
Who will host – will it be you, or someone you invite?
Will you have supporting speakers?
What will be the agenda? Include a positive welcome, three or four activities or ‘moments’ (these could be your reading, a speaker, a Q&A, games, polls etc.), and ensure you have planned a wrap up with a call to action (see below).
Which passage/s will you read from your book? This is critical for inspiring your guests to make a purchase. Select one or two short excerpts or poems from your work to share that represent you and your book without giving away too much.
What will be your final call to action? Will you be providing all your guests with a signed copy, or a code to place a discounted order from your site? And don’t forget to remind your audience how important a review is to your author business. Read up on top tips for great Calls to Action with this ALLi blog post: Calls to Action for Indie Authors

Angela Buckley

For a case study of a successful virtual event, take a look at this classic ALLi Blog from Historical crime writer Angela Buckley.

Angela hosted a Facebook Live book launch with an astonishing 5,000 participants by selecting a hosting date of key importance to her book itself, demonstrating how thinking outside the box can often make a big difference to your book tour activities: Hosting a virtual book launch event

2. Social media and influencer marketing

Beyond digital events, social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok can be utilised to share tour updates, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and exclusive content with your followers at regular times throughout a book tour, both posted live and pre-planned.

The big bonus of social media is the opportunity to collaborate with book influencers, often called ‘Bookstagrammers’ or ‘BookTokers’ who can amplify and generate buzz within the online literary community.

Reach out to reader influencers on your preferred platforms who are both the right fit for you and your audience, and who have a good reach. This could mean a high level of followers, or a smaller follower reach but specifically targeting your niche.

You must also be sure that they support your own voice, values and creative work, so consider:

Does the influencer’s audience align well with my books’ values and mission?
Does this person have genuine authenticity and authority?
Does their voice align with mine?
Are their visual communications complementary?
How do they respond to comments?
Are there significant differences in tone across different platforms?

But be warned, influencers are approached every day to collaborate and what you offer must be a perfect match for their followers to be of interest.

You may need to work hard to find the right match for you, and anticipate they may request a fee. You can find out all you need to know for identifying, approaching and working with influencers in our comprehensive guide: Working with influencers

3. Podcast appearances for indie authors

Podcasts have emerged as a popular medium for book discussions and author interviews, providing authors with an opportunity to reach readers and engage in in-depth conversations about their books.

This is potentially most effective for non-fiction authors, where readers listen to podcasts on their chosen topic, and authors can be selected as expert speakers.

Undertake research in your genre, topic or niche to find the podcasts that speak to your audience. Don’t just look for those with very large followings, small but dedicated followings can also be powerful, particularly if you are a new author.

For a good example of different models of podcast episodes, take a listen to the different strands of ALLi’s own podcast. Here you can listen to author interviews such as the Inspirational Author Interviews with Howard Lovy, or discussions such as ‘Reaching More Readers’ which focuses on book marketing and promotion: Alliance of Independent Authors Podcast

4. Guest blogs and book blog tours

A blog tour is a scheduled series of guest posts, interviews, or book reviews on various blogs over a set period. As with podcasts, research blogs in your genre, niche or those run by authors who are similar to you and are therefore speaking to a similar audience.

If you write non-fiction, blogs about your specialist topic or similar topics will also be interested in you as an expert guest. You can then promote the book in your intro and author bio.

‘Blog tours’ can also refer to sharing your book with reviewers who have their own blogs. They will review your book through Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) releasing their honest reviews during your launch week or time period with their followers.

Approach book bloggers well in advance of your tour, as book reviewers, particularly those with a big following, receive a lot of requests. The influencer guidance above can also help when selecting book bloggers to approach.

Book signing

5. In-person author events

It can be easy to be caught up in the digital space in 2024. But don’t forget in-person events. This can be particularly important for some genres. For example if your work has a local angle, readings or workshops offered at libraries and community spaces in your area can have a big impact on local sales.

Similarly, touring local bookstores for Q&As or signings will not only raise your profile but can be great for your confidence and connection to your core readers.

If you are a Children’s author, visiting schools to speak directly with your youth audience is a brilliant way to receive direct feedback and to spread the word amongst your audience about your work. Many Childrens authors have built their following in this way. To visit schools, you will need to contact them directly, with clear information about your book, age range, what you can offer as part of your event, and ideally how it fits with the curriculum. You could offer an assembly presentation, a workshop, or a reading with time for a Q&A.

If you are considering school visits, remember that schools will be looking for authors that offer real benefit to their children or young people. So consider what your visit will offer, such as learning about the themes in your book, or sharing tips for creative writing itself as part of literacy skills.

You will need to contact local schools directly to offer your event to them, usually through the main office reception. A professionally-prepared, eye-catching flyer summarising this information to leave with them with options and contact information to follow up can be a great start to spread the word.

Photo by Jonathan Farber on Unsplash

6. Local and targeted traditional media

Local radio and print journalists can often be interested in an interview with a writer from the area with a good story to tell. It can be a great way to connect to their own readers and listeners with a positive story with a local angle.

Think about what is unique to your story – whether it’s why you write, how you completed your book or the sort of book you have written. What might make you of interest to local press?

For non-fiction books, targeted media – print, radio and digital – focused on your specialist subject can also be approached for coverage. Again, consider the ‘Unique Selling Point' (USP) you bring, and approach them with the story you can tell to their audience.

7. Book Boxes

There are lots of book boxes out there aimed at readers who can sign up to receive either a pre-chosen box, or a mystery box of high-quality books in the genre that interests them. These are often bought by prolific readers or as gifts, and can be a great way to distribute your book to new readers during your book tour.

You can approach a Book Box company directly. Look for those interested in your topic or genre and be ready to share how they can easily order your book in bulk either direct from you or from your print supplier. They will often want signed book plates to make the Box more exclusive for their users.

Be sure to check they accept indie books and look for a company that suits your genre, author brand and audience. You can easily search for some in your territory by using a search engine online.

Although ALLi doesn’t endorse any specific companies, to get a sense of what Book Boxes look like, examples include thebutterflybookclub in the UK, which focuses only on indie books, or Books Are Magic in the US, which builds Book Boxes across a range of genres, plus poetry and non-fiction. These are just two of many out there to explore. Note that participating with a Book Box company directly should not involve a cost from the author in most circumstances. As with all marketing activity, if it does, be sure to understand exactly what that involves and why.

8. Interactive content and multimedia collaborations

In 2024 book tours can also offer the chance to think outside the box. As well as short videos, authors are now exploring augmented reality book trailers, interactive assets such as book maps, or immersive events.

Digital assets can then be shared on social media , and may even go ‘viral’ amongst your target audience. Plus, if you are working in collaboration with other creatives, their audience also becomes a route to new readers.

Melissa Addey

One example of an innovative book experience launched by ALLi’s own Campaign Manager, Melissa Addey, took her book into the real world with an escape room based on the themes from her Historical-Fiction novel. Melissa said about the experience:

It was fascinating to collaborate with other creatives including the games masters who designed the puzzles based on the characters and stories I provided and the theatre designer who created the space based on my historical research.

For inspiration, you can see more about this collaboration here: The Dragon Throne.

Consider a multi-media approach if it suits your genre and audience, such as for Historical Fiction or Fantasy writers, or for non-fiction writers where creative assets can bring your topic to life. Make sure the content you produce and share directs people straight back to your sales page so you feel the benefit of your hard work.

Should you consider PR and Marketing companies for a book tour?

Using an agency to coordinate your book tour is an option that can free you up and bring expertise to your activity, but it can be pricey. Expect to pay in the low to mid thousands for a comprehensive book tour plan and delivery. This is a big investment, however there are examples of experienced PR agencies taking indie books into the bestseller lists.

Be careful. Many suppliers out there promise a lot, but cannot deliver the experience or reach that they offer. Do your due diligence before taking on any agency.

Ask yourself: Which authors and books have they represented? Are they experienced in my genre? How did the books they represent do in terms of sales (look at rankings or reviews on sales platforms)? Have those authors provided testimonials?

If you are considering a PR or Marketing agency, ideally speak directly with authors they have represented to hear honest feedback on the service provided. And, as with all marketing in business, consider the investment you can afford to make and the risk you can afford to take.

Photo by Brad Neathery on Unsplash

Prioritisation and time management while running an indie book tour

While digital in particular presents endless opportunities for authors to connect with readers through book tours, balancing promotional efforts with the demands of writing requires careful planning and time management.

Build in time for your book tour and expect it to require several weeks or even months of planning and delivery to be a success.

Prioritisation is key, particularly if you also have a part-time or full-time job. Consider what will work best for your audience, and what you will enjoy the most. These factors will help determine not only what will have the most impact, but also what you will most likely see through to completion alongside other commitments.

For example, if you love meeting people and enjoy talking about your work, and you write non-fiction local history books, focusing on finding relevant history podcasts and hosting some live events in your local area may make the most sense over chasing social media coverage or attempting to garner influencer activity. As always, the benefit of being an indie author, is taking control of our own plans, so you can build a tour that suits your work, your time and you.

It may look a little different, but the book tour remains a cornerstone of author promotion strategies for book launches and wider marketing in 2024.

By embracing innovative approaches, particularly the power of digital, book tours can expand your reach in an increasingly competitive market. Whether you're a seasoned author or a debut novelist, harnessing the potential of book tours can be a big step towards building a loyal readership.

Find out more:

The Seven Processes of Publishing: Promotion

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Absolutely! Here’s a more human touch to the review:

“Discovering this guide on book tours for indie authors in 2024 felt like stumbling upon a hidden gem. It’s like having a trusted friend who knows the ins and outs of the publishing world, sharing their wisdom with you. With eight carefully curated options laid out, it’s a roadmap for authors seeking to navigate the labyrinth of book promotion. Get ready to embark on an adventure that could bring your literary dreams to life!”

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The 4th annual Bishop Dunne Literary Festival

The fourth annual Bishop Dunne Literary Festival will be held April 9, 2024. LITERARY FESTIVAL DETAILS April 9, 2024 7:00 pm Bishop Dunne Catholic School 3900 Rugged Drive Dallas, Texas 75224 (214) 339-6561 About the [read more]

Author Blog Tours: What Are They and How Can You Plan Your Own?

by Hannah Gordon

Since practically everything else has gone virtual these days, it’s no surprise that authors and marketers have turned to the internet to garner more attention for their books.

Sure, every once in a while you might still see a beaming author posing for pictures and handing out signed copies of their book at your local retailer, but that’s no longer the most practical or cost-effective option.

With some carefully planned content strategies, authors can now take advantage of the blog tour, an inexpensive and low-maintenance type of campaign that can help you get publicity for your book using some simple networking and SEO tricks to your advantage.

What Is a Blog Tour?

Blog tours are defined by a set period of time, usually a few weeks, during which original, engaging content is created and shared across multiple blogs.

Blog tours shouldn’t be confused with “blog blitzes,” which is when the same content is posted on multiple blogs simultaneously.

Whereas virtual book tours can use a wide range of outlets (like podcasts or webinar events), blog tours are designed to focus on high-traffic sites and provide readers of those blogs with fresh, engaging content.

Usually if a person is a reader of, for example, blogs that review historical fiction, it is likely that they follow more than one of those blogs.

This is why it’s important to have targeted, original content for each blog you plan to tour. Blog blitzes are effective, but they act a little more like ads than readers are generally used to.

It is also worth mentioning that blogs love exclusive content, so authors should be willing to do interviews and release exclusive excerpts or personal essays.

The publishing team should also be willing to help authors curate and organize this material.

Who Are Blog Tours For?

Well, if you can find multiple blogs willing to post your content and perhaps talk about your book, then any author can benefit from a blog tour!

However, the most successful blog tours are usually within genre fiction and YA or MG books.

How to Start a Blog Tour

Here are some tips that will increase your rate of success when it comes to pitching.

1. Do your research.

If you’re thinking about doing a blog tour, start following the blogs you have in mind before you even pitch.

Create a spreadsheet to track the blogs you’re considering, and create a column that denotes if you reached out to the blogger, when, and what their response was.

Read the content, leave comments on posts, or retweet the blogger.

The more you interact and engage with that blogger’s content, the more likely it will be that they remember you when you pitch to them.

This interaction can be initiated by the author or by the publisher—but it may seem more genuine and “normal” coming from the author.

3. Follow up.

Be sure to follow up in a timely manner with the bloggers you didn’t hear back from. Sometimes your message got stuck in a spam filter or you may have emailed on a hectic week!

Things to Consider Before Pitching

Before you start sending out pitches to bloggers, make sure you have a clear idea of what kind of content you want (and are able) to deliver.

What to Pitch

When you send your pitch, be specific about what kind of content you’d like to provide for the blogger.

You might offer guest posts, interviews, exclusive excerpts, or even video posts, just to name a few.

To sweeten the deal with a blogger, you can also offer a giveaway to go along with the post.

Giveaways always get readers’ attention, and bloggers love to offer special deals or prizes to their audience, since they can also use giveaways to increase traffic to their site or get more engagement on social media.

(Think: “Tag a friend who needs a copy of this book!” or “To win: Follow my page and @authorspage and like this post! Tag friends for additional entries!”)

What to Include

Now that you’ve decided what kind of content you will provide to the different blogs, remember the important pieces of information that need to accompany your post.

Always include:

Book Cover Image
Author Photo

Who Should Pitch

While it is acceptable for an author to pitch themselves to bloggers, it is considered more professional for a publicist or the publisher (acting as a publicist) to contact bloggers on the author’s behalf.

This doesn’t mean that the author shouldn’t have a say in who is pitched and what kind of content will be provided. It also doesn’t mean that the author is off the hook for creating that content.

What it does mean is that having contacts in the industry is important to create a successful blog tour—and being in a respected industry role helps get books through the door.

When to Start

You never want to waste free PR. For this reason, scheduling a blog tour around the release date of a book is imperative.

For example, if you’re going for a two-week blog tour, then use the week before and the week after your book’s release.

With that said, you need to give the blog time to consider your offer and to schedule it alongside their other content.

Reach out six weeks to two months prior to your book’s publication. This gives you time to follow up with the blog if you haven’t heard back after a week or two.

This doesn’t mean you should start planning six weeks before launch—this means you should start your execution six weeks before launch.

Give yourself a couple of months to plan an effective blog tour, alongside your other marketing and publicity efforts.

What Happens When They Say Yes?

Once you’ve been given the green light, deliver what you’ve promised to the bloggers ASAP!

They’re excited to have you featured on their blog, or they wouldn’t have said yes.

Getting the information they need to them, allowing them to schedule it into their regular posts, and offering to help with any additional promotions that they think would help your post perform better will always win you good favor.

The idea here is to cultivate relationships with these bloggers, so when the author releases another book—or another author you represent releases a book of the same genre—they will be interested in working with you again.

After the Posts Go Live

Share! Share all the posts! Put them on your social media accounts, and always tag the poster and link to their site. Also encourage your followers to enter the blog’s giveaway contests.

Blog tours, like guest blogging, are meant to be mutually beneficial.

Always thank the host blogger and keep an open-door policy with them. You never know what ideas people may have that you can collaborate on in the future!

Author Blog Tour Services

Coordinating an author blog tour can require a lot of work and strategic planning. If you’re stretched for time, or if you simply want some guidance to ensure your posts reach the right audiences, you might consider paying an author blog tour service.

Below are several blog tour sites that will take some of the stress out of planning.

YA Bound Book Tours : This site offers tour options for YA authors that range from $75 for a 15-stop tour to $200 for 50 stops. Your tour stops will be promoted and tweeted daily. Note that tours must be booked 2–3 months in advance.
Xpresso Book Tours : Xpresso has a reach of over 1,200 bloggers. Basic tours start at $100 for 15 stops. The site primarily serves romance and YA readers.
Goddess Fish Promotions : Goddess Fish is run by authors, and they work with virtually every genre. Tours range from $45–$300.
Sage’s Blog Tours : Sage’s Blog Tours is also run by an author. Prices range from $60 for 10 blog stops, to $200 for 30 stops. Book your tour with Sage 6–8 weeks in advance.
Rockstar Book Tours : This site is free, but you’ll only be interested if the site owners are interested in reading your book. If you’re selected, the site will get you to 20 different bloggers who will list your book.

Blog Tour Benefits

Participating in a well-planned blog tour can be an incredibly powerful marketing tool for your next book.

Always do your homework and decide what kind of content you want to share to promote your book. With the right plan, you can make valuable contacts, get exposure for your book, and even pick up some new fans.

Have you ever participated in a blog tour? Tell us about it in the comments below!

If you found this post helpful, then you might also like:

Virtual Book Tours: A Powerful Promotion Tool for Authors
6 Reasons Authors Should Be Guest Blogging (and 3 Ways to Find Host Sites)
How to Blog Your Book and Build Your Author Platform

How to Get Publicity for Your Book: Tips, Tools, and Successful Strategies

Hannah Gordon is the project manager at TCK Publishing. With nearly five years of experience in the book publishing industry, Hannah has worked as a book designer, editor, ghostwriter, publisher, marketer, and a publicist. Follow her bookish adventures on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @HR_Gordon

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The Not-Quite End of the Book Tour

6 a.m. flights, three-person audiences, and “escorts”: inside the 21st-century reality of a storied institution.

As I was flying from my home in Slovenia to New York for a week-long tour to promote my new book in June, I fantasized about the knishes and bialys I would consume during my travels. Even while daydreaming, though, I was acutely aware of what a rarity it is these days for an author to be sent on a book tour at all. In recent years, and especially since the recession of 2008, when author advances shrunk and publishing had to tighten its collective belt , one of the first things to go were book tours (not to mention the all-but-extinct beast called the “book release party”).

An Introverted Writer’s Lament

illustration of a row of white pencils with 7 black pencils in the middle

We Were the Last of the Nice Negro Girls

Teacher leader Jamie Karlson shows Natalie Carter (left) and Paris Knuteson (right) how to prepare sea cucumbers for cooking.

When Your Final Exam Is Surviving the Wilderness

For publishers, sending authors on tour is expensive—they have to cover transport, meals, and nice hotels. And perhaps more importantly, touring doesn’t necessarily translate into better book sales. It’s hard to tell, in fact, what effect they have at all, as sales records don’t show what prompted someone to buy the book, only where the book was purchased. With the publication of my two books, most recently The Art of Forgery in June, I’ve found myself part of a lucky group that still gets to partake in this somewhat fading institution. I’ve witnessed firsthand how publishers have adapted to a changing industry—by becoming more selective about which authors to send on tour, which promotional appearances to secure, and how to make the dollars stretch.

The editors and publicists I spoke to for this article explained that, back in the day, publishers would send authors out on tour fairly regularly—the more events and cities covered, the better. But in this new, more austere era, publishers only regularly pay to send authors who are compelling public speakers, authors with large established audiences who are guaranteed to sell well and therefore cover expenses (the James Pattersons, Gary Shteyngarts, J.K. Rowlings, and so on), or authors with a high profile that extends beyond books (such as actors, athletes, comedians). Publishers might send the odd debut writer, in hopes of more media coverage, but it’s no longer a given.

Obviously not falling into the second or third category, I’m more the kind of author who gets a kick out of the times I’ve been able to go out, meet people, and talk about my books. For me, writing is a great but solitary activity, normally undertaken in a dark room, alone, while I’m in my pajamas. I enjoy the adrenaline of performance; the bigger the audience, the better. I’ve spoken for audiences ranging in size from 700 to three (more on that later), and been interviewed by everyone from local blogs with a readership in the low hundreds to the BBC. But I’m aware that being offered these opportunities is a huge privilege, and not the norm—for most authors the publicity process involves phone or email interviews, with maybe a single local bookstore event.

In order to swing sending authors out on tour, publishers today have to make compromises. Previously, authors would get a company credit card and sort out their own travel arrangements, accommodations, and meals without supervision—often a wasteful approach. Then publishers began to experiment with sending publicists out with authors to serve two functions: as a fixer (with a theoretically more measured use of the company credit card) and chaperone. But this meant double the expense: twice the plane and train tickets, twice the meals, twice the hotels. Then arrived another solution that I only learned about on my first tour, back in 2007 for my novel The Art Thief . It peeled back the veil over this quasi-legendary concept of authors on tour (I imagined groupies, whiskey, cigarette smoke, typewriters), and exposed me to a new, and completely fascinating, role that I never knew existed: that of the awkwardly named “escort.”

Author escorts are local residents of the cities visited by those of us on tour, and are subcontracted by publishers to meet and guide authors who come into town. (You can spot them at airports and train stations, because they’re always carrying a copy of your book.) Most in my experience have been elegant, middle-aged women with pearl necklaces and SUVs and husbands in banking, women who read vast numbers of books, know their cities inside out, and are thrilled to show visitors around. They do have the company credit card, and anything you do while they’re with you is paid for (free food is the siren song for writers, impossible to resist). In all, the escort system is a more cost-effective way to get authors where they need to be: Because escorts live in the city in question, the publisher doesn’t need to fly them in or spring for their hotel.

Escorts, for their part, make hectic book tours exponentially easier. On my first tour in 2007 , I ping-ponged around 12 cities, and not in any order that made geographic sense (for some reason San Francisco was scheduled for the day between events in Austin and Houston). I’d get up each morning around 6, groggily pack up my bag at another hotel, and be driven to the airport for an early flight to the next city. There I’d be picked up by the next escort, who’d be smiling and brandishing my book. My escort would bring me to interviews, radio stations, TV studios, press junkets in hotel rooms, to meals (they always know the best places to eat), and then to the book event.

Blurry-eyed authors, uncertain of the day of the week, their current location, or just who is president of the United States, require handholding to maintain such a packed schedule. My most recent tour for The Art of Forgery , which ended in June, included five cities in seven days, with three of the cities featuring in a single day: up at 5 a.m. in Boston, a flight to New York to film an interview for CBS This Morning , then a train to New Haven for an event.

Escorts are often the most interesting person an author will meet on a book tour. In Chicago for The Art Thief, my escort was an aspiring writer planning to pen a memoir called Super Jew , while my San Francisco escort was a novelist who had a hit about Beat vampires back in the ’70s. Authors can go a bit stir crazy, repeating roughly the same presentation night after night, and answering the same questions interview after interview, so a bit of spontaneity and company can be refreshing.

By and large, book tours mostly entail maneuvering to get on radio shows or TV programs, and less glamorous elements, like attending bookstore readings where hardly anyone shows up. At one reading, I had only three people in the audience— including my escort for that city ... and my dad. At the time, I didn’t understand why my publisher had flown me all the way out to play, essentially, to an empty house. But then the store manager wheeled out hundreds of books to sign for the first-edition mail club, and I understood: Book events are not just about selling to the people who attend them, which even for prominent authors can mean only a few dozen copies sold. They’re about getting authors local media attention, getting bookstore staffers face time with authors so they can promote the books, and signing copies. While signed books do sell better, they also can’t be returned to the publisher if they don’t sell—a win-win for publishers.

The national end of things can be even trickier to navigate. From my publisher’s perspective, the main selling point on my U.S. tour in June was my appearance on Fresh Air , a nationally syndicated NPR radio show that’s considered the ne plus ultra of book-selling radio. The host Terry Gross is mistress of 4.5 million regular listeners who consume books like Tic Tacs and who are the target audience for all American publishers of non-fiction, and anything literary.

So many interviews these days are by phone or Skype or email that it’s not strictly necessary to have Author A in Location B in order to get media coverage, but Fresh Air is an exception, preferring guests who can appear in the flesh. And while I did major live events in Washington, D.C. and in New York, each event only reached a few hundred people, at most. My NPR appearance alone justified the considerable cost of paying my way to, and around the U.S. on this tour, because it was bound to offer a boost in sales. While touring alone may be expensive and rarely leads directly to better book sales, Fresh Air alone can launch a bestseller.

Programs like Fresh Air can take on an outsize influence given the tenuous state of book reviewing —the practice has been purportedly dying since at least 1959 . On the TV end of things, this year marked the departure of two major promotional platforms for the book industry : The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report , where renowned public intellectuals and authors from small presses alike could get national attention. As Alex Shephard of the independent publisher Melville House noted , “ an appearance [on those shows] couldn’t guarantee a book would become a bestseller, but it was about as close to a sure thing as you could get in an incredibly uncertain marketplace.” He added that the loss of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report should serve as a reminder that the book industry has long relied on third parties such as critics for promotion and that it should think of new, better ways to market itself. It’s unclear whether publishers will see tours as part of the future of book-selling—but for the sake of readers and writers alike, they should.

With the exception of the recent movie about David Foster Wallace, The End of the Tour , there are few recent examples of book tours in popular culture, making the institution a hazy myth in most people’s minds. Which means few are aware of the unfortunate changes that have befallen the tradition. Book tours for the already-famous will always continue, but there’s a real danger that publishers will decide that the rest of us authors are no longer worth sending on tour at all, a trend that is well under way . This would be a great shame: Tours are often the only chance for writers to spend time with the actual people who read their books. There’s already a big disconnect between readers and authors, who often exist only as an abstraction, as a name on a book spine, or perhaps as a Facebook “friend” you’ve never seen in the flesh.

Tours bridge that gap. The TV appearances may be the shiniest of the trophies on publicists’ walls, but there’s no feeling as good for an author as shaking the hand of someone who genuinely loved something you wrote. And as a reader, I can say that I get a jolt of endorphins when I meet a favorite author in person; it’s a surreal event that all but guarantees I’ll remain a devoted reader for years to come. In a world this big, it’s a wonderful thing that encounters like these help keep people’s love of books alive. So it’s my sincere hope that the publishing industry won’t let the book tour die, not just as a writer, but as a reader. As flawed, fatiguing, and unreliable as it is, it is also undeniably special.

About the Author

Virtual Book Tours and Blog Book Tours | Ramona Morrow Books

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Ramona Morrow | Canadian Children's Book Author and Blogger

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Virtual Book Tours

Thank you for visiting Book Marketing and Promotion Ideas to learn more about Virtual Book Tours. Below you will find a list of 30+ Top Virtual Book Tours that will be extremely useful with the promotion of your book. Virtual Book Tours are sometimes called, Book Blog Tours or Virtual Author Tours. They can also include book cover and synopsis, book excerpts, book giveaways, book reviews, character interviews, contests, cover reveal, guest blog posts, interviews, podcasts or radio show appearances, social network events, video content posted by blogs and webinars. Every book tour site differs in the genres they promote, venues, and the type of content.

A Powerful Promotional Tool for Authors!

Virtual Book Tours or Book Blog Tours consist of numerous bloggers to review or interview you about your upcoming or published book. The blogger or publicity website will publish the review or interview on their blog or website. They will make it available to their hundreds or thousands of followers. This is how they will generate buzz for your book.

Virtual Book Tours are typically done as part of the launch of a new book. After your book has been published or even on the market for a while you can still start a virtual book tour and still have a successful promotion. You know when the publicity pays off because it creates sales for your book and revenue in your pocket. Some of the virtual book tours I have done in the past didn't monetarily pay off well, but in the end they did generate book buzz.

Make sure you take advantage of everything that virtual book tour sites offer. Use the virtual book tour sites that offer a different variety of promotional tools. Thoroughly review each virtual book tour site to make sure your book will fit in with their genre and it suits the type of book promotion and price you are looking for. Make sure you give the blog host a complimentary copy of your book. With my book, Jamie's Pet, I give them a copy of the book and a couple of days later I heard back. They told me "It would be a honor for them to do a book review, author review, or a book reading." That is when you know you have a good book. You have hooked the blog host and now you have to hook their readers into buying your book.

You don't need to do all virtual book tours and book blog tours at once. Pick out one or two virtual book tours a month or every two weeks depending on your financial situation. Make sure they offer different promotional tools. You don't want duplicate book tours at the same time. You want to make sure that you cover the book market with different book offerings, book giveaways, book reviews, book and author interviews, spotlight radio interviews, podcasts, webinars that create wonderful book buzz. Once you are finished with the guest blog interview or book review and it has been added to the host blog's website, you need to link back from your website to their website. Your next step is to share with your social media networks and the host blog website shares with their social media networks. This is how your book buzz and audience grow.

Building an audience for your book will take a lot of energy, planning, time, and don't forget patience. Do what will feel comfortable for you and stay within your promotional and marketing budget. That is the key. Don't get carried away because virtual book tours are just one portion of your promotional and marketing plan and campaign. With the virtual book tours I don't follow the normal rule where you just concentrate on book tours for two to four weeks. I do them throughout the year until I do them all. As an author you are always trying to find new ways, old ways to promote and market your book. You are not doing it for weeks then waiting for the money to roll in. Remember, you need to create book buzz 24 hours a day even when you are sleeping. That is why virtual book tours are a powerful promotional tool for authors because they create book buzz while you are sleeping.

More valuable information on the Book Marketing and Promotion Ideas page that will help your book or company.

I am leaving the websites I found where the 'Page No Longer Exists", so you don't keep going to them thinking you haven't seen this one. I think my long-term memory is going. When searching the internet, I would come across some of them thinking I never saw them before until I open up their home page again. So, I started a list and now I don't have to go to them anymore.

I hope you find this information helpful in your marketing and promoting adventure. I decided not to charge for this information as other people do. The only form of payment I want is for you to purchase my book, Jamie's Pet children's paperback book available on Amazon only if you want to. It is your way of paying it forward. Remember, please leave a review where you bought the book.

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FREE Download Top Virtual Book Tours and Book Blog Tours List here:

Top 10 Virtual Book Tour List

These are ramona's favorite because of the packages they offer or the look of their website., start with these first.

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30+ Top Virtual Book Tours and Book Blog Tours List

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Warning: do not use these websites if you are contacted by email or using your favorite search engine search bar and you come across them. if you are contacted by telephone do not give them any information about you or your company. you don't want to be scammed..

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FREE Download Virtual Book Tour Email Pitch Template here :

For My Virtual Book Tour Email Pitch Template , I use this one I found from Self-Publishing Review – Article: 27 Places to Get a Book Tour . This sample came from an excerpted from Build Book Buzz Publicity Form & Templates. T his template has all the information you are going to need.

Virtual Book Tour

Email Pitch Template

Your brief email message should include the following information:

Your name, book title and any special, relevant expertise: Put this in the first two or three sentences.

Your Proposal: Are you proposing a book review? An author Q & A with the blogger? An author Q & A with blog readers? Author posting on the blog? etc. What is it you want the book tour to do and what exactly you are paying for? Be specific.

Timing: When is your virtual book tour?

Other information that will influence the blogger: This might include links to favorable book reviews or an upcoming event that makes your proposal timely. Think in terms of what might influence the blogger to accept your proposal.

Your book's announcement press release: Paste this into the body of the email below your signature. It's important background information that will answer, many of the bloggers' questions about the book.

Next steps: Will you send a book if they write back saying they'd like to see it? Send a follow-up note in a few days? Make it clear who should do what next.

Contact Ramona

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Delaware’s first lady kicks off reading tour promoting literacy with new children’s book, ‘Books for Blue’

Tracey quillen carney kicked off her reading tour in wilmington as part of an ongoing effort to inspire delaware kids to embrace the importance of libraries..

Johnny Perez-Gonzalez

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About Johnny Perez-Gonzalez

Johnny Perez-Gonzalez reports on the state of Delaware for WHYY News.

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Check the yardage book: castle pines for the 2024 bmw championship, share this article.

Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado – site of the 2024 BMW Championship, which is serving as the second leg of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs – was designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened in 1981.

Nicklaus and associate Jim Lipe renovated or restored each green in 2014, part of a larger renovation over a span of a decade that included significant changes to five holes on each side.

Castle Pines was home to The International on the PGA Tour from 1986 through 2006. That event was famous for its modified Stableford scoring system. The layout ranks No. 4 in Colorado on Golfweek’s Best list of top private clubs in each state. It also ranks No. 57 among all modern courses built since 1960 in the U.S.

More: The PGA Tour hasn’t been to Castle Pines since 2006. Here’s what players are saying about it playing 8,130 yards

Castle Pines will play to a par of 72 at 8,130 yards for the BMW Championship, the longest ever for a PGA Tour event. But with the course sitting at an altitude of some 6,200 feet above sea level and with 325 feet of elevation changes, it will play shorter than the scorecard suggests. Longtime Castle Pines general manager Keith Schneider says most players will see their shots travel 14 percent farther at that elevation depending on the type of shot and its trajectory.

Thanks to yardage books provided by PuttView – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the players face this week. Check out the maps of each hole below.

The PuttView yardage book for Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado, site of the 2024 BMW Championship on the PGA Tour (Courtesy of PuttView)

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The pga tour hasn't been to castle pines since 2006. here's what players are saying about it playing 8,130 yards, bmw championship 2024 odds and picks to win, bmw championship 2024 merch photos: john elway head cover and a $98 cap — yes $98 — among the unique items in denver, 5 things to know about the aig women's british at st. andrews, including the 'horrendous' forecast and lexi thompson's future major plans, taylormade irons 2024: which is right for your game, international team captain mike weir announces captain’s assistant for 2024 presidents cup.

BOSTON'S PREMIER ONLINE ARTS MAGAZINE

Musician Interview: Alex Levine on The Gaslight Anthem’s Expanded “History Books”

By Robert Duguay

“Just like a rejuvenated marriage, we feel as if we can conquer anything. We’re excited, we’re excited to continue doing what we do, make music, tour, and see what comes of it.”

Levine and I had a talk ahead of the show about a few of the new tracks that were added to the expanded edition of History Books , what it was like to work with Bruce Springsteen on the title track, and what it means to be back to writing, performing, and touring.

The Arts Fuse : The expanded edition of History Books contains an array of bonus tracks, including a version of “Little Fires” that features Alicia Bognanno from Bully and Karina Rykman’s rendition of Billie Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes,” among others. How did you guys go about including these tracks into this updated release? Were they all from the same session?

Alex Levine : We’re always working, more or less, on what the next thing will be as we’re finishing up whatever we’re doing. With History Books , we were continually throwing around different ideas about what we were going to do, especially now with Spotify, iTunes, and everything digitally. There’s also listeners who want to absorb music as it comes one to two tracks at a time, so we figured that we’d do an unplugged version of a couple of these songs. We were talking back and forth about ideas for a cover and Brian actually got the idea from his daughter when he was driving her to school. He was like,“Whoa, this Billie Eilish song is killer”; he sent it to us, he asked, “What do you think, let’s do it?” and we were all like “Yeah!”

We jumped into the studio and never rehearsed it. We never really talked about what we were going to do in terms of the structure or how we were gonna go about playing it. We learned the chords, so we started playing it and that’s what ended up coming out — just a more trashy version of that song. It was a lot of fun; we’re always up for doing things like that and we’re going to be doing a lot more things like that in the future.

Gaslight Anthem Photo: Kelsey Ayres

AF : The majority of the initial recording process was done with Peter Katis at Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut. But some of the work was also done across the Atlantic at Windmill Lane Recording Studios in Dublin. Why did that happen?

Levine : That was because of Bruce Springsteen. He was on tour in Ireland and he had a couple days off, and he recorded his vocals for the title track and then he sent it over to us.

AF : What was the experience like bringing him into the fold for the song? I know that he met up with Brian before the making of History Books , so was that pretty much the catalyst for this collaboration?

Levine : It’s always been kind of out there. It’s crazy to say it, but we’ve been in Bruce’s orbit for about 15 years now. On top of that, he and Brian have become super close. There’s always been talk about collaboration. For this record, Bruce said “Send me over a song that you think would make sense and we’ll go from there.” We sent it over. He responded,”I love it, what do you want me to do?,” and that was really about it. It was as simple as that, which is kind of crazy when you really think about some of the red tape that comes with a guy like Bruce Springsteen, but he’s as down to earth as it gets.

AF : Of course, you guys are also from New Jersey, where he is a legend, so it’s incredible that you were able to get him involved. History Book is The Gaslight Anthem’s first release in nine years. It followed an indefinite hiatus that was announced in 2015. Do you feel reinvigorated — you, Brian, Alex, and Benny — since making the album?

Levine : Yes, 100 percent. We’ve been in a band, creating with each other, for many, many years. Just like any relationship, there’s ups and downs. I think that the relationships that matter in life are the ones where you can persevere, work things out, and get on the same page with a few things. That’s kind of where we’ve gotten and it is a very liberating feeling. Just like a rejuvenated marriage, we feel as if we can conquer anything. We’re excited, we’re excited to continue doing what we do, make music, tour, and see what comes of it.

AF : After this run of shows, which includes a stop at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston, what are the band’s plans going into next year? You mentioned an interest in making releases similar to the expanded edition of History Books. Is that something we can expect going forward?

Levine : We’re going to finish up touring, then we’re going to start getting back to writing. We’re going to focus on a new record in ’25 along with a lot more shows. At this point, there’s not going to be any lag in between creating new music and performing for us. We’re all in again.

Rob Duguay is an arts & entertainment journalist based in Providence, who is originally from Shelton, CT. Outside of the Arts Fuse , he has also written for DigBoston , Aquarian Weekly , Providence Journal , Newport Daily News , Worcester Magazine , New Noise Magazine , Manchester Ink Link , and numerous other publications. While covering mostly music, he has also written about film, TV, comedy, theater, visual art, food, drink, sports, and cannabis.

Where the Author of ‘AfriCali’ Loves to Eat and Shop in Los Angeles

“AfriCali: Recipes From My Jikoni” author Kiano Moju treks all over LA for the boldest bites

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Before Kiano Moju moved to Los Angeles in 2013, the Oakland native, former Buzzfeed producer, and new cookbook author embraced a more Americanized version of Thai food. Sticky sweet noodles and cloying curries were all she knew during her college years on the East Coast. Everything changed when she ventured from Buzzfeed’s Hollywood offices and into one of Los Angeles’s most celebrated regional Thai restaurants Luv2Eat. “The Thai food I had up until that point was a scam,” she says with a perfectly straight face.

Moju released her first cookbook AfriCali: Recipes From My Jikoni on August 13. (Jikoni is the Swahili word for kitchen.) The book explores Moju’s African heritage (her parents are from Nigeria and Kenya), California roots, and international travels with over 85 recipes. Moju’s approach to home cooking while living in Los Angeles is captured in AfriCali’s 258 pages accompanied by vibrant photography by Kristin Teig.

After graduating from Syracuse University in 2013, Moju went to London’s University of the Arts for a master’s degree in publishing. Her first job after graduate school brought her to Los Angeles to produce videos for Buzzfeed’s food channel Tasty from 2017 to 2019. She opened Jikoni Studios, a creative Arts District space for shooting food photography and cooking videos, and conducting cooking classes, after leaving Buzzfeed. She’s currently redesigning the Two Hommes space in Inglewood.

Eater sat down with Moju during her national book tour to find out where she likes to shop, eat, and drink in Los Angeles. And for the record, Moju’s love for Los Angeles goes beyond its unrivaled Thai restaurant scene .

Eater: Where did you live when you first moved to Los Angeles?

Kiano Moju: Beverly Hills. After being abroad in London, I was very accustomed to my life being walkable. This is a recurring theme in my LA life: building a walkable base without too much driving. Beverly Hills has a lot of shopping and restaurants. I live in West Hollywood now.

What were your first impressions of LA?

Once I started finding LA Thai restaurants, they took all of my money. Luv2Eat was closest to the Buzzfeed offices and I shot a video with [owners and chefs] Noree Pla and Fern Kaewtathip. Once I learned about their process, I appreciated what they do so much more.

Have you experienced any ‘AfriCali’ cooking in Los Angeles?

The closest is Two Hommes because Yaw Marcus Johnson and Abdoulaye Balde are AfriCali too. On my West African side, they’re the best at bringing traditional flavors and dishes. But they aren’t married to tradition and put their spin on the food. There is a lack of Kenyan food in LA and the country. If people want to try Kenyan food, there are plenty of restaurants in San Diego.

What’s your current favorite restaurant in Los Angeles?

Si! Mon . It has a Mexico City approach in the former James Beach, a bar that I’d visited too many times. Even though it’s pan Latin American, it’s about the energy, vibe, the way the dishes are composed — everything about Si! Mon puts me right back in Mexico City.

What neighborhoods do you venture to for dining out?

Arts District: I appreciate Afuri Ramen for branching away from tonkotsu. It’s nice to have Ditroit Taqueria without hopping on a plane to Mexico City.

Culver City: If a dinner party host isn’t making dessert, picking up a seasonal fruit pie from a bakery like Fat + Flour is such a clutch move.

Hollywood: LA has so many amazing bread bakeries, but I’m not waiting in line for bread. I go to Pace Joint on Sunset and Fairfax. Pace makes ciabatta and a ciabatta baguette from its pizza dough. It’s light, airy, and has that little fermentedness.

Inglewood: Two Hommes. Until they opened, there was nowhere I could find jollof that I didn’t cook myself. It’s not a dish you can make in small quantities. They have the most fantastic biscuits on the brunch menu, too.

Little Ethiopia: Meals by Genet is my number one recommendation. The attention and care [owner Genet Agonafer] has with her dishes is something I’ve never experienced with the dozens of LA Ethiopian restaurants I’ve been to.

How does Los Angeles’s African food scene compare to the East Bay’s?

Both have a strong Ethiopian food culture. LA surpasses the Bay with a stronger dining-in culture. The biggest difference is comfort and familiarity. People in LA love trying new things. In the Bay, people go to places like Asmara , but they’ve already been there many, many times.

What Los Angeles restaurants are worth braving traffic for?

Si! Mon and Two Hommes. I’m truly obsessed with Mini Kabob — the traffic there and back is always bad [but] I want that lule all the time. I think we’ve had every smash burger in LA. Consistently, For The Win is great.

What’s your favorite LA market for African ingredients?

For most of my cooking, 90 percent of what I make can come from any grocery store. For Nigerian food: Dora African Produce. The Original Farmers Market’s Original Farm Fresh Produce always has perfectly ripe plantains, fresh chiles, and okra. Bangluck Market — I have a chicken green curry with plantain recipe in my book inspired by Luv2Eat.

What’s the LA meal you miss most while on your book tour?

Sushi. I don’t trust unvetted sushi. Also, I’ll be very intentional with this book tour by trying contemporary African restaurants.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kiano Moju (@kianomoju)

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Six of the world’s best bookshops – and where to sit and read nearby

Bookshops are a vital part of any city, and some are even beautiful enough to be the star attraction of a trip

Shakespeare and Company bookshop in Paris

Bookshops can impress for their size and depth of stock, their antiquity, their community value and their literary associations. A few are truly beautiful. In these, it’s sometimes an effort to stop gawping at the setting to focus on the books. Many contain cafés, inviting you to linger a while.

Bookshops are places to browse, discover, dream – and get out of the rain. While a lot of retail feels dull and transactional, buying a book is an investment with potentially infinite interest.

Our list below is not the last word. We’d love to know if you’ve found bookshops in cities, towns or even rural areas that have lodged in your memory. For our selection, we’ve suggested another lovely place in the city to sit with your new purchase and read.

1. Livraria Lello, Porto, Portugal

Opened in 1906 by brothers José and António Lello — established booksellers and part of the Porto intelligentsia — and designed by architect Francisco Xavier Esteves, Lello’s in Porto is a rare beauty. The façade is neo-Gothic, while the interior combines this style with Art Deco and Art Nouveau.

Carved arches, columns and a whirl of intricate woodwork frame a gorgeous stained-glass ceiling window by the Dutch master Gerardus Samuel Van Krieken.

The other centrepiece is a sinuous staircase – built in reinforced concrete, with the appearance of wood. The steps were painted red by accident but left in that shade because it works so well. The store charges €8 (£6.85) for entry to control traffic, which you get back with the purchase of a book; they stock a few in English.

There are plenty of places to eat and drink on the nearby Rua das Galerias de Paris, and even a book-themed bar and nightclub called Casa do Livro. For somewhere mellow, try the Jardim de João Chagas at Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, a garden which pays homage to a well-known liberal republican, who, in addition to being a politician, was a journalist, literary critic and writer, published by Livraria Lello shortly after opening. Where to find it: Rua das Carmelitas 144; 0035 122 200 2037

Plan the perfect trip with our travel guide to Porto .

2. Evripidis, Athens, Greece

Although most of it may all be Greek to you, there are foreign-language books and stationery as well as a small café in this handsome bookstore in Athens , so after you’ve earnestly perused the alphas and omegas you can grab a copy of The Iliad for Beginners and sit down with a sketos (plain black coffee).

Founded in 1955, this was once a small corner shop but it has grown into one of the largest bookshops in Athens. Stylish light fixtures, a dangling mobile and bench seating, plus packed shelves, make this space feel like a particularly stylish library. Kifisia – a half-hour by train from the centre – is an affluent suburb and was once a summer retreat for wealthy Athenians and philosophers. There are leafy streets and parks as well as a great natural history museum for cultural enrichment.

Varsos is a Greek patisserie established in 1892; grab a table and try a galaktoboureko (filo pastry, custard and syrup) with your coffee.

Where to find it: 11 Andrea Papandreou, Halandri; 0030 21 0807 5792

Plan the perfect trip with our travel guide to Athens .

3. Libreria Acqua Alta, Venice, Italy

The name means “high water” and this irreverent bookstore in Venice keeps all its volumes in sort-of waterproof receptacles – including bathtubs, half-barrels, trunks and a gondola.

The interior is chaotic, with books on every surface and in every corner. A staircase made from books is popular with local stray cats; follow them for a great view. Though only two decades old, Acqua Alta has some very old books and looks as if it has been here forever.

The shop is in the neighbourhood of Castello, at the east of the main island. There are plenty of cafés, restaurants, churches and monasteries. Take your book to the Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, close to the Giardini della Biennale (Biennial Gardens), to enjoy it under a tree; a glasshouse created for the very first biennale in 1895 is now the Caffè La Serra.

Where to find it: Campo Martires da Patria 5176b; 0039 041 296 0841

Plan the perfect trip with our travel guide to Venice.

4. El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Set in a former theatre, the Teatro Gran Splendid in Buenos Aires – which opened in May 1919 – this bookshop ( 00 54 11 4813 6052) feels suitably dramatic. Red velvet curtains still hang at the far end, and the lofty ceiling is decorated with frescoes by Italo-Argentinian artist Nazzareno Orlandi.

Books are arranged in thematic sections over three floors with only a few ornate private balconies remaining book-free. There are whole sections for graphic novels, tourist guides and books in foreign languages and no one minds you if you want to waste a day flicking through coffee-table art books.

The in-house café is great but this barrio is awash with options. Ten minutes’ walk away is Parrilla Peña ( Rodríguez Peña 682) , a classic old-school steakhouse ideal for a long, wine-assisted lunch talking about books you’re going to write or read.

Where to find it : Avenida Santa Fe 1860; 0054 11 4813-6052

Plan the perfect trip with our travel guide to Buenos Aires.

5. Shakespeare & Company, Paris, France

The original Shakespeare & Company in Paris , run by Sylvia Beach, was founded in 1919 at 2 Rue de l’Odéon on the Left Bank and featured prominently in Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast . New Englander George Whitman opened his own bookshop in 1951, originally named Le Mistral and occupying a former grocer’s store. He relocated to the Rue de la Bûcherie – kilomètre zéro, where all French roads begin, and changed the name to honour the older store.

This building used to be a monastery, La Maison du Mustier, and Whitman liked to see himself as the last monk. It’s almost as illustrious as its predecessor. William Burroughs used its medical textbooks to research The Naked Lunch , while Anaïs Nin left her will there. From outside the building looks small, but it goes deep into the block and the staircases and secret corners are great for a rummage.

The store’s own elegant café sits alongside and there are benches – including a circular bench around an ancient black locust tree (said to be the oldest tree in Paris) – in the nearby Square René Viviani if you want to read al fresco.

Where to find it: Rue de la Bûcherie; 0033 143 2540 9337

Plan the perfect trip with our travel guide to Paris.

6. City Lights Books, San Francisco, United States

Said to be the first all-paperback bookstore in the US, City Lights in San Francisco was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti (and Peter D. Martin, who named the store – after the Chaplin film – but sold his share after two years). It gave the world the first edition of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl , in 1956 – which led to an obscenity trial, which Ferlinghetti won.

Ever since it has been venerated as a daring and independent-minded publisher. The shop’s not bad, either, with smart tiled and wooden floors, arched doorways, plenty of spaces to sit and read, vintage posters on the upper walls, and the intangible quality of being a place where literature shook off its tired, snooty airs and got cool. In a city full of tech developers staring intently into their MacBook Pros, this place is a balm and a mystery.

Once you’ve had your fill of perusing, all of North Beach (which doesn’t have a beach) is just outside the door. Keep it real with a coffee at Beat poets’ fave coffee shop Caffe Trieste at 610 Vallejo Street followed by an award-winning pizza at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, five minutes’ walk away.

Where to find it: 261 Columbus Avenue; 001 415 362 8193

Plan the perfect trip with our travel guide to San Francisco.

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IMAGES

Arranging Your Own Book Tour. Unless you are already famous, author
Virtual Book Tours: 14 Must-See Strategies from Authors
Author Events and Book Tours: Strategies for Connecting with Readers
John E Wade II
Author Tours
Bookshelf Tour with Author Lisa See!

COMMENTS

Author Events
Susan Casey. Author of The Underworld. Livermore Library with Towne Center Books. 1188 S. Livermore AveLIVERMORE , CA94550USA. Add to my calendar. Share this event. 946. Previous Next. All the latest information about Penguin Random House author events at a venue near you.
iRead Book Tours
Book a Tour today. Books We've Toured. in 2024. Play. Pause. At iRead, we give special attention to every book that tours with us. We are passionate about books and we customize all our tours because no two authors are alike. We don't just market books. We help our authors get the best exposure with traditional tours consisting mainly of reviews.
Kelly Lacey & Love Books Tours
Organising successful book promotion for authors. Visit the Author Services tab for more information. For book reviews from Kelly Lacey, click the Book Blog tab.
Barnes & Noble Events
Barnes & Noble hosts thousands of events every year both in our stores nationwide and virtually online. These events range from author visits to local book club meetings to children's storytimes and much, much more. Author Events: Annually, our stores host thousands of authors from every genre for book readings, discussions and signings.
Authors
Aisha Saeed. Amal Unbound. PV. Padma Venkatraman. The Bridge Home. See All Authors. Keep up with your favorite authors' tour dates and find events in your area. Discover new voices by browsing our bestselling and award-winning authors.
Book Tour Gals
As the first ever tour company to operate with set hosts, Book Tour Gals pride ourselves in offering the best custom marketing campaigns for our authors and businesses. Below you'll find a description of the different tour types we offer. Our tours are 100% customizable and pricings will vary based on your choices.
How to Plan a Book Tour for Independent Authors
Create a sell-sheet. A sell-sheet should include: A prominent image of your book's cover. A three-to-five sentence blurb describing your book. General information, including your release date, publisher/ imprint, the book's ISBN, page count, and purchasing info. A short about the author paragraph introducing who you are.
Xpresso Book Tours
An incisive, intersectional essay anthology that celebrates and examines romance and romantic media through the lens of Black readers, writers, and cultural commentators, edited by Book Riot columnist and librarian Jessica Pryde. Romantic love has been one of the most essential elements of storytelling for centuries.
20 Things Every Author Should Know Before Starting a Book Tour by
So here are some book tour best practices and must-do's I've picked up (and stole from veteran authors) that you might find helpful if you're a book tour rookie, too. ... Good luck on your tour! Author Bio: Stephanie Steinberg is an editor of the Health and Money sections at U.S. News & World Report in Washington D.C. and a proud native ...
Love Books Tours
Welcome to Love Book Tours. My mission is to provide tailored promotional tours and help to spread the word about your book. Whether it's a book tour, cover reveals, or a release day party, I'll create a package tailored to your needs. I specialize in working with small independent publishers and authors from various genres.…
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J. Courtney Sullivan "The Cliffs" Book Discussion. Join J. Courtney Sullivan to discuss "The Cliffs.". BOOK DISCUSSION DETAILS 8/21/2024 at 1pm Duxbury Senior Center 10 Mayflower St. Duxbury, MA 02332 9/10/2024 at 7pm WELLESLEY BOOKS 82 CENTRAL ST WELLESLEY, MA 02482-5714 About [read more]
R&R Book Tours
"R&R Book Tours is a great new virtual book tour company" "Shannon was a Joy to Work With" "I can confidently recommend R&R book tours. Affordable and hassle-free, R&R handled the details so I could spend more time writing." "I chanced upon R&R Book Tours via Twitter, and am so glad I did." - Author Terry Tyler
Virtual Book Tour Packages
The tour stops will include 26-30 book reviews along with other promotional stops such as book spotlights, guest posts, author interviews, book giveaways or a combination of these. This tour guarantees 20 scheduled reviews by creators on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or X , plus 6-10 book reviews by book bloggers.
TLC Book Tours
Protected: 4 titles from Pantheon on tour September 2024. There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. TLC Book Tours is a virtual book tour site. Virtual book tours are a promotional tool for authors to connect with readers via well-read book blogs and specialty blogs.
Tours & Events Archive
Virtual Tours; Clear All. 20. Aug. 2024 - 27. Sep. 2024. HeatherAsh Amara: Wild, Willing, and Wise . Join HeatherAsh Amara for a discussion of her book, Wild, Willing, and Wise: An Interactive Guide for When to Paddle, When to Rest, ... Join beloved New York Times bestselling author Spencer Quinn for a discussion of his latest Chet & Bernie ...
Virtual Book Tours: 14 Must-See Strategies from Authors
Book tours are a traditional promotional tactic for authors when launching a new book. With the COVID-19 crisis making in-person promotional events unsafe, authors have been finding creative ways to circumvent the pandemic's challenges and interact with fans. One tactic helping them connect with readers is virtual book tours!
10 things you don't know about authors on book tour
John Scalzi with friend Kate Baker after an event at Odyssey Bookstore in South Hadley, Mass. (John Scalzi) 3. It's a grind. It's a very good thing when a publisher decides to tour an author ...
Book Tours in 2024: Eight Options for Indie Authors
Top book tour activities for 2024. 1. Virtual author events: Platforms like Zoom, Crowdcast, Facebook Live and Instagram Live enable you to host your own interactive Q&A sessions, readings, and panel discussions for your book tour. This offers direct engagement with readers regardless of geographical barriers.
Book Signing Central
BOOK DISCUSSION DETAILS 8/22/2024 at 6:30pm Omnivore Books | author event 3885A CESAR CHAVEZ ST SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131-2013 About the Author: RENATO POLIAFITO is a two-time James Beard . Movies and Television. May Cobb "The Hollywood Assistant" Author Talk ... Book Tour [Updated Apr 14th] 0. From the world of sports.
Author Blog Tours: What Are They and How Can You Plan Your Own?
Below are several blog tour sites that will take some of the stress out of planning. YA Bound Book Tours: This site offers tour options for YA authors that range from $75 for a 15-stop tour to $200 for 50 stops. Your tour stops will be promoted and tweeted daily. Note that tours must be booked 2-3 months in advance.
What Book Tours Are Like in the 21st Century
Escorts are often the most interesting person an author will meet on a book tour. In Chicago for The Art Thief, my escort was an aspiring writer planning to pen a memoir called Super Jew, while my ...
50+ Top Virtual Book Tours List
Below you will find a list of 30+ Top Virtual Book Tours that will be extremely useful with the promotion of your book. Virtual Book Tours are sometimes called, Book Blog Tours or Virtual Author Tours. They can also include book cover and synopsis, book excerpts, book giveaways, book reviews, character interviews, contests, cover reveal, guest ...
Book tour
Book tour. A book tour is a promotion for a newly published book in which the author tours a region to do bookselling, present to the media, and meet the people who would read the book. Three objectives of any presentation on a book tour are to entertain the audience, serve the interest of whichever institution is hosting the presentation, and ...
Schedule
The 2024 Library of Congress National Book Festival will be at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. in late summer, 2024. ... Hear author Vera Brosgol read excerpts and watch her draw moments from her National Book Festival-featured graphic novel, "Plain Jane and the Mermaid." She will also read from her picture ...
Delaware's first lady launches 'Books for Blue' literacy tour
Delaware's first lady kicks off reading tour promoting literacy with new children's book, 'Books for Blue' Tracey Quillen Carney kicked off her reading tour in Wilmington as part of an ongoing effort to inspire Delaware kids to embrace the importance of libraries.
Check the yardage book: Castle Pines for the 2024 BMW ...
Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado - site of the 2024 BMW Championship, which is serving as the second leg of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs - was designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened in 1981. Nicklaus and associate Jim Lipe renovated or restored each green in 2014, part of a ...
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AF: The majority of the initial recording process was done with Peter Katis at Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut.But some of the work was also done across the Atlantic at Windmill Lane Recording Studios in Dublin. Why did that happen? Levine: That was because of Bruce Springsteen.He was on tour in Ireland and he had a couple days off, and he recorded his vocals for the title track and ...
Where the Author of 'AfriCali' Loves to Eat and Shop in Los Angeles
Before Kiano Moju moved to Los Angeles in 2013, the Oakland native, former Buzzfeed producer, and new cookbook author embraced a more Americanized version of Thai food. Sticky sweet noodles and ...
Six of the world's best bookshops
The in-house café is great but this barrio is awash with options. Ten minutes' walk away is Parrilla Peña (Rodríguez Peña 682), a classic old-school steakhouse ideal for a long, wine ...
Into Everlasting Fire: The Official History Of IMMOLATION Is Coming
Decibel Books will release Into Everlasting Fire: The Official History of Immolation - a massive 400-page history of one of the most beloved bands in death metal history - this November. Into ...