Book Fairs
Book Fair Services for Authors
A book fair can put your book in front of readers, booksellers or rights buyers, but only if it is the right fair and you arrive prepared. We help you choose, register, design the display and print material, and follow up afterwards.
- Honest advice on whether a fair suits your book
- Display and print material from our in-house designers
- Representation arranged per fair where its rules allow
- Revisions included until the brief is met
The problem
Not every book fair is for selling books
The biggest mistake authors make with book fairs is choosing one by its size or fame. The largest international fairs, such as the Frankfurt Book Fair in October and the London Book Fair in spring, are mainly trade events. Much of the activity is publishers, agents and scouts meeting to buy and sell translation and other rights, booked in advance. An author with a single self-published title and no appointments can find it hard to be noticed there.
Reader-facing fairs and literary festivals work differently. Visitors come to browse, meet authors and buy books, so a well-presented table with a clear hook can sell copies and gather newsletter sign-ups. Regional and genre events, from local book festivals to comic and fantasy conventions, often put you closer to the exact readers you want than a famous trade fair ever will.
So the first question is what you want from the fair: direct sales, reader contacts, bookseller and library interest, or rights conversations. The answer decides which fair, what kind of stand, and how much it is worth spending.
What we do
Book fair support, from choosing to follow-up
Choosing the fair
We look at your book, genre and goal and suggest fairs that fit, with an honest view of costs, audience and whether a trade or reader event makes more sense.
Registration assistance
Help with applications, exhibitor forms, deadlines and the option of joining a shared or collective stand, which is often far cheaper than booking your own.
Booth design and setup
A stand layout and banner artwork sized to the space you have booked, designed so a passer-by can tell the genre and the hook from a few steps away.
Book display
How to present your books on the table: stands, facing covers, a clear price and a sign-up point, plus a checklist of what to bring on the day.
Promotional material
Bookmarks, postcards, sell sheets for booksellers and librarians, and a one-page rights sheet for trade fairs, written and designed in-house.
Representation and follow-up
Where a fair's rules allow, presentation of your title on a shared stand can be arranged and quoted per fair. Afterwards, a short report and help following up the contacts made.
Not sure which option fits?
Send us the brief. You will get a scope, a timeline and a fixed price within 24 hours — no obligation.
Preparation
What to have ready before any fair
Whatever event you choose, these are the things that most often decide whether the day is worth it.
- A one-sentence pitch for the book you can say in the time it takes someone to walk past
- Enough stock for a reader fair, ordered early enough to arrive, and a simple way to take card payments
- A sell sheet with ISBN, format, price and how booksellers and libraries can order
- For trade fairs, a rights sheet and appointments booked before you arrive
- Something for people who do not buy today: a bookmark or card with a link and a newsletter offer
- A plan for the week after: who to email, what to send and by when
How it works
How we work on a book fair
1. Goal and fair shortlist
A consultation on what you want from a fair and your budget, then a shortlist with the reasons for each.
2. Booking and design
Registration support, then stand artwork and print material designed to the fair's specifications and sent for your approval.
3. Pre-fair promotion
Posts and emails telling your readers and local contacts where to find you, and appointment requests for trade fairs.
4. After the fair
A short report on what happened and follow-up emails to the booksellers, readers and contacts you met.
Honesty and pricing
What a book fair costs and what it can do
Costs vary enormously. A table at a local book festival may be modest; a stand at a major international fair, plus travel, stock and print, is a serious investment. Our part is quoted per fair once we know which event, what you need designed and printed, and whether representation is involved. Fair fees, stand rental, travel and printing are paid to those suppliers and are separate from our fee.
We do not promise sales, publisher deals or media coverage from a fair. Organisers control placement and access, and results depend on the book and the people who walk past. For a first book, we will often suggest a reader-facing regional event before an international trade fair, because it costs less and teaches you what your table needs.
Free proposal
Tell us the goal. We’ll send the plan.
Share your requirements and a strategist gets back to you within 24 hours with scope, timeline and a fixed price. No obligation, no sales pressure.
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Response within 24 hours
Usually much sooner during business hours.
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Talk to a strategist
Not a call centre — the person who scopes your work.
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Fixed pricing upfront
You approve the number before anything starts.
Prefer to talk?
[email protected]Questions
Questions about book fair services
Still unsure about something? Talk to a specialist — no script, no sales pitch.
They can be, if the fair matches your goal. Reader fairs, festivals and genre conventions are usually better for selling copies and meeting readers. Large international trade fairs are mostly about rights deals between publishers and agents, so they suit authors with a clear rights proposition and booked meetings more than a debut looking for sales.
It depends on your genre, your location and what you want: sales, reader sign-ups, bookseller and library interest or rights conversations. We look at those with you and suggest a shortlist with the costs and audience of each, including smaller regional and genre events that are often a better fit than the famous names.
Fair fees range from a modest table charge at local events to a significant stand cost at major international fairs, before travel, stock and printing. Shared or collective stands are a cheaper route at many trade fairs. Our design, print material and coordination work is quoted separately per fair.
Sometimes. Where a fair allows titles to be shown on a shared stand, we can arrange representation and quote it for that fair. Be realistic about the result: at reader fairs, the author being present usually sells far more books than a display alone, so we will tell you if attending yourself is the better option.
Enough stock for a reader fair, a card reader, book stands, a banner or table cover showing the cover and hook, bookmarks or cards with a link, a sign-up sheet or QR code, and a sell sheet for booksellers. For trade fairs, add a rights sheet and your appointment list.
Works well with
Pair it with the rest of the stack
Ready when you are
Ready to work with the pros?
Get a free proposal in 24 hours — scope, timeline and fixed price. No obligation, no lock-in contract.
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