FAQS – Professionals

• All accepted festival authors and exhibitors will have a space throughout the festival.
• We require that you stay for the entire length of the festival.
• If you cannot stay the entire time for some reason, we need to know that on your application otherwise we expect you to be available and at the festival on Saturday, October 24 from 10 am to 5 pm.

Saturday, October 24th, 2026. The festival is free and open to the public from 10 am to 5 pm.

As an author, presenter, or exhibitor you will need to enter the KICC through the loading dock on the 3rd street side of the convention center. A time to enter the loading dock will be provided to you by the Louisville Book Festival in early October.

Do not arrive earlier than your assigned dock time, as we will not be prepared to assist you. Please be mindful that the day of the festival will not be the best time to ask LBF staff or volunteers questions unless those staff members are located at the author check-in table. We are attempting to answer all questions here to keep everyone updated. There will also be two virtual Q and A sessions to go over the festival layout and provide opportunities to ask questions of festival staff. These sessions are mandatory for self-published authors. Please watch or check your email (including your spam file) for more information about these meetings, including dates and access.

The Louisville Book Festival is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization founded by author/ therapist/ attorney and Louisvillian Deedee Cummings in 2018 to celebrate and promote the love and the benefits of reading, writing, and literacy. The first festival was held in October 2020 in a virtual format after a worldwide pandemic was declared.

We believe that literacy is a fundamental human right and that there is power and purpose in bringing books to life every day of the year. We celebrate books and use them to highlight and grow the resilient culture of our vibrant city, as well as to encourage and elevate our creative thinking as a community. We are proud to bring the city’s first and only comprehensive community book festival that is free and open to all to our city. The Louisville Book Festival is a D|B|A for It Pays To Read. You may sometimes hear us referred to by that name also. You may also hear the name Make A Way Media or receive an email from Make A Way Media in association with the book festival. They are our partner.

Though we make magic happen every year, the festival is a very small and young nonprofit which is composed of a team of just three people with a severely limited budget. Please keep this in mind.

The festival will be held at the Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC) located in downtown Louisville, Kentucky at:

221 S 4th Street, Louisville, KY 40202
The best entrance for the PUBLIC is at the corner of 4th and Market Street.

Authors and exhibitors must enter through the loading dock on third street. This is a KICC rule. The KICC is very large and lives on more than one block. Please keep this in mind while looking for the building.

The Kentucky International Convention Center is in downtown Louisville. We have no special arrangements or deal for parking. There is a parking garage right across from the center (after 4th St. on Market). We recommend you park here early and stay all day. There is also lots of street parking. Find parking tips for downtown Louisville at this link.

If you are staying at a nearby hotel, we recommend leaving your car there (if you have one) and walking to the center, if this is an option.

We have listed hotels on our website which can be found here:

 Travel Accommodations

We cannot recommend a hotel. Please try to stay near the KICC if you can, and please read the hotel reviews. There are also many other places to stay listed on sites like VRBO and Air B & B.

No, the festival is free like the library. There will be some sessions you will need to register to access because we anticipate high attendance. We will announce those when we become aware of the need to encourage registration through our newsletter first. Also, this year for the first time we are hosting the opportunity to pitch your manuscript to agents. There is a cost associated with this to assist with agent travel, lodging, and stipends.

The LBF was founded in 2018. We planned to hold the first festival in 2020. For obvious reasons we had to hold the festival virtually and we did so again in 2021. In 2022 we held the first ever in-person Louisville Book Festival, but it was actually the third festival. We work hard to spread the word about the festival, but we still need your help. As with anything new, it takes time to get the word out to all of the book lovers about this annual event. This event is unique to Louisville and there is not another event like this in our city. Please help us keep it alive.  *As authors, we require that you post about the event with a link to our website on your website as a way to generate buzz for the festival.* We also strongly encourage you to talk up your involvement in this event on social media. Let your fans know where you will be!

We are very honored and excited to partner with several organizations throughout Louisville. Through a partnership with Jefferson County Public Schools, we will have students, teachers, and parents in attendance during the festival. We are also partnered with Foxing Books (a Louisville independent bookstore), Multicultural Children’s Book Day and the Children’s Book Council (which are both national entities). The Louisville Free Public Library has been an incredible collaborator. They have personally coordinated craft and story time events throughout the duration of the festival. We have many other sponsors, such as local businesses and banks, local influencers, the Metro United Way, Louisville Metro Firefighters, University of Louisville, and the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood. All who believe in the power of books and literacy and will be helping us get the word out about this event.

The event is free and open to the public, so anyone is welcome to attend. Last year more than 5,000 people attended the festival. The vast amount of variety we have in authors, presentations, and exhibitors will ensure a large diverse crowd of book lovers (of all ages and backgrounds) in attendance on both days. We are most excited that so many members of our community will be able to see themselves reflected in some way during this festival. We are a comprehensive book festival with something for everyone!

*** There is no “kids’ day” at the festival. The festival is for everyone. ***

Yes, we have many programs and giveaways lined up throughout the festival to engage a wider audience and encourage participation. We welcome items if you would like to donate anything to our giveaways, please let us know. You may see one of the books you sent to us for review donated to our giveaway. We have giveaways because people love giveaways, and many will come to the festival just because they love freebies. We do not believe giveaways discourage people from buying books. Booklovers will always buy books even when they get a free book or two.

You can ship through any provider, we see a lot of FedEx and USPS. We do not give out our phone number for shipping because we have no paid staff members. We are all volunteers and only in the office one day a week. Please use a shipping provider that does not require a phone number or someone to sign for the delivery. Deliveries are left all the time for our office and we have no trouble receiving the packages that authors send.

We recommend using the media mail service through USPS which is cheaper than regular shipping. You can only use the media mail rate for shipping books. When you use this rate you will get a tracking number too and you can use that to verify when your books have been delivered.

We only sell physical copies of books at the festival. If you can do preorders through Foxing Books we may be able to work that out although this is rare and we do not typically handle sales this way. This will be considered on a case by case basis and will come down to where your book can be purchased by Foxing Books, how many of these requests we have, and how unique your book is. Readers really do prefer to get the book while at the book festival.

We will not have vendors at the festival this year. There were too many complications, but we do have exhibitors. Meaning you can have a table for a fee and promote your company, but you cannot sell within the KICC. We have authors and exhibitors. If you are interested in being a vendor, please bookmark us to check back in with us in the Spring of 2027. We may have a program format change next year and we will accept vendors at that time if the change works out.

If you are interested in applying as an author you can do that on our Website here.

If you would like to be an exhibitor (which means you do not sell anything) please sign up for our newsletter so you will be notified when the exhibitor application period opens. Thank you so much for your interest.

We disagree. Most professional authors have websites. You can imagine the flood of applications and books we receive. We are looking for professional authors. There are just too many books flooding the market without the use of industry standards, like professional editing services as an example. Another example is the use of AI. There is a rise in people who use their book to sell their services and they truly have no interest in being a professional author. They may want to be a professional speaker and their book is their advertisement. These are not the kinds of books we tend to sell. We seek to promote and highlight the work of professional authors. A website is only one measurement of this and tends to reflect a dedication to your career as a writer. A website demonstrates how you promote yourself and your work.

(Note: A professional author does not mean you are a full-time author. That is a luxury few of us have.)

No, we believe you are the best representative of your work. Please try to remain at your table as much as possible so that people can meet you and fall in love with your book. We understand some authors will be presenters and in this case, people will buy your book from the store after you present.

Two techniques to consider while away from your table. Some people bring a tablecloth and drape it over the items on their table while they are gone. Also, table mates are the best. Most will happily keep an eye out for you. However, we don’t have issues with missing items. Still, you want to put valuables, like laptops out of sight like a bin under your table.

No. Sometimes we are asked “is it worth it to attend” and the answer is always a resounding yes!

Most authors will sell books, but some may not sell the number of books they hope. There is a slight possibility you may not sell any books at all. There is just no way we can predict this. Every year we have many authors who completely sell out of books. We expect the same every year, but will you be one of those authors? We cannot say.

HOWEVER, remember there are many reasons to attend a festival as an author. Book sales is only one of many. Keep a very positive attitude. Don’t get discouraged if you are not selling.

Do not let your disappointment radiate, or others (i.e. potential fans) will pick up on it and it may have a negative effect on who stops by to talk with you. We have actually seen this happen!!! No one wants to talk to a grumpy author and they will pass you by quickly!

Attending festivals is exactly like planting seeds. You may not see the sales you want that day, but you will meet someone who will talk about you to someone else, or post a picture to social media, or buy the next week from your website. You may not be able to see the impact of your appearance right away, but your appearance will definitely have an impact. The results of attending a book festival are exponential.

Also keep in mind that over 400 authors applied to be in the 2026 festival and 150 were accepted. That alone is something to brag about! We highlight the best in new releases from professional authors. Make sure EVERYONE knows you are here. Encourage your current fans to come see you, even if they are in other states. Many people travel to book festivals all over the country because they are truly inspiring events.

Engage with the audience. Look them in the eye and smile. Put away your phone unless you are taking pictures to share on social media. (Don’t forget to tag the LBF and also use #LouisvilleBookFestival!)

Take LOTS of images. You will be able to share tales of this journey for weeks if not months. Turn it into a blog and be sure to include a link in the blog to the LBF.

We can’t wait to see all of the LBF authors this year. We strongly encourage you to do as much networking as possible. Many people make lifelong friends at festivals and the Louisville Book Festival is no different. We have had authors meet at the LBF and go on to make more books… together! Many people also find out about other festivals, professional services, and opportunities through the connections made at a festival.

All festival authors will have a table throughout the festival. We require that you stay for the entire length of the festival. The festival is only one day and we need to be able to ensure that readers have the opportunity to see all of the authors in the lineup.

You will not receive a payment from these sales if you are traditionally published. Foxing Books will buy your books in advance. It will be the same as if your book was sold in their bookstore, you would not receive a payment from them.

If you are self-published (this may include some authors with a small press and IngramSpark) you will bring your books with you to the festival and check them in with the bookstore. Your books will be sold at the festival through a consignment agreement that is reflective of most independent bookstore arrangements with 60% of the sale going to the author and 40% of the sale going to the bookstore. You will sign and submit a consignment agreement in advance of the festival.

You should be ready to greet a crowd at 10 am.

Please try to have all of your questions answered before the week (and day) of the festival as the LBF staff will be inundated with questions and requests from the public, while also trying to set up for the festival. Authors, presenters, and exhibitors are professionals, and we will need you to be independent. Consider the festival your office for the day. This entire structure is very similar to you holding a book signing at a local bookstore.

Each participating author will have access to half a table in a large, beautiful ballroom area of the KICC. Your author table will have a linen and one chair each for the two authors assigned to your table. Like a lot of festivals, you will share a table with another author.

At a shared table you will have 4 feet of space and one chair. Please do not take a chair from anyone else’s table or you will be taking another author’s chair. If you have someone else sitting with you, you may bring an additional chair as long as your tablemate does not have their space infringed upon.

You may bring one large sign or poster that should not exceed five (5) feet in length or eight (8) feet in height. Your sign must stand on its own. The KICC will not allow you to hang a sign anywhere on the property. Be aware that if your sign has legs or feet that stick out into the aisle/ walkway you may be asked to take your sign down and remove it from the area because of the KICC’s fire code.

This includes electricity throughout the day. There is no place to charge a phone or iPad in the author or exhibitor area. The KICC charges for the use of electricity. If you use an outlet, you will be charged by the KICC for using an unauthorized outlet at the KICC.  Battery packs/ portable chargers are a great investment to get through a festival and something you will use again for these kinds of events.

You can find a helpful list of items to bring at this link.

You may also bring a table drape if you have one you want to use. You may only drape it over your half of the table.

You can also have signs on your table, but be sure your area is neat and organized as it will be more attractive and draw more people to you.

Bring what you need to sustain you throughout the day so you so you will not have to stray far. If you are away from your table you are missing out on fans.

Take LOTS of pictures and post them the entire day using the hashtag #LouisvilleBookFestival. Festivals are instant credibility and GREAT boosters for your author social media and also to add to your website.

Many people also make lifelong friends and colleagues at festivals. You will want to remember this time and show it all off! This is the world we live in now and attending events and meeting fans is a part of your brand.

You can go to the bathroom whenever you want or even attend a session you really want to see, but keep in mind that you are far more likely to sell a book when people talk to you in person, especially if they can get your book autographed. That is a huge draw for a new or current fan.

You will have a name tent on your table. You will also need sharpies or nice pens and sticky notes. We encourage you to ask people to write down the spelling of their name if they want you to dedicate a message in a book to them. This will keep you from making an error in a book.

The Louisville Book Festival partners with Foxing Books Bookstore as our official bookseller for the event. The vast majority of traditionally published books will be ordered by Foxing Books through a publishing distributor and Foxing Books will bring them to the festival for sale. (In some cases, Foxing Books will not be able to order books from small presses and Ingram Spark. We classify these books as a “self-published” category. We know you may not have actually self-published, but it just means we cannot get your book through the distributor (with the return policy and the discount required).

If your book cannot be ordered by Foxing Books you will be made aware of this prior to September 24 so you have time to order your books to bring with you. You will also sign a consignment agreement in advance of the day of the festival. All “self-published” authors will bring their own books and will have their books sold by the bookstore on consignment.

The authors in the “self-published” category will receive a payment for their sales directly from Foxing Books within 14 days of the festival.

• The Louisville Book Festival has its own bookstore during the festival. The bookstore is run by Foxing Books, but we consider this the Louisville Book Festival store.
• The books you can sell at the book festival will be approved in advance and are included in your acceptance letter. You cannot add books to sell at the festival. In most circumstances we do not allow people to sell their entire backlist.
• You will not be able to ship books to us or to the KICC in advance. We do not have the staff to bring books on your behalf.
• You cannot sell any other merchandise at the festival unless it is related to your book and has been approved for sale in the festival store by the festival prior to September 1st. Requests to sale additional items after this will not be reviewed due to time constraints.
• All sales, including merchandise that accompanies your book will be sold through the festival store on consignment.
• The facility (the KICC) changes a vendor fee for each entity selling items. To avoid this we sell everything through the bookstore.
• If you sell books, that were not approved for sale, or other merchandise, that is not related to your books and approved for sale, from your table you will be asked to leave immediately. This decision will be at the sole discretion of the festival director and will not be subject to debate. Under no circumstances can items be sold directly from your table.

This seems severe, but we have had issues with this before and it is chaos. It also interferes with the structure of the bookstore and causes the public to be confused about what items they need to pay for and where.

You would be surprised at the things people want to sell at the book festival. This is a bookish event, and we require that only bookish items are sold.

After you check-in, you will take your items to your table to sell. Just like a signing at a bookstore. You will have your merchandise at your table but they will be bought at one point of sale at the bookstore.

In the past we have had a few authors express concern that there merchandise would disappear and people would not actually buy the item at the bookstore. We have had zero issues with this.

Please remember to unload books and any other items you bring from your car at your assigned time at the loading dock. The KICC will not allow you to bring in merchandise (boxes, bags, suitcases, rolling carts, etc. through any regular pedestrian door.

It is absolutely impossible for us to be able to answer this question. When you attend an author event, how many books do you bring? We have had authors sell 5 books, but we have also had many authors sell dozens of books.

You are the best judge of how many books you need. Some books are great, but maybe not highly commercial or maybe they are in a narrow niche. You may not want to bring as many books as someone who sells something that just seems to click with a wider audience. We anticipate a crowd of about five thousand people, but five thousand people total are unlikely to buy your book. This is why it is hard to tell you how many books to bring. It seems as though most authors bring somewhere between 20 and 50. Again, this is something you will need to decide.

Once we told a poetry author to bring around 10 books because poetry books did not seem to sell as well. She brought 20 and sold out! So, it is really difficult for us to tell you how many you will need to have on hand if you are in the category to bring your own books.

A note for traditionally published authors whose books are brought by Foxing Books: We have had many authors sell out of books. Some authors bring extra books and leave them in their trunk just in case their book sells out. You can do this as a traditional author. The extra books you bring then go on consignment with the festival bookstore in the same arrangement that we have with the self-published category of authors.

If you always attend events, bring more than you think you need, you will use them again. If you sell out, you can always direct people to your website and still interact with them.

We will have more than 100 authors, exhibitors and presenters participating in the festival. It is impossible for us to fund your trip in any way.

Some large book festivals are run by their state Humanities Department or by their library system. We are not. We are just a small team of book lovers. We wish we could pay more authors and supply lunch, but we are not at that level. We pay for the facility, the dockmaster (which is mandatory), the Red Cross first responders (which is mandatory), the event insurance, and all the marketing, among many other things. We ask that you get to the festival and be responsible for parking and lunch.

We hope that you have fun and realize the benefit of connecting with fellow authors and new fans. Travelling to a book festival is similar to attending a professional conference. The experience is completely enriching and a chance to invest in yourself and your career as an author.

We encourage you to make the most of your trip by documenting it all on social media and your website. Blog about what you loved or learned. We are providing authors with an invaluable platform to promote themselves to an audience full of booklovers. We believe you will find it well worth your journey. As an author, you need to build a book community and you can do that here.

We are appreciative and honored you want to do that with us.

No.

Please check in when you arrive at the festival so we know you are here. Most presentations will be about 50 minutes. You should leave 5-10 minutes for questions. Your room will not have a moderator to introduce you, so you should be ready to begin promptly on time. People may still want to talk to you even though your presentation has wrapped up. That’s great! We ask that you let them know you will be available in the hall outside of the presentation room so we can make room for the next presentation. There is plenty of room at the KICC to spread out and network.

Please remember that children may be in attendance during your presentation so please keep your talk PG. All presentation rooms will not be equipped with technology. If you need access to technology and a screen, please let us when you ask to present. We are sorry, but we cannot guarantee that there will be access to technology in the room you are assigned. You will know this in advance when you are assigned a room.

There will not be a facilitator on hand to keep audience members engaged. Instead, we encourage presenters to implement audience interaction throughout their presentations, and we highly encourage authors to have some conversation starters or pieces of their work they’d like to discuss. You will also be responsible for asking people to follow you on social media or sign up for your mailing list if you would like to do that. We will not retain this information for the presenters.

Our author application window closes on May 31st. It takes a great amount of time to sort books and applications from hundreds of authors and presenters. We do not admit all books that are submitted. Your book may be intriguing and well-written, but we must decline some books, well, because… you can only have so many books about demons and vampires, you know?

In the past two years, we have had over 400 applicants a year and only admitted about 150 each year.

After that the scheduling begins. We announce all who are admitted as authors to the festival by July 31st. Authors are our biggest groups of presenters. This process is tedious. Please be patient as we fill out the schedule.

We anticipate announcing the full schedule of presenters and times by the end of August. We will be in touch to confirm your topic and schedule with you directly.

No.

Absolutely. We require that you promote your involvement on social media and on your website. You must list a physical link to the LBF website on your own author site. This is one reason why we ask that you do have a website, besides the fact that it shows a professional commitment to your work and helps your fans stay up to date on an organized platform. If you need help with this, please let us know. The festival team will do a lot to promote the festival, but we also need your help to make your participation successful. You have your own fans. Make sure they know where to find you. Our hope is to increase the size of that fan club. We strongly encourage you to share as much as you would like on your own social media.

Festival participants are welcome to share our posts or utilize our graphics on their own social media channels. We will also send along our logo so you will be able to create your own social media posts and incorporate the logo in your post.

Not directly. We will market the festival. It is up to you to market your books.

We would love for you to sponsor our mission. We do good work. Please email admin@louisvillebookfestival.com if you, your publisher, or someone else you know is interested in sponsoring.

Yes. Please remember that we are a nonprofit and we need to raise money 1) to be able to do this every year; and 2) to further our goal of highlighting literacy and a love of reading. We are not a for profit business. We do not have a single person on staff. We are just book lovers who wanted to do something new and unique for the city and help highlight the work of authors.

We provide you with a truly incredible platform to network and engage fans and we do not ask a lot in return. Our hope is that you will become fans of ours and be willing to support us too.

Bottom Line: We are putting in a lot of effort to make this work for our authors. We want you to have a platform to interact and we want you to come back. Authors, more than ever, really need opportunities to interact with the public and the public needs opportunities to do things that stimulate their creative mind. Let’s make this event a success so fans will come to meet you in person every year!

To ensure a book festival is successful, marketing is key. You each have your own fan base. Please make sure they know what you are up to and where to find you. Heavily advertise your involvement with the Louisville Book Festival throughout the year. We will also be marketing heavily in our community and on social media.

Please invite your family, friends and fans to like the LBF Facebook and Instagram page for updates and to sign up for our newsletter on our website.

Author Advertising through the Festival (these will be available for consideration after the application period has passed). Please remember that we are a small nonprofit and opportunities like this help sustain the festival:

• Special feature on website with a link to your website – $100
• Designated social media announcement – $75
• Author single table – $200 (These are available only if we have room, these will be awarded on a first come first served basis.)