The Art of the Multi-Author Event
Maybe you’re booking a tour event—virtually or, as public health permits, in person—via a bookstore, library, or other venue to promote your book, and are wondering if two authors are better than one.
Maybe you’re struggling to prepare a talk about your book that smoothly touches on all the aspects you want to discuss, or feeling awkward in a virtual format where you can’t see and hear your audience.
Maybe you’ve been invited to join another author on a book festival stage as an “in conversation” host and aren’t sure whether to accept.
Or maybe you—being a good literary citizen—are simply eying event calendars and wondering which would be most enjoyable to attend.
In all these scenarios, multi-author events are becoming more and more common. Even before COVID-19 changed the landscape of book promotion, many bookshops, fairs, luncheons, and libraries favored an interview format over formal speeches and readings. In 2019 alone, I had the privilege of joining authors ranging from superstar James Patterson to award-winner Laurie Halse Anderson at public appearances “in conversation.”
And once the pandemic turned book tours virtual, this format became even more popular. The reasons are practical—when promoting events online, multiple voices spreading the word to their respective followers are more effective than one—but may be emotional, too.
In a time when social distancing has left writers and readers alike craving personal connections, conversations between fellow authors deliver exactly that. Listening to
