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How to plan your Live Literature session

This page is to support organisations that have been awarded Live Literature funding and are starting to plan their session.

Once you've confirmed your Live Literature funding, it's time to start planning your session! All Live Literature events are different, so the list below is designed to provide you with a guide rather than a set of rules. If you have any questions or encounter any problems, please email [email protected](this link will open in a new window).

Contacting an author

Get in touch with your author as early as you can. A few months before your session date is ideal, as this gives both of you plenty of time to prepare. If you've tried the email address on their profile and you haven't received a reply in a reasonable amount of time, try contacting their publisher or agent and let us know as soon as possible.

Occasionally you may have to contact authors at short notice. It is up to the author to decide whether to go ahead with the session in cases like this.

Remember:

Getting started

It's useful to get in touch with the author as early as possible in the planning process. This gives you both the chance to talk about your plans for the session, set expectations and make sure that everyone is on the same page.

You might want to talk about:

You might also find our making the most of an author event(this link will open in a new window) resource handy.

Before the session

Now the real planning can begin! It's time to start putting the different elements of your session into place. Not all of the points below will be relevant to you, but this checklist is a useful place to start.

On the day of the session

After the session

Selling books at Live Literature events

Guide to book sales at events