Heartland Loves Authors
Moveable Feast authors 2019

Author Submissions

The opportunity to meet authors and read an early copy of their forthcoming books is one of the major draws of Heartland. Each year, we host around 100 authors in a series of unique events. Pitch your authors to us today and let us help you connect them to the entire region of independent booksellers. 
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Isaac Fitzgerald, 2019 author emcee, shows off his forthcoming book

Author Pitch Instructions 2020 

Instructions 
  1. Download the grid on the right or click the button above to review our author placement opportunities as well as galley request quantity and fees.
  2. Complete the submission form for each of your authors by clicking on the pitch button below. If you’d like to include a personal pitch, send it to Carrie Obry at carrie@midwestbooksellers.org.
  3. Ensure your authors provide indie e-commerce options on their website and social media. Their buy buttons need to include links to indie bookstore(s) of their choice and/or Bookshop.
The sooner we receive your pitches, the better. We continually fill slots as authors are found. ​The deadline to receive your pitch is July 17.
Download the author grid (see pages 3-4)
Important details
  • Our marquee author events are somewhat unstructured so we can be creative with the talent you share with us. Please be creative along with us. Think big and ask us if we have room for your ideas. If you have a big name to share, we will respond accordingly. 
  • The majority of authors at Heartland have forthcoming Fall 2020 or Winter 2021 books. However, we're open to other release dates and backlist titles, especially for authors placed in marquee and keynote spots and educational sessions.
  • Booking a diverse and inclusive list of authors is important to us and to the bookselling industry overall. The likelihood of publishers receiving multiple placements increases when you pitch us a culturally diverse list. This is especially true when it comes to keynote authors. We recommend that publishers with keynote authors pitch us an array of potential keynotes to consider to achieve maximum likelihood of a confirmation. 
  • The schedule as you see it now may be subject to change. Events may be moved in response to the authors and education pitches we receive. 
  • We will officially book authors after their publisher or rep group has registered for the show. 
​Author Placement and Drayage Fees
Author events are a labor-intensive feature of the show. The drayage fees listed on our event grid cover the following services: receiving your books at our advance warehouse, organizing them by event, delivering them to the show, unpacking and sorting books, and relocating books to their proper places to be ready for authors. You might be accustomed to receiving drayage invoices from a separate convention services company. At Heartland, we do the drayage work ourselves, which allows us to impeccably organize our book freight as well as set our fees lower than standard convention service companies. It's a win-win for all.