HEARTLAND FALL FORUM
  • Attend
    • Scholarships
  • Schedule
  • Events
    • Photos 2022
    • Author Events 2022
    • Education 2022
    • Rep Picks 2022
    • Shelfseeing Tours
    • Event Tickets
    • Quiz Bowl
  • Awards
    • Heartland Booksellers Award >
      • 2021 Heartland Booksellers Award
      • 2020 Heartland Bookseller Award
    • Voice of the Heartland >
      • Past Winners
  • Exhibitors
  • 10 Years
  • About
    • Heartland 2020
    • Heartland 2021
  • Covid 19 Liability and Waiver
  • Merch
Picture

Sample events from Heartland Summer 2019
Picture
Picture

SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED / Email Carrie Obry if you have questions

​Final author pitch deadline: August 6
​This year, Heartland's author events will be crafted as uniquely thematic cross-publisher conversations our booksellers and audience members can't get anywhere else.

The first deadline for author pitches has passed. We reviewed the submissions and isolated a number of common themes, which are listed below. Help us build robust events by pitching authors for the themes listed here. We are looking for authors perfect for the topics below with books coming out this fall and early winter. In addition, we want to hear ideas for moderators who would serve these topics well—anyone in the literary world, including publishing staff. Once the final themes and participants are selected, we will work with publishers to confirm dates that work for the authors we choose to showcase.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE THEMES

Please know, not every event listed here will make it to fruition. For better or worse, we have far more content to work with than any one virtual trade show will allow! The slate of events we have in mind will likely showcase 30-35 authors, while we were pitched more than 125. Know that we're excited to get back to our in-person trade show format where we have the capability to showcase far higher quantity of authors than a virtual venue allows.

If you've already pitched authors, thank you! We will be in touch after the deadline passes to let you know our final decisions. We are excited to create unique and compelling author events with our industry partners. Please email Carrie Obry if you have questions about author placement (carrie@midwestbooksellers.org).

Note: These are not the final event names or descriptions.
They will evolve as more pitches are received.

Our two author event levels are as follows

Marquee author: $2,000 per author
Make a big splash with this standalone event
  • ​Feature one marquee author (or two if from the same publisher); Heartland staff will suggest creative pairings from all the pitches we receive
  • Gives publishers creative control to pair their author with an interviewer or additional guests
  • Hosted on CrowdCast and recorded to share and reshare
  • ​If appropriate, we will allow booksellers to share the event with their customers
  • Recording and featured author(s) will be featured in the Heartland newsletter
  • Event followed up with an ARC request form so you know where to target your mailings
  • Includes a free listing in our book room

Multi-author conversation: $700
Get creative by showcasing authors in conversation with one another
  • Authors will be grouped thematically for the maximum impact; Heartland staff will suggest creative pairings from all the pitches we receive
  • Hosted on CrowdCast and recorded to share and reshare
  • If appropriate, we will allow booksellers to share the event with their customers
  • Recordings and featured titles/authors will be included in the Heartland newsletter 
  • Event followed up with an ARC request form so you know where to target your mailings
  • Includes a free listing in our book room
Picture
In 2019, we asked for an author emcee and Bloomsbury pitched us Isaac Fitzgerald. He was a fabulous host and went on to emcee numerous Heartland events.  
  • ​Cultural representation: We are committed to promoting a balanced representation of authors from all cultural backgrounds. Please pitch a diverse list to increase your chances of having multiple author placements
  • ​Attendance: Our events range from 40-50 booksellers for panels to over 100 for multi-author marquee events.
  • Galley request form. For all author events, we ask publishers to supply a galley request form so you remain in control of the galley process. We will host the link on our website immediately, and also push it out directly to booksellers after each author event. List both paper and electronic options for booksellers to choose from, along with the address where to send it and whatever other bookseller information you'd find useful
  • Shopping indie. 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

​If you’d like to include a personal pitch, send it to Carrie Obry at carrie@midwestbooksellers.org. ​
Picture
© COPYRIGHT 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Attend
    • Scholarships
  • Schedule
  • Events
    • Photos 2022
    • Author Events 2022
    • Education 2022
    • Rep Picks 2022
    • Shelfseeing Tours
    • Event Tickets
    • Quiz Bowl
  • Awards
    • Heartland Booksellers Award >
      • 2021 Heartland Booksellers Award
      • 2020 Heartland Bookseller Award
    • Voice of the Heartland >
      • Past Winners
  • Exhibitors
  • 10 Years
  • About
    • Heartland 2020
    • Heartland 2021
  • Covid 19 Liability and Waiver
  • Merch