Publicists 'cautiously optimistic' as in-person events return from September

Publicists say they are “cautiously optimistic” as real-life author events return in force from September for the first time since the pandemic began.

Most told The Bookseller they would continue with virtual events or hybrid options at the same time, with a few physical dates scheduled from this month. Although there remains some “reticence” for booking, many agreed the return of in-person appearances was a turning point, particularly for authors published in hardback during lockdown.

Jess Barratt, Simon & Schuster UK’s deputy head of publicity for the adult division, told The Bookseller her team will forge ahead with physical appearances while retaining some digital engagement.

“At S&S UK we’re feeling cautiously optimistic about author tours this year, and are currently planning UK visits for some international authors this autumn," she said. "We’re ready to support the festivals that have missed out on a year’s programming and our authors are keen to get back out to meet booksellers and readers, especially the debuts who thrive on these opportunities. But we’re also focused on maintaining the great relationships we’ve built with digital-only platforms, which have been a huge support in the past 12 months. Whilst live-streaming isn’t always viable, especially for individual bookshops or smaller events, this added element would be a great step forward to welcome broader audiences and enables the room to pivot should restrictions change again.”

At Oneworld Juliet Mabey stressed live events had a “vital” role to play and many writers had missed out on the valuable opportunities they bring since the start of the pandemic. Oneworld authors embarking on events include Kadie Kanneh-Mason for the paperback of House of Music, with 10 lined-up so far, including an in-person Q&A with Kanneh-Mason at Bath Literary Festival.

Mabey said: “We will have many other in-person, hybrid and online events through the remainder of the year, playing things very much by ear as festivals and bookshops start to announce availability. We feel these events are absolutely vital for building authors’ profiles, giving them a chance to meet their readers and also network with other authors, and debut authors in particular have suffered the loss of these opportunities over the past year. As a result, Oneworld is putting together plans for a series of debut events - hopefully in conjunction with other Alliance publishers - to try to remedy this situation, and will be releasing information this month about this project.”

Caroline Brown, Octopus group publicity and marketing director, revealed a raft of events for the imprint’s authors including Dr Alex George who is doing a range of in-person and virtual events for the publication of Live Well Everyday: Your Plan for a Happy Body and Mind, from this month onwards.

Like Mabey's team, Brown is also using the next few months as an opportunity to boost paperback launches following hardback publication in lockdown. “The hardback of Alexandra Shulman’s Clothes & Other Things That Matter came out at the height of lockdown, among a huge amount of uncertainty around events and virtual opportunities, meaning an extensive event tour had to be put on pause,” Brown said. “With the paperback campaign, we’ve revived that tour and programmed a series of both virtual and in-person events across the country. Alexandra will be kicking off her tour in June with a virtual event hosted by Chorleywood Bookshop and Village Books which will be followed by virtual events with Jarrold’s, Topping & Company Booksellers and Blackwell’s."

Alex Fane, m.d. of events company Fane, which works with many publishers, said that there was high uptake for physical events this autumn. “We are looking forward to IRL [in real life] events returning, especially with the end of social distancing in theatres looking ever more likely," he said. "At present, we have live author events beginning from early September, with 108,000 tickets already sold for our autumn/winter season. Our May and June online programme of over 50 events has just been announced and we will be planning a number of hybrid events for the summer, pending government guidelines.”

Despite that demand, Fane believes the virtual option is also here to stay, with each author event now including a live stream option. A recent survey by Fane of 60,000 newsletter subscribers showed 82% of respondents wanting to continue to watch online once in-person events returned. “Online events remain incredibly accessible and a way to reach as wide an audience as possible, especially non-traditional literary audiences,” he said. “For this reason, we're also going to continue running elements of our hugely successful Fane Online programme in tandem with live events, such as the monthly Dialogue Book Lounge, run in partnership with Dialogue Books and Sevenoaks Bookshop.”

Quercus publicity director Hannah Robinson agreed online events will remain though feels this to be a pivotal time for real life scheduling. “We have lots of events coming up. It is much busier now than earlier in the year so it feels like a turning point as in-real-life events start to bloom while online is still very much part of the landscape,” she said.

The continuation of Zoom engagement means international writers such as The Prophets author Robert Jones Jr (based in the US) can remain in event schedules despite travel restrictions, she added.

Bonnier Books UK is also planning a flexible approach to event planning with some in-person events. Nikki Mander, senior publicity manager of the adult division, said there was a mix of remote, touring and pre-recorded appearances in the works for Anita Rani, author of lead summer title The Right Sort of Girl, and dates for Stacey Halls.

Mander is also planning a range of virtual events including those with independent bookshops, libraries, as well as the Stylist Literary Festival on 30th May. However, there remains some hesitancy from a year of lockdown and general uncertainty around its easing. “Whereas events were swiftly booked in the past, we are finding there is understandably more of a reticence to commit in these times,” she said.

Others appear to be taking a slightly more cautious approach. Pan Macmillan is focusing on virtual events until June but reviewing the outlook this month for physical summer events and consulting with authors about taking part.

Sara Lloyd, communications director, explained: “Our intention is to return to smaller bookshop-based live events and smaller, private in-person launches in September at the earliest, though we imagine these might have some social distancing restrictions potentially still in place. Our publicists and reps will be in contact with customers, authors and illustrators to begin to programme carefully managed events such as these from July onwards.”

Lloyd stressed authors, illustrators and staff would only attend events in person if happy to do so and pending health and safety checks with organisers but said digital has a huge part to play going forward. She said: “We are intent on ensuring that the best elements of virtual events are carried forward into our event planning for the future, maintaining digitally streamed elements as part of as many events as we can to ensure greater accessibility and diversity for our event participants and audiences.”

Karen Sullivan, founder of Orenda, is also taking things slowly with her eyes set on bigger things for 2022. She said: “Throughout lockdown we've linked up with indie bookshops for online launches, and while it's a great opportunity for readers who may not be able to attend events in person, it does lack that exchange of energy, small talk, unscripted fun that takes place on tour or at live events. We've got authors lined up for a few physical festivals, including Harrogate and Edinburgh, but most of it is still online, which has both advantages and disadvantages. We've got lots of author visits planned for Independent Bookshop Week, and my UK authors have been visiting their local bookshops to sign stock, but until things feel entirely safe, we won't be planning anything further for the next few months. Next February we've got a mega Orenda Roadshow in the planning stages, and at least there is something to look forward to."

Although there are limitations to the digital format, Faber publicity manager Josh Smith was keen to stress the opportunities virtual book tours can bring in breaking out authors such as This One Sky Day writer Leone Ross. “We've celebrated publication with fans globally ‚Äî Leone's Libreria launch saw 200-plus attendees from all over the world ‚Äî and have greatly benefitted from the accessibility and greater inclusivity of online events, noticing readers nationwide attending events,” he said. “We've also collaborated with event partners doing incredible work in the virtual world, from Words of Colour to Black Girls Book Club, and have a forthcoming event with Lambeth Libraries, accessible to every resident in Lambeth. So embracing online has been crucial in finding a community around the book while also connecting it to as many readers as possible, and virtual events often have an afterlife online which has been very helpful too. Leone's tour will transition into a physical one throughout the autumn with further bookshop and festival events, but intentionally still retain a virtual element.”

Smith also pointed to “phenomenal sales-driving success” from Kazuo Ishiguro's virtual events for Klara and the Sun. It included the first-ever virtual signing for Waterstones, a 4,000-strong virtual audience for Guardian Live and a subsequent event with the Southbank Centre. Bookshop.org's inaugural event, designed specifically for independent bookshop customers from every corner of the UK, was “something I don't think would have been feasible in person,” he said.