Wednesday, April 21, 2010

A Feast of Festivals! (or What Makes Them Irresistable?)

Tip of the Day: Get ready for Spring Cleaning Giveaways on A2A all next week!

With Lisa's blog post from TLA, my growing excitement for the upcoming Rochester Teen Book Festival, and my jealousy of those traveling to DC for this year's ALA Conference, I'm thinking about kidlit festivals and conferences.

As a generally high strung person, I assume that other people are like me, so as a festival volunteer I try to do everything in my power to make the faculty authors comfortable (get more water for them when needed, point out the restrooms, give them time checks, lead them to where they need to be next, tell their adoring fans to chill til the autograph session when they need a minute to themselves, etc.).

On the business side for TBF, the festival organizers try to have as many copies of the authors' books for sale as possible -- and in some cases copies of books pre-release!

On the attendee side, the fest organizers try to provide as many opportunities to see the authors as possible, and want to make the schedule and directions in the location clear.

As a kidlit festival attendee or faculty guest, what makes a successful event for you? What are your must haves? What have you not liked at some fests?

Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing

4 comments:

Kate Fall said...

Maybe it's my Girl Scout training, but I always appreciate knowing where the first aid/emergency area will be! And clear directions to hard to find rooms within the venue.

Anonymous said...

When I'm a conference panelist or speaker, I greatly appreciate knowing the following, well in advance:

When will I be speaking, with whom, at what time, and for how long
What the topic will be, how many people will be there, how the room will be set up
How do I get there/where do I park, whom should I check in with, is there anything special you're expecting me to bring, and if I'm paying for anything (such as a meal) what does it cost

DeenaML said...

Kate -- yes! That's one I forget about.

Jenn -- thank you! Any info for the speakers to help them prepare and thus alleviate any anxiety. :)

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