?Book festivals are becoming more and more
popular, with new literary events popping up all over the place. People
certainly seem to have the appetite for it, and nothing draws people in like a
famous face on a ticket. But how exactly do you go about organising this type
of event?
You Need a Name For Yourself
There is no point in trying to host a large
literature festival if you don’t have a base to work out of. These programmes
work best if they are hosted from an arts centre that already has a reputation
for putting on great shows and events. If you’re just starting out, then start
small, and ask local writers to do a reading in a local bar, before you slowly start
to build yourself up and start selling out arenas.
You Need Funding
The bane of arts organisations everywhere
is the dreaded constant need for funding. This is another reason why having a
name for yourself is so important. If no one knows who you are, it’s always
going to be difficult to get any money to organise a large event.
The Arts Council
The Arts Council is a great source of money
to help you to bring your festival to the next level and start encouraging some
big names to attend. You’ll need proof of what you’ve done so far; if you’re
not able to prove that you are giving back to the community through your work,
you’ll never get funding for your festival from the Arts Council.
Sponsors
Getting sponsors is another way to get the
budget you need for the festival that you want to hold. Sponsors will support
you so long as you advertise them throughout your programmes and signs for the
festival; even on your website and social media. Generally, it’s a really good
deal, and one of the main sources of income for festivals
Ticket Sales
Of course, ticket sales will get you some
of your money back, especially if you have a famous face attending. However, the
majority of this money is only going to be guaranteed after the festival and so it can never be relied upon. While it
might offset some costs, you need to have plenty in the bank before you start
hiring out an arena.
You Need a Programme
Once you have the budget to make it happen,
you need to start putting together your programme. Everyday of the festival
needs to be as full as possible in order to have plenty of events for people to
attend. While you should have a few headliners, you should also have lots of
people from your local area to take part. This will cut down a lot on travel
costs and hotel bills, plus you’ll be advocating local writers.
You Need a Bookstore
A literary festival just isn’t going to
work if no one is there to sell the books. You’ll probably already have good
links with your local bookstore, but you need to make sure that they are
capable of ordering in everyone’s books and selling them at each event.
You Need a Main Act
If you are really looking to bring in a
large audience, you are going to need a large name on the bill. Start asking around
early in the year for this. Many acts will book out quickly or have their own
book tour going on that will either fit with your dates or it won’t. If your
festival has been going on for a few years, you might even get people approaching
you if they are doing a tour. If your
festival has a certain theme, then only target main acts that are going to fit
with that. For example, romance authors or authors of colour. Many big names
will have a particular price that you need to pay for them to be involved, and
some are steeper than you might think, so be prepared for this alongside hotel
and flight costs.
You Need a Venue
Once you have your main act sorted, you’re
going to need a venue. If you are expecting large numbers, then you’ll need
somewhere with a big capacity alongside a stage and good sound equipment. This
will most likely be a lot larger than your local arts centre. Luckily, there
are a number of large arenas for hire in London, and some of them are just perfect
for a literature festival. It’s important that you view more than one so that
you can get the feel of each place and decide if it’s right for you, but make
sure and book as soon as you can, as dates won’t hold forever.
You Need to Advertise
You won’t have an audience if you don’t advertise.
Paper programmes are still popular, and these should be placed in as many cafes
and other arts centres as you can. Promoting online is also essential. Making sure
that you have a solid social media strategy in place will mean that everyone
knows about your festival. After all, if they don’t know it’s happening, then
no one is going to book tickets.
You Need Volunteers
The bedrock of every literature festival is
its volunteers. Without them most festivals simply couldn’t afford to pay the
amount of staff needed to host a large event. They greet the audience, handle
setup, take the tickets, and are generally on hand if anyone needs them. Send
your call out with plenty of time so that volunteers can be scheduled for the
times that suit them. You will also need a training day for them in order to go
through all of their duties as well as the all-important health and safety. It’s
a great idea to host a night out after the festival is over so that you can
thank them all for their hard work.
Organising a literary event isn’t an easy
goal to aspire to, but once you‘re established, you’ll be able to pull in big names
and start selling out full-sized arenas. Everyone starts small, but with
dedication and passion, you can always grow your festival into something truly
great.
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