Event Proposal Guidelines
Thanks for checking out our events application! We’re always on the lookout for great events for the store, but also aware that not every worthwhile book will be the basis for a successful event. Please read through our policy on what types of books we accept from independent authors before proceeding. We prioritize events proposed by publishers with whom we have an ongoing business relationship, and authors who have a strong, pre-existing customer relationship with the store.
Publishers we regularly do business with include Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Norton, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Sourcebooks, and Workman, as well as university presses such as University of Pittsburgh Press, West Virginia University Press, and other smaller presses who send sales reps in to visit us on a regular basis. If your book is published with any of these companies, please feel free to have your publicist contact us directly-- or contact us directly yourself—at olivia@riverstonebooks.com.
Please note that we will not host events for books published on Createspace or other Amazon platforms. Events we are unlikely to approve include:
self-published books whose authors who are not well-established customers at the store
books from scholarly and professional publishers that are too specialized to appeal to a general audience
authors who have recently held an event at another Pittsburgh bookstore or plan on scheduling one within a month of when our event is held
If your publisher does not have a sales rep who visits us, or is primarily distributed to the trade by Ingram, and you are interested in pursuing a potential event with us, please review the following information and our website to see if your event seems like a good fit for our store. If so, send us an event proposal by email to olivia@riverstonebooks.com addressing the requirements listed below.
If you are a local fiction writer and not published by one of our partner publishers, we are now hosting monthly author panels of 3 to 4 authors where you can present and sell your book. If you are a poet, we continue to host monthly poetry readings where you can sell your book.
Be aware that, in addition to being a literary celebration, an event is also a business proposition between the author and the store that must work to the store’s benefit as well as your own. Any event requires a financial investment on the store’s part, and our goal is to make it successful for everybody involved. The most successful events are based on the author’s ability to mobilize an audience of friends, family, and colleagues--not on the hope of attracting an audience of strangers who are unfamiliar with you and your work. Please note – we rely on event registrations (even for free events) on Eventbrite for all of our events. This enables us to set up an appropriate number of chairs and buy books if you are not supplying them. Please ask your friends and family to register on Eventbrite even if they have told you they will attend your event.
We receive many event inquiries and are not able to respond to all of them. If we are interested we will reach out to you to set up details within 2 weeks. In your event proposal, please answer the following questions, which are designed to establish the basis of a successful event and to give us enough information to make a decision.
Book Information: Title, ISBN, publisher, publication date, and a brief summary emphasizing why the content or theme will engage a Riverstone audience
Distribution - Who is the primary distributor of your book?*
Author Information: Bio and Website if applicable
Does your book have specific Pittsburgh or Western Pennsylvania- related content?
Connection - Have you recently attended an event at Riverstone Books? If so, which one?
Why is your event a good fit for Riverstone Books?
Sales - Can you guarantee that we will sell at least 15 copies of your book?
Format - Provide relevant details about how you would structure your event. Are you a candidate for one of our monthly author panels? Would you invite an interviewer to be “in conversation” with you? Do you need special A/V equipment such as a monitor? Would you provide refreshments?
Promotion - How do you intend to promote the event? Is there a specific local network of friends, family, professional colleagues that you will mobilize to come to the event? How do you plan to let them know and how many do you expect to attend? Do you plan to promote the event on social media? Please provide any relevant details about your social media presence as well as your social media handles.
*If your publisher is not one of those with whom we regularly do business (i.e. one of those with a sales rep who visits the store regularly) there are likely costs associated with obtaining your book for an event and returning any unsold copies. If this is the case, you may be required to pay a $25 shipping/restocking fee. Also, if your publisher does not offer sufficient discount to indie bookstores, or cannot provide books on a fully returnable basis, it may not be financially feasible for us to hold an event. For events at which the author is supplying books personally, our terms are a standard 60-40 consignment split, and the author supplies the store with two no-charge display copies and takes unsold copies back after the event.
A Note on Promotion:
Our event promotion includes:
Inclusion in our newsletter that goes out to over 6,000 customers
Posts on our social media accounts; Facebook and Instagram (let us know your social media handles so we can tag you!)
Listing on our Store Website and Events Calendar
Press Releases when appropriate
Front table book placement with event information
While we do as much as we can to promote each event we have at the store, there is only so much we can do to reach out to people. Your biggest asset in promoting events are your connections. We ask that event hosts promote across their networks by doing the following:
Posts on your social media accounts (please tag us!) and direct your fans to our Eventbrite ticket page for your event
Instagram: @riverstonebookstore
Refer all email/social media mentions back to the bookstore website’s event page
Please send an email or contact your network through phone calls, or any other means you think would garner the best audience. The success of your event is important to us, but we cannot get people here on our own. The more people you tell, the more it spreads, so share, share, share!
Event FAQ:
How do I attend?
In-store events are free and open to the public. To join the signing line, please purchase a copy of the author’s new book from Riverstone Books.
Off-site events require a ticket, which usually include the new book. The cost is dependent on the cost of the book.
Can I get my book from home signed?
A purchase from Riverstone Books is required to join the signing line; additional books from home of older titles can be signed at the discretion of the author.
Can I get a photo with the author?
Those guidelines are determined by the author and the publisher, so check each event for specifics.
What is a signing line number?
The order in which you purchase your book/ticket determines the order of the signing line. This reserved place is indicated on your signing line ticket or as a “seat number” for tickets. This means that you don’t need to arrive early to reserve a space!
