The Current State of Book Launch Parties

Big Five publishers are also looking for authors to have bought-in audiences follow them already in the form of large social media followings, or a widely-read fanfiction with a following.

Self-published authors don’t have access to these resources, but they can still make a splash and stand out in a crowded market. There are tons of explainers online for how to budget your book marketing and throw a creative book launch event. 

Whether you publish with a company or self-publish, getting involved in the planning of your own book launch is an experience for many authors. I spoke to some of the brilliant published authors in the Book Riot contributor community, and they all made contact with their local independent bookstores to help plan their events. CJ Connor helped start the conversation with their local bookstore for the launch of Board to Death. “My publicist helped with logistics (like making sure the store had enough copies for event) and brainstorming activity ideas,” they said. At the event, attendees participated in the Nertz tournament.

Steph Auteri, author of A Dirty Word, also worked with an independent publisher and worked to get the conversation going with her local independent bookstore. She also reached out to Emily Nagoski to attend, and worked to make the event feel more special and tailored to her book. She baked and provided customized swag as well: “I had some merch that I’d had done up myself, too: bookmarks to match the book cover, and stickers I’d had printed up after I commissioned some artwork from a favorite illustrator.”

Isabelle Popp, author of Let’s Give ‘Em Pumpkin to Talk About, has also worked directly with the locations for her book events: “For all of the events I am planning with bookstores, I visited in person to discuss what was possible and followed up with events staff. My publisher has not been involved in the planning.” She’s been able to make connections and set up events that work for her, and she theorized that the events are not always a priority for publishers because of financial. “Between the cost of transportation and accommodation, plus any bonus swag authors provide, they’re not money-making ventures in the short term. They may build loyalty and goodwill among readers, which is both important and hard to quantify.”

Bookstore event planners also have to field tons of requests for book launches, both from publishers and self-published authors, but they are most likely to respond to people with whom they have existing relationships. They want successful book events as much as the authors, so they’re clearly receptive to innovative event styles.

Outside of bookstores, restaurant-based events are perennially trendy. Chelsea Fagan, a self-published author, hosted her book launch event (with a rom-com trivia competition that my sister won) for The High Dive at a restaurant/event space. Indie publisher 831 Stories similarly chose to have their launch event for Set Piece by Lana Schwartz at a Brooklyn wine bar.

What Does This Mean for Authors in the Future?

In the discussion about planning author events in r/publishing on Reddit, there are some disagreements about who ends up doing most of the work, even when there’s a publisher involved. Some authors complain that the publishers do nothing, while publishing employees jump in to explain how much work publicity departments have to handle. Overall, it’s hard to pin fault on any specific person, given the landscape of the industry. Publishing was already a difficult industry, and layoffs are running through publishers of all sizes, meaning teams that already work to serve a lot of authors are even more overwhelmed.

How much an author wants to be involved in their own launch is a matter of choice. Though there’s a wealth of resources online for planning, budgeting, and throwing your own launch party, not all writers have the time or desire to operate as independent media businesses. Many working authors juggle their work with an existing full-time job or a lot of freelance work on top of their book. Advances aren’t usually large enough to sustain the cost of living, unless an author is already famous. Self-published authors have an entirely different set of challenges. Though there are a number of success stories for entirely independent authors, they have to invest a fair amount of money, time, and energy to get their fandoms off the ground.

Again, this is not to point the finger at anyone in particular. The book industry is under a lot of competing pressures right now. The trend in the industry for the past several years has been for authors to be extremely skilled at self-promotion, something self-published authors pioneered. If you can’t attend a launch event for an author, requesting the book from your local library, buying it from your local bookstore, or posting a positive review are good ways to support them.

If you’re interested in attending more book launch parties for the second half of 2025, check out the most anticipated of 2025 list.