Author Promotions Toolkit

Conferences and Events

Academic Conferences

UC Press attends and exhibits at many major academic conferences to promote our books. To learn more about our conference exhibit plans, please reach out to our Author Marketing Communications Manager.

Participating in academic conferences is a key part of book promotions. In addition to speaking at the conference, you can promote your book by:

• Letting us know about your conference session, so that we can help promote
• Distributing your promotional book flier at the conference
• Sharing your session details on Twitter and encouraging folks to attend
• Sharing details about your book and your discount code using the conference hashtag
• Posting a selfie with your book at the conference
• Include the conference hashtag and tag @ucpress in any tweets about your book

Academic Talks and Book Parties

If you would like to celebrate the publication of your book, ask a friend or colleague to host a private event. If you are affiliated with an academic institution, see if your department can host a book launch or talk. Leverage your professional network to secure invitations to give lectures at universities or on college campuses (in-person or virtually). Consider speaking at an academic conference, as well, or perhaps there are special-interest groups that align with your topic.

Please review our author ordering instructions for in-person events. We recommend scheduling any in-person events at least two weeks after the official pub date to ensure you’ll have copies available. Make sure to include a link to your book in any event promotions and encourage attendees to order.

While you are responsible for making arrangements for these types of talks, your publicist would be happy to work with you on options for book sales. We can also promote any engagements through our UC Press social media channels.

Events at Bookstores and Public Venues

There is often tremendous competition to get on bookstore or public lecture venue calendars. Event coordinators assess many factors when considering an event, including whether you will draw an audience, and if they will sell enough copies to justify the overhead.

For scholarly authors: We do not recommend pursuing bookstore events unless you have a relationship with the bookstore or you can guarantee substantial attendance. The discount on your book may be prohibitive to bookstores, since it is priced for an audience of students, faculty, and scholars. Instead, focus on outreach that introduces your scholarship to your core academic community.

For our trade or academic trade authors: Your publicist will discuss options for strategic event planning, taking into account various factors, including the audience for the topic and the marketing and publicity plans for your book. Your publicist will assist with the event pitching if event outreach is part of the campaign.

Have more questions about book events? Check out our FAQs page.