Submit an event

Are you interested in hosting an event with Indy Reads? All event requests must be received at least six weeks prior to the proposed event date. We are looking forward to working with you!

Types of Events We Host

Public events
- Author events (separate form required at the bottom of this page)
- Book releases, signings, and readings
- Literary events
- Educational events
Private events
- A private event not open to all members of the public requires that the store be closed or it must be held outside of normal store hours, and there is a charge for the use of the space.

For Author events (readings and signings promoting a book), please read the guidelines below this form and submit a “Host an Author Event” proposal.

For all other events, please include all of the following information:

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Is this a public or private event?(Required)

Public

Private

First preferred date and time(Required)

Second preferred date and time

Third preferred date and time

How many attendees do you expect?

How does your event connect to Indy Reads' mission?(Required)

Is there anything else we should know about this event?

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Name

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Indy Reads is a central Indiana nonprofit that builds literacy, English language, and job readiness skills to empower adults and families to reach their full potential.

In pursuit of our vision of 100% literacy for all, Indy Reads’ staff and volunteers’ partner with our adult learners to help build the literacy and language skills they need to participate in their community, support their children’s education, earn their HSE diplomas, enter job training programs, and obtain national industry-recognized job certifications.

Our mission is supported by donations and purchases in our community bookstore.

Thank you for considering Indy Reads’ community bookstore to host your author event! To ensure a successful event for both authors and Indy Reads, and because events require considerable labor, we ask that you submit the form proposal as outlined below. Indy Reads receives more event requests than we can host, and your proposal helps us determine if this event is a good fit for our organization. Requests that do not include a formal proposal will not be considered.

To be considered for an Author event, you must provide your books for consignment during your event. (Exceptions for sourcing can be made, but those will be determined on a case-by-case basis.)

There is also an industry-standard cooperative advertising fee (co-op), which supports staffing, venue costs, and inclusion in our marketing materials that will need to be covered by a publisher or the author. Indy Reads has a $150 event charge for a standard 2-hour event. To reduce the burden of this cost from the author/publishers, the sale of all Pay-What-You-Can tickets and the profit of all author’s books sold during the event will be deducted from the author’s final event charge. After the event has concluded, the author will receive an invoice with the difference they owe.

At this time, our events are primarily hosted during Indy Reads’ community bookstore’s operational hours. Exceptions to hosting an event outside operational hours can be made and will incur an increased event charge of $150 an hour.

We encourage you to promote your event across your network to maximize the value of having your event with us. This can include purchasing online tickets and the author’s book(s) during the event.

*In addition to author events, Indy Reads offers quarterly “Author Expos,” hosted in March, June, September, & December. Space is limited. This is a free event for authors and attendees where multiple authors meet the community and offer signings. Author Expos are a 2-hour author fair. Each author is provided a table, which will be their space to converse, market, and sign their works during the expo. Those interested in participating in an Author Expo must be willing to have their books sold on consignment through Indy Reads. If you are interested in being a featured author during an Author Expo, please contact us at bookstore@indyreads.org.

Author Event Submission

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Phone(Required)

Book Cover Photo or Image(Required)

Accepted file types: jpg, jpeg, heic, hef, png, pdf, Max. file size: 15 MB.

Book Title(Required)

ISBN

Short summary of the book(Required)

Short author bio(Required)

Author's photo(Required)

Accepted file types: jpg, jpeg, heic, heif, pdf, Max. file size: 12 MB.

Why is Indy Reads the ideal location for your event?(Required)

Have you attended author events at Indy Reads in the past? If so, please share which ones.(Required)

If you are new to Indy Reads or from out of town, please share how you heard of our organization.(Required)

What is the planned publicity and outreach for your event, apart from Indy Reads marketing?(Required)

Please share with us what media you have already reached out to / secured. Include the number of email subscribers and social media followers (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, etc.) that you have. How many of your friends and family are you certain will attend your event? (If you predict less than twenty, the author expo will be a better fit for you rather than a single author event.)

Comments

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

$150 Author Fee will cover the following from Indy Reads (check with your publisher; most will cover co-op fees):

Use of one of our event spaces.
Setup and breakdown of chairs, tables, etc.
An experienced Indy Reads’ staff member on hand to provide an introduction and monitor your event.
AV equipment (if required)
Preferred placement of books at the front of the store on the day of your event.
Promotional event post on our social media that reaches 14,000+ people.
Inclusion in our print calendar, our email newsletter, and on our website.
Book sales reported to The New York Times, & the American Booksellers Association.

We will review your proposal and contact you within 30 days. Please note that we reserve the right to edit all event and author descriptions for our print, advertising, email, website, and calendar materials.