Dinner At The Kid's Table
Author Information
The Dinner at the Kid's Table event is a member favorite and brings a rapt audience of approximately 170 booksellers and librarians eager to learn about new children’s books their customers will love.
This event features four authors who each have up to fifteen minutes to discuss their book, writing or illustration process, inspiration, or any other topics you think will be interesting to the audience and make them want to order and hand-sell your book. A buffet dinner will be served, and attendees will dine while they listen.
The emcee for the Dinner at the Kids’ Table will meet with the authors at 6:30 p.m. to finalize the order of speaking, to confirm name pronunciations, to set up A/V as needed, to clarify any details that authors do not want included in their introductions, and to emphasize the fifteen-minute limit for speakers. The emcee will act as timekeeper and will give you a sign if you approach your time limit.
The hotel staff will begin serving the buffet at 6:45 p.m. Authors are encouraged to bring a companion to the event—please provide your guest’s name and meal preference when you so we can include their free show badge and dinner ticket with yours. Authors and their guests will go through the buffet line first, and then attendees will be served. By 7:15, the emcee will welcome everyone to the event, make a few announcements, and begin introducing the authors.
The emphasis of your talk should be to convey to the booksellers something that will pique their interest, enticing them to (1) read the book, (2) stock it in their stores, and (3) hand-sell the book to customers. You are welcome to prepare a PowerPoint or other visual presentation. Please let your emcee know at 6:30 if you’ll need a projector and provide a flash drive with your presentation. We highly recommend that you not simply read from your book.
The dinner is scheduled to end by 8:15 p.m. As the attendees leave the room, they will pick up a previously signed copy of each author’s book. The next event will begin at 8:30.
Your publisher will have provided at least 150 copies of your book for dinner attendees, and these will need to be signed before the event begins. If you have not pre-signed the books before the publisher ships them to PNBA, you may sign them on-site Friday afternoon in our book storage room at the hotel, or an hour before the event at the event venue. Please let us know in advance if you will need to sign your books on-site and what time you will be available so we can schedule with the appropriate staff.
PNBA will give you and one pre-registered guest tickets to the dinner as well as free badges good for attendance to the entire show. Your badges will provide you with entry to the educational sessions earlier in the day, to the Nightcapper party immediately following dinner, to the exhibits, and to all other PNBA events and parties, except those that require meal tickets. If you (and your guest) would like to attend any of the other meal events at the show, please fill out an Attendee Registration Form, indicating which meals you would like to purchase and for whom they should be held, indicate how you will pay for those tickets, and send the form to PNBA. Your badges and meal tickets will be held under your last name and may be picked up at the PNBA registration desk until it closes at 4:30 p.m. If you are unable to pick them up before 4:30, the emcee will have them for you.
PNBA considers the authors featured at our shows to be our celebrities. Our booksellers need to meet you, hear about your books, and decide which of you to invite to do author events at their stores. Those events are one of the few ways that our member stores can distinguish themselves from online and big-box booksellers—providing their customers with a chance to meet and interact with the actual author in an event that will work well for you. We pledge to treat you as the celebrity you are and to make sure that you have a fun and productive show.
At a Glance
Date: Friday, September 28 at the Courtyard Tacoma Downtown
Show Registration open: 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Time to meet: 6:30 p.m.
Event time: 6:45–8:15 p.m.
Autographing: Friday afternoon at the Murano or one hour before the event at the Courtyard Tacoma Downtown.
Bring: Badge, meal ticket, any props or multimedia you want to use
NOTE that this event (only) will not be held at the Hotel Murano, but at the nearby Courtyard Tacoma Downtown.
This event features four authors who each have up to fifteen minutes to discuss their book, writing or illustration process, inspiration, or any other topics you think will be interesting to the audience and make them want to order and hand-sell your book. A buffet dinner will be served, and attendees will dine while they listen.
The emcee for the Dinner at the Kids’ Table will meet with the authors at 6:30 p.m. to finalize the order of speaking, to confirm name pronunciations, to set up A/V as needed, to clarify any details that authors do not want included in their introductions, and to emphasize the fifteen-minute limit for speakers. The emcee will act as timekeeper and will give you a sign if you approach your time limit.
The hotel staff will begin serving the buffet at 6:45 p.m. Authors are encouraged to bring a companion to the event—please provide your guest’s name and meal preference when you so we can include their free show badge and dinner ticket with yours. Authors and their guests will go through the buffet line first, and then attendees will be served. By 7:15, the emcee will welcome everyone to the event, make a few announcements, and begin introducing the authors.
The emphasis of your talk should be to convey to the booksellers something that will pique their interest, enticing them to (1) read the book, (2) stock it in their stores, and (3) hand-sell the book to customers. You are welcome to prepare a PowerPoint or other visual presentation. Please let your emcee know at 6:30 if you’ll need a projector and provide a flash drive with your presentation. We highly recommend that you not simply read from your book.
The dinner is scheduled to end by 8:15 p.m. As the attendees leave the room, they will pick up a previously signed copy of each author’s book. The next event will begin at 8:30.
Your publisher will have provided at least 150 copies of your book for dinner attendees, and these will need to be signed before the event begins. If you have not pre-signed the books before the publisher ships them to PNBA, you may sign them on-site Friday afternoon in our book storage room at the hotel, or an hour before the event at the event venue. Please let us know in advance if you will need to sign your books on-site and what time you will be available so we can schedule with the appropriate staff.
PNBA will give you and one pre-registered guest tickets to the dinner as well as free badges good for attendance to the entire show. Your badges will provide you with entry to the educational sessions earlier in the day, to the Nightcapper party immediately following dinner, to the exhibits, and to all other PNBA events and parties, except those that require meal tickets. If you (and your guest) would like to attend any of the other meal events at the show, please fill out an Attendee Registration Form, indicating which meals you would like to purchase and for whom they should be held, indicate how you will pay for those tickets, and send the form to PNBA. Your badges and meal tickets will be held under your last name and may be picked up at the PNBA registration desk until it closes at 4:30 p.m. If you are unable to pick them up before 4:30, the emcee will have them for you.
PNBA considers the authors featured at our shows to be our celebrities. Our booksellers need to meet you, hear about your books, and decide which of you to invite to do author events at their stores. Those events are one of the few ways that our member stores can distinguish themselves from online and big-box booksellers—providing their customers with a chance to meet and interact with the actual author in an event that will work well for you. We pledge to treat you as the celebrity you are and to make sure that you have a fun and productive show.
At a Glance
Date: Friday, September 28 at the Courtyard Tacoma Downtown
Show Registration open: 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Time to meet: 6:30 p.m.
Event time: 6:45–8:15 p.m.
Autographing: Friday afternoon at the Murano or one hour before the event at the Courtyard Tacoma Downtown.
Bring: Badge, meal ticket, any props or multimedia you want to use
NOTE that this event (only) will not be held at the Hotel Murano, but at the nearby Courtyard Tacoma Downtown.