5 tips to maximise your chances of being a guest at writers’ festivals

It's not easy to find yourself on the invitation list of literary festivals, but here are some ideas worth trying.
Writers' festivals. A tiny papercut man in black holding up a page of a book.

So you’ve written a book or two and tried your best to promote it through your own marketing channels. There’s no doubt, however, that being invited to a writers’ festival will place you in the spotlight, all the better to expose your work to a wider network of readers. But we all know how difficult it is to land one of those coveted spots on a program; there are many authors and limited room. But here are some tips that may help improve your chances.

Time and money permitting, make sure you attend writers’ festivals yourself. Be seen on the book circuit; swan around and meet people. This is where the litterati assemble and you may run into people on programming committees or book influencers of various stripes. By supporting other authors you are not only being a good literary citizen, but you are also showing your commitment to being an active participator in this close-knit industry.

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Thuy On is the Reviews and Literary Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the Books Editor of The Big Issue for 8 years and a former Melbourne theatre critic correspondent for The Australian. Her debut, a collection of poetry called Turbulence, came out in 2020 and was released by University of Western Australia Publishing (UWAP). Her second collection, Decadence, was published in July 2022, also by UWAP. Her third book, Essence, will be published in 2025. Threads: @thuy_on123 Instagram: poemsbythuy