Ask Me Anything: Starting a Book Festival

Starting a book festival is a long-standing dream a lot of booksellers share, but the workload, logistics, and community outreach can make it seem impossible. But Kirsten Hess, NAIBA Board member and owner of The End: A Bookstore, didn't let anything stop her. She created the Lehigh Valley Book Festival in 2019 as way of connecting her community and it's been going strong ever since, bringing in authors and readers to a vibrant multi-day event. In this month's ASK ME ANYTHING she opens the floor to questions about the process from booking authors to every aspect of logistics--the floor's open!

ABOUT THE SERIES: One of our most popular features at 2025's NVNR Conference was our ASK ME ANYTHING table, and in order to keep these great conversations going year-round, we’ve decided to make it a monthly program! Join our board members for informational sessions designed to answer your questions and provide an open forum for discussing and sharing best practices.