This is the third and final part of a report on book festivals prepared by WAC summer intern Lindsey Grubbs. This segment provides an overview of staffing concerns (who does the work?) and the dicey issue of pay for writers. For previous installments, see posts of Aug. 30 and Sept. 9. If you would like a copy of the full report, e-mail me and I’ll send you one.

Most book festivals begin by organizing the substantial workload among existing paid staff of its planning committee. This is particularly true of those run by state humanities councils. In almost every case, this proves to be too much for one or several staff members, who also have other responsibilities. A few festivals have tried to get the event up and running with just one part-time person. You can imagine how difficult that is.

In almost all of the festivals studied, a director was contracted who could devote most of his/her time to the book festival. For many of these festivals, the paid staff member was responsible for general organization. Many of them delegated tasks to volunteers, which were often organized into volunteer councils, each with different areas of concentration.

None of the festivals contacted said that they paid large honoraria to the authors that came to the festival. Many utilized local talent, enlisting authors who live within a reasonable driving distance. This reduced travel fees, lodging costs, etc. Some festivals have the policy that they never pay the authors. However, they may encourage other people or organizations in their regions to contact authors that they would like to see, and do not discourage separate organization or groups from paying an author to appear.

Some festivals do pay the authors. The organizer of the Great Salt Lake Festival said that this was the hardest part of the event because payment is determined on a case-by-case basis. Some of the authors received no payment, while some had only room and board covered, and still others had additional payment on top of this. The GSLBC organizer also said that she tries to find authors already on tour. When this happens, their publishing company will usually pay expenses.

- posted by Michael Shay @ 3:06 PM