Why Exhibit?
Great Location: The Stryker Center and The Williamsburg Community Building
The 2022 Festival is in the Stryker Center and The Williamsburg Community Building at City Square ( adjacent to the Williamsburg Regional Library and across the street from the Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance building). Both locations have a large open exhibit area with plenty of natural light. The Stryker Center has a separate meeting room for workshops and panels throughout the day that add to the festival's offerings.
Heavy Foot Traffic from An Occasion for the Arts & Colonial Williamsburg
During the Book Festival, An Occasion for the Arts is also drawing crowds nearby. It is THE arts event for the year and stretches from Duke of Gloucester Street to Prince George Street. This will put the Book Festival a block and a half from An Occasion for the Arts and tourists from Colonial Williamsburg. We benefit from the additional foot traffic as it is easy access for Book Festival people and for An Occasion for the Arts people -- without looking overcrowded and discouraging some potential attendees.
The Application Process
1. The Application Window
Because of the demand to participate and to ensure a diversity of subjects, we will jury the selection of genres and books. The selection process strives to ensure a diverse offering of genres and subject matter along with high quality books from emerging and established authors. Our application window typically runs from late March to late May. The 2022 application window is closed.
Here are the steps to apply:
Authors: Please note the 2022 Application window is closed. Please check back in March 2023 to apply for the 2023 Festival.
Submit An Application To Participate.
First Time Exhibitors must submit a copy of at least one of your books for review by the selection committee. Application deadline May 25, 2022.
Mail to: Williamsburg Book Festival, PO Box 114, Williamsburg, VA 23187
All books received with applications will be donated. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Returning authors do not need to submit a book.
Publishers:
Submit A Publisher Application.
If you are a new publisher exhibiting with us, please include a link to your website when requesting the publisher's application and send us a book to be juried.
Publishers will be notified of acceptance to exhibit at the festival similar to the author process.
2. Author & Publisher Invitations
Invitations will be extended to selected authors and publishers in late July.
Please remember that if you are not invited to participate this year, the selection is heavily based on providing a wide variety of books. For example: There could be many science fiction, children's books, or historical novels submitted, so that may affect the competition for authors in a particular genre. We will not know until all the applications are in. This is NOT a reflection on the author. It is a process to present a multi-genre book festival.
3. Author & Publisher Registration Payments Due August 31
All payments are due no later than August 31, 2022. Please do not purchase a table unless you have been invited to exhibit.
Our registrations fees are as follows:
Author - Inside space (one author only) $60 - includes a table rental
Author - Outside Space Fee $45, may be split at a cost of $25 each.
Authors wanting an outside space will need to provide their own table, chairs, and if shade is wanted, pop up.
Publishers Fee - $100. All publishers will be placed outside under the portico and on the lawn.
Just as with the outdoor authors, publishers will need to provide their own table and pop up if they would like a pop up for shade.
Pop Ups should be properly weighted in case of inclement weather or wind the day of the festival.
Payments may be submitted via PayPal. We will post the payment link after authors and publishers have been notified of their selection to exhibit at the festival.
4. Book Sales
Authors & publishers will be responsible for providing their inventory, selling their books, and paying their sales tax.
Some Smartphone and tablet applications, like PayPal, Intuit, or Square, make taking credit cards easier.
The retail sales tax for Williamsburg is 7%. (For more information on collecting and reporting sales tax: http://www.tax.virginia.gov/site.cfm?alias=SalesUseT) For questions concerning sales tax, please see your accountant. Form ST-50a
Last year's Festival was a great success. The Festival aims to build its audience and reputation for showcasing variety and quality in exhibting authors and books.
Subscribe to Our Emails to Stay Up-to-Date
Receive announcements regarding the 2022 Williamsburg Book Festival in your inbox.