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Book Event Safety for Authors

How can authors protect themselves from harassment when planning book events?

Are you participating in book events and worried about safety?

Below are steps you can take to

✅ Talk about safety early.

  • Communicate with event organizers and your publishing team (as relevant) about safety as early as possible and throughout the planning process.
    • Share your safety questions, concerns, and any relevant past experiences. 
    • Ask about safety practices and forms of support that are available—especially if there is something specific that you want to see put in place.
    • If it’s useful, share the Book Events Safety Checklist as a way to start a conversation with event organizers and/or your publisher.
      • Here’s a sample text: “I have some security concerns because of XYZ and I want to make sure that we’re taking steps to be ready if anything comes up. I’m especially concerned about  ABC. Here’s a document we can use as a starting point.”

✅ Review event organizers’ safety practices.

  • Check in with yourself and share your safety needs and concerns.
    • What helps you to feel grounded or safe? [Eg: Maybe you find having access to a private space or green room useful]
    • What are your boundaries? [Eg: Maybe you are only comfortable signing books and not other objects or surfaces]
    • Do the organizers’ safety practices address your concerns? [Eg: What will organizers do if there is real-time harassment, such as a disruptive heckler?]
    • Share this with the venue as you discuss safety plans.
  • Gather your support system.
    • Reach out local allies (people, groups, or organizations) that could help you feel safe and supported.

✅ Document and report harassment or threats.

  • If you receive harassment or threats, be sure to document them and share them with event organizers and your publishing team, if you have one. 
  • If you have filters set up on your email or social media accounts to sequester harassment (more on that here), it is best practice for you or someone you trust to review any messages that have been quarantined before events.
  • Here is a sample protocol for how to deal with online harassment.

✅ Take charge of your digital footprint.

  • Take time to bolster your digital safety and security.
  • Minimize how much personal information you share.
    • Remove location tags from social media posts and disable location sharing.
    • Do not post about being at a specific location (eg, airport orhotel) until you have left.
    • Do not post detailed location or event information in your automatic email responder when traveling.
  • Use social media settings and email tools to combat harassment.
    • Consider adding settings to automatically block certain words from your comments.
  • A Google Alert, though not comprehensive, can be a helpful tool for monitoring mentions of you, your work, or your upcoming book event online.

✅ Travel safely.

  • Tap into local networks.
    • If you are traveling for an event and concerned about safety, reach out to find an ally who can meet you.
  • Be aware of your surroundings and mindful of where you have sensitive conversations.
  • While at your hotel, if someone appears to be following you, do not go to your room. If you are in the elevator with someone who makes you feel uncomfortable, get off at a floor different from your own.
  • Additional considerations:
    • If you’re concerned about driving your own vehicle to an event, consider carpooling with friends, booking a rental car or using a rideshare app (and share app tracking info with a trusted person). You can also ask a member of the venue to escort you to the vehicle.
    • Book into hotels with an alias and ask that calls not be forwarded to your room.
    • Research local legislation and how it might impact your safety plan. For instance, are you in an open carry state? Does your venue have policies to address this?
    • Check to see that the venue has designated private spaces, with signs, where visitors (including ICE) will need permission to enter.
    • If you are traveling across international borders, this guide from Freedom of the Press Foundation has useful guidance on device security.

✅ Do a walkthrough of the space.

  • Ask event organizers to give you a walkthrough of the space. Identify:
    • Exits and bathrooms
    • A private space or greenroom
    • The shortest path between the stage/presentation area and the greenroom
  • Raise other accessibility needs as relevant.
  • Review which event staff you can turn to if the event is disrupted and how you can contact them (eg, will there be someone within eyesight, will there be a Signal chat, etc).
  • If it is helpful, ask to practice running through a few contingency plans so that you feel confident about what will happen if the event is disrupted.

🦺 Trust your gut.

  • If you have a heckler or disruptor at your event, try to stay calm. By grounding yourself, you will be better able to assess a situation and respond.
  • If something at an event causes you to be concerned for your physical safety, let organizers know immediately.
  • Take care of yourself and allow event organizers to manage the audience.

✅ Debrief and take care.

  • Set aside time after an event, whether alone or with event organizers, to reflect on how the event went and whether your safety practices were effective.
  • Revise your safety practices as needed.
  • If you experienced harassment or your event was targeted, remember that it’s not your fault. Targeted harassment campaigns can be overwhelming and difficult to manage.
    • Create distance between yourself and the harassment in whatever way serves you best – whether it’s going on a walk, taking deep breaths, or only checking your email or social media during a designated, intentional time.
    • The Free Mindfulness Project shares free-to-use exercises online.
  • Reach out to your support system. Peer groups like Authors Against Book Bans can be useful spaces to connect with other authors with shared experiences.

Stories connect us to each other, and they are one of the greatest forms of human interrelatedness that we have ever created. I know it can be scary, just understand the importance of your stories and the importance of sharing those stories with each other.

Samira Ahmed

This checklist collects guidance that was shared by Samira Ahmed from Authors Against Book Bans, Philomena Polefrone from the American Booksellers Association, and Yemile Bucay from PEN America, in a public panel on May 20, 2025.