What do you envision when you think about publishing a book? One of the moments I had in mind was a book launch party 🎉. The event that would mark the culmination of years of hard work. The opportunity finally to present something tangible to friends and family - an event to say, “This is my book 📖 . This is what I’ve been working on for the past x years - it’s real!”

Over the months I did lots of google searching, “How to have a book launch.”

My debut novel, A Murder for Miss Hortense, was published in the US on 10th June and in the UK on 12th June 2025. Here are my tips based on the launch event I did for 📕 A Murder for Miss Hortense.

To have a book launch event or not? Should I go for it?

If you are umming and ahhing I’d say just do it particularly if it’s your debut. When I expressed my doubts, friends reminded me that “You’ll never be a debut again”, “When else are you going to have a party?”

It’s an opportunity to celebrate all your hard work and finally bring all your friends and family into your world.

Who is going to organise it?

You! Probably…My sense from speaking to other debut authors is that generally this is a space where the author can / is expected to take control - i.e. don’t expect someone else to throw a lavish party for you (that tends to only happen in the movies!).

Venue?

If you're traditionally published, ask if your publishers have a list of venues they have worked with before. They may also be willing to make a contribution towards drinks/ nibbles😜.

Many venues, particularly bookshops and libraries, will let you have the space for free.

I had my book launch at Waterstones in Trafalgar Square because it had a particular resonance for me. It’s a great space with lovely staff who were willing to give up their evening to provide support - thank you Emma and team! If you have a dream location don’t be afraid to ask if you can use it, particularly if you have a story/ connection to the venue/ area - the worst they can do is say no and you will have put your book on their radar.

Then there are the practicalities:

How many people do you invite - Don’t make my mistake of inviting lots of people before knowing how many the venue provider will tolerate!
Who will you invite - family, day job colleagues, writing family, old friends from school - I invited a broad spectrum.
Can I /will I bring the dog? - oh yes!
What will I wear - full on princess gear - oh yes!
Will I provide food and if so who will make it and bring it? I spent ages mulling over this. I don’t think on reflection it’s that important. If people want to eat the usual shops/ restaurants/ supermarkets that sell food still exist!
Will there be a statement cake or specially designed cupcakes?
Will there be other paraphernalia - custom made t-shirts, bookmarks, key rings, stands - it’s really easy to get the book cover on all sorts of items.
The speech - what will you say? Can the acknowledgements page of your book help you?

Have tissues to hand - yes I did cry a bit.
Bring mints as you’ll be speaking to lots of people 😜.

Various items with the front cover of A Murder for Miss Hortense on

What to prepare in advance/ bring…

Get a notebook for guests to sign as you sign their books - it’s a great keepsake - I got one specially designed with my book cover on the front.

Signing A Murder for Miss Hortense and a Notebook for Guests to sign

Music/Playlist: I spent ages collating music that inspired the book- it was great to hear guests say “I haven’t heard these tunes in years!” The music created a lovely vibe.

Bring your favourite pen and ink cartridges and get practising your (non- chequebook!) signature - it might be the first time you start using it ✍️.

Think about special thank you cards/ gifts for people/ goody bags for any kids attending.

Logistics - plates, cutlery, cake knife, things to dress the table with - I got some fresh roses from a flower stall local to the venue. My publisher provided large standing cut outs of Miss Hortense.

I’m so pleased at the last minute I got some statement nails done after I’d seen lots of my fellow debuts get them. I used the colour scheme of my book and the dominoes theme. I milked them for weeks afterwards. They were a talking point when signing books and provided great content for social media or promoting others’ books.

Delegate: Give friends and family jobs

Photos: A ✍️ writer friend whose book was launched earlier this year said she forgot to take photos at her launch so I put my son in charge of photos and gave him a brief on the sorts of shots I wanted. He did a great job and I’ve got beautiful memories of an event that flew past and was a bit of a blur on the night.
Newsletter signups: I put one of my best friends in charge of getting signups to my newsletter (she did a brilliant job getting at least fifty new signups). I would have forgotten to ask guests otherwise. Ps you can still sign up at Melpennant.com
Food 🍱 / cakes 🍰 / sweets 🍬prep: Have Someone in charge of dealing with food/ cutting up cakes, pouring drinks.
Choreography/ timekeeping ⏰: have people around who can choreograph the event - my agent and editor did this for me - directing me to areas where I could mingle and keeping track of time.

The Realities of the Book Launch - Stuff will Probably go Wrong

For mine the statement cake, that I’d spent hours thinking about/ doing intel on, dropped on the way to the venue. It was totally destroyed. I didn’t even see a crumb of it! But it was fine. I’d made a rum cake to bring anyway. It took centre stage. No stress.

People will contact you very last minute to say suddenly they can’t make it. Don’t panic! Everyone who is meant to attend will be there. Plan that if you have 100 acceptances only 60 may turn up. No stress.

My final takeaways

My experience is there will be a lot of love ❤️ in the room. My launch event flew by and I loved it. Planning did pay off but attendees were primarily there to share in the success and glow of the book and not to judge the quality of the crisps. I didn’t get to speak to everybody, but was thrilled that so many people went out of their way to make time for me. It was just a beautiful way to kick start the next part of A Murder for Miss Hortense’s journey.

How to have a successful book launch 🚀

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