As I take a much needed mental break in a quiet corner of the conference center at ALA 2026 in Chicago, I’m contemplating which of my authors I’ll recommend for next year.

This is only my second year in attendance, and my first as a solopreneur. Last year, I was graciously invited to attend with one of my publishers and professional allies, Broad Book Group, to help man their booth. This year, I’m a free agent navigating the crowded aisles and completing lap after lap around the exhibit floor.

For those unfamiliar with the conference, the American Library Association (ALA) puts on a huge conference for libraries each year for one weekend in a different major city. Last year, it hit Philadelphia. This year, Chicago. Next year, New Orleans. It’s attended by librarians, authors, booksellers, educators, students, publishing professionals, trade publications, and more, but the target audience is made up of librarians and educators. It hosts a number of events, panels, talks, and workshops related to the library sciences, but the biggest draw is the exhibit floor.

The exhibit floor is the whole reason to attend ALA.

Every year, ALA floods the biggest conference hall the city can provide and sets up hundreds of booths for authors and publishers to tout their frontlists. It’s a maze of colorful displays, author signings, bookish paraphernalia, and, of course, books. Stacks and stacks of books. For free. Hence the plethora of branded totes, suitcases, and a booth run by USPS to help ship your haul home.

The Short Answer

Is ALA worth it? If you’re a reader and lover of books, it’s a resounding yes.

For around $200 (travel, lodging, and food not included), attendees have access to the grand exhibit hall and can load up on as much merch and advanced reader copies (ARCs) as their arms can carry. Last year, because ALA was hosted by my city, I wrangled just under ten full to bursting tote bags in a little over two days. This year, I’m having to be more selective and am limiting myself to two since I’ll have to pay to ship them home (still cheaper than paying for an extra carry-on, which most attendees do).

As a publishing professional and bibliophile, I have more than made up for the cost of the ticket with free books and client networking.

Should You Get a Booth?

This is the big question I hope to help answer for my authors out there.

The popular genres represented at ALA are children’s, middle grade, graphic novels, YA, and adult fiction. This makes sense as they’re the genres most library patrons are devouring on a regular basis. That being said, there are tables and booths run by nonfiction publishers, artists, zine makers, and authors of all genres. They even have a whole part of the hall dedicated to “Artist Alley” and “Indie Publishers.”

The indie authors lining the tables along the wall of the hall have their books featured prominently and typically offer them for sale unlike the bigger publishers. This makes sense because the author has the cover the costs of printing and lugging their copies to the conference along with the attendance and booth fees (anywhere from $500-3k). They tend to get fewer visitors to their corners and have to work much harder for interactions with attendees.

For Authors Considering a Booth

If you’re an introvert, I do not recommend a booth.

While attendees can zip in and out of crowds, avoiding eye contact and darting up to tables to nab books, those attached to a booth have a lot of smiling and self-promotion ahead of them.

For authors with publishers in attendance, you can ask them to put your book out and even get them to set up a signing on your behalf. Your work is then to smile and sign books while a line of interested librarians snake around the exhibits.

For the brave DIY authors out there, I would recommend printing some swag that you can hand out in lieu of a book if you’re not able to give them out for free. Bookmarks, stickers, and pins do especially well while other authors have had luck selling illustration prints and offering raffles. If you’re able to afford seeding your book for free consideration with the library market, I recommend anywhere from 30-60 books depending on how well your genre fits the bill. Make sure to smile, set up for browsing, and have an elevator pitch at the ready.

BAlso, bring a couple tote bags and allow yourself browsing breaks. A massive water bottle for hydration would not be amiss either.

With so much to see and do, will I see you next year at ALA? Who knows, maybe I’ll be at the booth next to you.