Hot Literati
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Host a table

Bring Hot Literati to your city.

Hosting is a table of readers at a bar or wine bar, two hours on a weeknight. Pick one of three formats we already run, list it in a few minutes, and we'll give you everything else: the page, the guest list, check-in and a run of show.

Host a tableHost checklist

What you get

You keep 95% of ticket sales

Paid out to your own Stripe account. Hot Literati keeps 5%. Free events are free to list.

A page that sells for you

Your event gets its own page anyone can open and share, and it shows on the events calendar and your city's page.

Your guest list

Everyone who RSVPs or buys a ticket, in one list. Check people in at the door from your phone, or download it.

Credit when guests join

Once a few of your guests go on to become members, your guest list shows how many.

Three formats, ready to run

Book Swap

2 hours · Free

Bring a book you loved, leave with one you haven't read yet. The easiest one to start with.

Run of show

  1. 7:00Doors. Check people in from your guest list. Books go on one table, face up.
  2. 7:15Welcome, 30 seconds. Who you are, how the swap works.
  3. 7:20A quick round: name, and one sentence on the book you brought.
  4. 7:40Open swap. Everyone takes one book for each book they brought, then keeps talking.
  5. 8:45Last swaps. Take a photo of the table and the room.
  6. 9:00Close. Leftover books go home with you or to a little free library.

Bring

  • — A few spare books of your own, for anyone who forgets
  • — Sticky notes and a pen, so people can leave a line inside the cover
Use this format

Author Night

2 hours · $15 suggested

An evening on one writer: questions drawn from the books, strangers at every table, a short exercise.

Run of show

  1. 7:00Doors. Check people in. Seat people at tables with people they didn't come with.
  2. 7:15Welcome, 30 seconds, then a two-minute intro to the author.
  3. 7:20Question cards on every table. Each table talks through them.
  4. 8:00A ten-minute exercise in the author's spirit. A few people read theirs out.
  5. 8:30Open conversation. Take photos.
  6. 9:00Close. Tell people when the next one is.

Bring

  • — Question cards, 4 or 5 per table, drawn from the books
  • — Pens and paper for the exercise
  • — A copy of one of the books, for the two-minute intro
Use this format

Book Club

2 hours · Free

One book, one table, once a month. The format that turns a room of strangers into regulars.

Run of show

  1. 7:00Arrive, get a drink. Check people in.
  2. 7:15Welcome, 30 seconds. Then a quick round: name and one line on the book.
  3. 7:25Discussion, starting from your three questions.
  4. 8:30Vote on next month's book. Take a group photo.
  5. 9:00Close. List next month's date before people leave.

Bring

  • — Three discussion questions, written down
  • — Two or three picks for next month, so the group can vote
Use this format

Finding a venue

  • —Bars and wine bars work best. Ask for a corner or a back room on a quiet weeknight, and don't pay a rental fee: you're bringing them a full room on a slow night.
  • —Tuesday to Thursday, 7 to 9pm. Late enough for people coming from work, early enough to be home by 10.
  • —Guests buy their own drinks at the bar. That's what the venue gets in return.
  • —Ask for one long table or a few small ones. Avoid anywhere loud enough that people have to shout.
  • —Visit once beforehand at the same time of day, so you know what the room sounds like.

You run your event and you're responsible for the venue and everyone's safety. Hot Literati is where people find it, buy tickets and check in.