Author/speaker
John Naisbitt
On May 2005,
publishing giant HarperCollins set up a speakers bureau to push its
best-selling authors in front of groups; soon after, other
publishers followed suit. Speaking engagements for writers
represent more than just a hefty appearance fee; such appointments
are excellent opportunities for authors to plug their books.
Though meeting planners won’t be
getting a discount by booking through these publisher-run bureaus,
publishers have more sway over the speakers than more general
speaker bureaus. For example, at Penguin Speakers
Bureau (www.penguinspeakersbureau.com), which opened up
shop in June of last year, if an appearance will be good for book
sales but the meeting sponsor can’t afford the speaker fee, Penguin
might recommend that the literary light accept the
gig anyway.
Another reason, says Paul Bogaards,
senior vice president at Knopf, which just launched the
Knopf Speakers Bureau (www.knopfspeakersbureau.com): “We have an intimate
association with the writer, often over the course of many years.
We know more about their books than anyone and can recommend
writers instantly and with confidence.” Of his current roster of
scribes, Bogaards especially lauds Lawrence Wright, author of the
critically acclaimed The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road
to 9/11.
Jacqueline Fischetti, director of the
Penguin Speakers Bureau, recommends erudite commentator and
novelist Ana Marie Cox, who started the popular Washington,
D.C.-based political and society gossip blog known to insiders as
“The Wonkette.” As for offerings at the HarperCollins
Speakers Bureau (www.harpercollinsspeakersbureau.com), director Jamie
Brickhouse singles out John Naisbitt, author of the mega-selling
Megatrends.