You all know the envy; all of your friends are meeting and having their favorite authors sign their books, whether it's at Apollycon, RARE, YALLFEST, YALLWEST, Texas Book Festival, NOLA Storycon, or any other author event and you have major FOMO. But you just couldn't swing it this time. OR.. all of your bookish friends that live in New York or some other heavily populated city get to go to book signings all the time but nobody ever comes to your middle of nowhere hometown. You'd love the latest Sarah J. Maas (or whoever the case may be) book signed but you can't make it to a signing.
You could ask a friend to buy you a copy, but what if they forget? What if they get sick and miss the signing? What if there's a massive Krispy Kreme pile-up on 5th Avenue and they get sidetracked??? Today I'm letting you in on the secret of how I have amassed so many signed books without ever attending an author event (except my own) and where you too can order signed books for yourself.
1. Good Choice Reading Virtual Signings
Good Choice Reading is a blog run by Damaris Cardinali who host tons of virtual signings for popular YA Authors. How it works: You order a book from their blog, pay through PayPal, when the book comes out Damaris meets with the authors who then sign the books and then in the next few days after being signed your book is on its way to you! Good Choice Reading's Virtual Signings are open internationally and you can get the book personalized to you!
Current Virtual Signings:
- The Wicked King (and The Cruel Prince) by Holly Black
- Shatter Me (and others) by Tahereh Mafi
- Speak (and others) by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (and Forest of a Thousand Lanterns) by Julie C. Dao
- Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare
- The Art of Losing by Lizzy Mason
2. Apollycon Virtual Signing
Similar to Good Choice Reading, the Apollycon Virtual Signing is open from September 1st, 2018 through January 15, 2019 with over 100 participating authors! Apollycon is an annual event occurring toward the end of March each year, so when you order from the virtual signing please note that you won't get your signed books until after the event in March 2019! This is a great way to spend your Christmas money!
Some Authors Participating This Year:
Sarah J. Maas
Wendy Higgins
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Cora Carmack
Colleen Houck
Elise Kova
Kami Garcia
Katie McGarry
3. Books of Wonder
Books of Wonder is an independent children's bookstore in New York City that hosts tons of author signings. You can preorder signed books ahead of release that will be signed at their author events then shipped to you or you can select an already released signed book from their online inventory which will be shipped to you right away. They also have a great selection of Middle Grade and Picture Books for younger children! How to know if a book is signed? On the book page it will say: "signed by."
Some of their Signed Preorders:
- Black Wings Beating by Alex London
- What If It's Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli
- The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
- Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand
4. Book People
Book People is an independent bookstore in Austin, Texas and while they have a smaller selection of signed books than Books of Wonder, they're super friendly and they ship quickly.
5. Powell's Books
Powell's Books calls itself the world's largest independent bookstore and they also hold a bunch of signing events, not only for YA genres but a broad spectrum of genres!
6. Author Websites
Sometimes authors, usually indie authors will sell signed copies of their books directly on their websites. Those that don't might point you in the direction of where you can find signed books by them, usually directing you to contact their local booksellers who will be happy to ship to you.
Indie Authors Who Sell Books On Their Websites:
- D. Kelly
7. Waterstones
Waterstones is a bookstore in the UK and of course they have a section of books that are special editions and signed copies. This is a great option if you want those awesome UK covers. I'm pretty sure that they ship to the US.
8. Barnes and Noble
Barnes and Noble has a new section for signed books on their website.
***Also, if you see an author post their book tour schedule on twitter, you could always contact a specific store and see if you can order a copy by phone to be signed and personalized by the author when on their tour stop.***
Do you have any signed books? Have you met some of your favorite authors or do you order from virtual signings like me?
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