Random House Canada and McClelland & Stewart announced this week a new business and marketing initiative. Speakers House Canada will act as a national agency to book speaking appearances for their authors.
While Random House and McClelland & Stewart have always promoted bookstore tours for publicity, they are now booking paid speaking events. Speakers House will replace booking agents and allow authors to market their published work even after a book launch.
According to Random House, it was getting overwhelmed with offers for authors to speak at special events and conventions. “The requests were coming in fast and furious,” said Constance MacKenzie, senior marketing director. Most of the writers didn’t have the time to sift through the requests and many didn’t have booking agents to do it for them, said MacKenzie.
Creating internal infrastructure to capitalize on this opportunity for additional revenues and increased marketing was a no-brainer, she added. “Now we can go out and pursue and market new speaking engagements.” It will also be an opportunity for new authors to build their brand and create buzz about their books. “It’s taking an author and creating a brand,” MacKenzie said.
The goal for Speakers House Canada is to entice event guests to become readers of the speaker’s current book and back catalogue.
Speakers House Canada currently has a roster of 12 authors, including designer Debbie Travis and corporate coach Lyman MacInnis.
