Virtual Author Talks for Libraries of All Sizes

Elevating Community Engagement
Through Library Programming

The Library Speakers Consortium is a community of libraries cultivating lifelong learning, cultural understanding, and connection through a wide selection of literary experiences.

We make it easy and affordable to bring authors to your community, and dedicated support from our team makes online author talk programming a breeze! Member libraries get:

  • Conversations with bestselling authors
  • Multiple live events each month
  • On-demand access to past recordings
  • Custom branded microsites
  • Ready-to-use and customizable marketing resources
  • Activity and discussion guides
Request a Demo
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Let's talk about how we can help you bring amazing author talks to your community!
Person taking notes while watching live author talk with Lidia Bastianich and hosted by Brandon Adler on a laptop surrounded by hard cover books from bestselling authors.

1,500+

Member Libraries

30+

Live Events Per Year

24M

Cardholders
Streamline Your Library Programming

How It Works

We create 2-3 livestreamed events per month with bestselling authors, which include interactive Q&A sessions. All events are recorded and available for future showings.

Author talks are streamed through a microsite for each member library that features its own branding. Each event includes all marketing and promotional materials, which helps our member libraries maximize patron engagement. It's turnkey! We do all the work and our member libraries get all the credit!

Books and authors selected will cover a wide range of perspectives and genres including, but not limited to:

  • Literary, contemporary, and historical fiction
  • Romance, fantasy, horror, and science fiction
  • Interesting nonfiction such as memoirs, poetry, business, personal growth, lifestyle, history, art, and culture
A movie camera beside 3 directional arrows pointing to computer monitors depicting libraries streaming our author talks.
Request a Demo
Let's Elevate Your Programming

Why Work with the Library Speakers Consortium?

We are elevating community engagement through innovative literary conversations

We’re on a mission to provide the highest quality author talk programming through a user friendly, customized interface, to help libraries of all sizes provide access for their community members to learn, create, and grow.

We Do the Hard Part

Chances are high that you don’t have time to negotiate with publicists, create new marketing material, run additional weekly events, and manage registrations. We take care of all the heavy lifting for you. Engage your community with only a few hours of staff time per year.

Cost Effective Membership

With membership prices based on your cardholder numbers and unique budget, and with hundreds of libraries already in the consortium, we make your dollars go farther. One annual payment provides access to 2-3 new events with bestselling authors every month of the year.

Broaden your Reach

Your community members can watch the live-streamed events anywhere they have internet access. Recordings of every event are available shortly after the live event is complete. Your patrons can participate in monthly programming regardless of their ability to travel to the library.

Interactive Events

Participants shape the way our conversation with the author will look by submitting questions to the author during registration or during the livestream event itself. Chat with other viewers, participate in polls, or try a draw along exercise with the author!

THE SPEAKERS

Upcoming Author Talks and Our Experience

We are incredibly excited to offer a vibrant mix of bestselling and award winning authors in the coming months on a wide range of interesting topics.

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MAY 2025
On Writing a Brilliant, Dark, and Diabolical Thriller with Author Liann Zhang
Julie Chan is Dead – A Propulsive Debut Thriller

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MAY 2025
How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us with Author Rachelle Bergstein
Lifestyle Writer, Editor, and Bestselling Author of The Genius of Judy

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JUNE 2025
Extinctopedia–A Discovery of What We Have Lost, What is at Risk, and What To Do About it with Smithsonian Scientists
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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JUNE 2025
Explore Unexpected Twists and Turns with Bestselling Author Lisa Jewell
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author of None of This Is True and Then She Was Gone

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JUNE 2025
Living the Otter Life with Katherine Applegate (3rd-6th Grade)
Newbery Medalist and New York Times Bestselling Author

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JULY 2025
Dibuja tu mundo con Raúl the Third (Preescolar a 2.º grado)
Ilustrador, autor y artista, bestseller del New York Times y tres veces ganador del premio Pura Belpre

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JULY 2025
Drawing Your World with Raúl The Third (PK-2nd Grade)
New York Times Bestselling and Three-Time Pura Belpre Award-Winning Illustrator, Author, and Artist

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JULY 2025
Discerning the Truth with Marie Lu (9th-12th Grade)
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author of the Legend trilogy and The Young Elites trilogy

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JULY 2025
Illuminating Hope and Grace in the Face of Hardship with Rex Ogle (5th-8th Grade)
Author of Free Lunch, winner of the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award

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JULY 2025
On the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains with Pria Anand
Neurologist, Author, and Professor of Medicine

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AUGUST 2025
The Stories, Science, and History of Birds with Smithsonian Biologist Jay Falk
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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AUGUST 2025
Returning to Romance Through Food and Flirty Fun in Fiction with Casey McQuiston
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Red, White, & Royal Blue

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AUGUST 2025
How to Thrive in a World of Constant Chaos with Organizational Psychologist Dr. Tasha Eurich
New York Times Bestselling Author and International Keynote Speaker

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SEPTEMBER 2025
On Writing Darkly Charming Villainous Love with Hannah Nicole Maehrer
New York Times Bestselling Author and TikTok Superstar

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SEPTEMBER 2025
Argue Less and Talk More with Communication Expert Jefferson Fisher
New York Times Bestselling Author and Social Media Sensation

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SEPTEMBER 2025
Our Failed Attempts to Make English Eezier to Spell with Author Gabe Henry
Simplified Spelling Historian and Author of Enough is Enuf and Eating Salad Drunk

World-Renowned Authors in our Program

We have many years of experience working with authors and publishers to create amazing online programs. Below is a small sample of the authors our team has hosted in the past to give you an idea of our team’s experience:

24 bestselling author bookcovers, including John Stamos, Jodi Picoult, Liann Zhang, Lisa Jewell, Liane Moriarty, Nina Totenberg, and more.

Our Members

Our member library systems come from 48 states and three countries, serving over 1,500 individual libraries and more than 24 million cardholders. Pictured here is a small sample of our 500 plus member systems.

Montage of 36 logos representing a small number of the more than 500 subscribing members of the Library Speakers Consortium

Don’t Take Our Word For It

Hear what library staff have to say about their experiences with the Library Speakers Consortium.

Maria Burchill

Our mid-size public library couldn't be happier with our partnership in the Library Speakers Consortium. Visitors are thrilled to have a chance to not only hear from their favorite authors, but also to ask questions in real-time. Our patrons are even convening watch parties so they can discuss the talk and the book.

Maria Burchill
Head of Adult & Teen Services, Schlow Centre Region Library, State College, PA
Library Size: 31,661 | Members Since: July 2022
Holly Hibner

The Library Speakers Consortium provides our library patrons with multiple bestselling author talks each month, which would not be possible if we had to cover their individual speaking fees. The online format makes these events available to patrons remotely, with an archive of on-demand videos so they can revisit their favorites over and over again - and never worry about missing one.

Holly Hibner, MLIS
Adult Services Coordinator, Plymouth District Library, Plymouth, MI
Library Size: 65,420 | Members Since: July 2022
Walter Butler

The LSC has elevated our library services footprint across our campus! We receive so much positive feedback and excitement from our campus community for consistently bringing forward such a diverse range of voices and topics through the LSC. And people always remark that we must be so busy managing this – but the great “secret” is that the LSC and all of its amazing staff makes this so easy and practically effortless for the library to maintain.

Walter Butler, PhD, MLIS
Director of Library Services, Santa Monica College Library, Santa Monica, CA
Library Size: 8,459 | Members Since: July 2023
Jenna Jaureguy

The Library Speakers Consortium is a wonderful, set-and-forget, library program that our community adores. First and foremost, the quality and quantity of authors for the very reasonable price is something we could not have afforded on our own and the monthly promotional materials make promoting the events a breeze. We are continually in awe of the author diversity across target audience, race, gender, subject, and genre.

Jenna Jaureguy
Collection Development Librarian, East Baton Rouge Parish Library, Baton Rouge, LA
Library Size: 264,732 | Members Since: July 2022
Sarah Wisdom

We are elated to be able to offer access to such a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction author talks … One of our local book clubs has even been selecting titles based on the LSC’s upcoming schedule so they can use the virtual talks to enhance their reading experience! It’s a relief to let LSC do the heavy lifting so we can focus on creating a well-rounded calendar of events for our community.

Sarah Wisdom
Deputy Director, Yuma County Library District, Yuma, AZ
Library Size: 111,801 | Members Since: July 2022
Maria Del Rosso

Our patrons have been pleased with the Library Speaker’s Consortium Meet the Author series for public libraries. The variety of speakers means that there is something of interest to everyone. The programs are easy to access and the on-demand viewing allows convenient enjoyment of an impressive array of authors and thinkers. Quality programming at a great price.

Maria Del Rosso
Library Director, Fauquier Public Library, Bealeton, VA
Library Size: 38,340 | Members Since: July 2022
Cherilyn Fiory

We are delighted to have been founding members of Library Speakers Consortium. LSC enables us to connect our community with a more diverse group of timely and relevant authors and their books than we could ever achieve on our own. Plus, thanks to the recordings, we reach so many more when it’s convenient for them!

Cherilyn Fiory
Director, Upper Dublin Public Library, Fort Washington, PA
Library Size: 10,696 | Members Since: July 2022
Lauren Williams

We typically have the budget to host only one well-known author for our mid-Missouri library system each year. With Library Speakers Consortium, we’ve been able to offer a large number of opportunities to hear many different authors each year - including bestselling, nationally known authors - to our patrons. The option of viewing later is also a bonus and a very popular option among our patrons!

Lauren Williams
Adult and Community Services Manager, Daniel Boone Regional Library, Columbia, MO
Library Size: 112,099 | Members Since: July 2022
Niall Adler

Of all the organizations we have worked with, your promotion and marketing is one of the best organized with helpful and supportive materials. It is especially useful to have the alternate images and formats (square and rectangular formats, template for social media etc) ready and accessible for us all. Overall, LSC is streamlined and easy to work with. Special shout out to Pinto for Marketing and Brandon for hosting and presenting author talks!

Niall Adler
Marketing Director, Evergreen Valley College Library, San Jose, CA
Library Size: 1,900 | Members Since: November 2023

Bestselling Authors Share Their Love for Libraries

Meet the Team

Library Speakers Consortium is a company that grew out of the demand for communities of all sizes to connect with world-renowned authors and thought leaders. We’re a team of people in love with reading, obsessed with personal growth, and relentlessly focused on empowering people on their journey of lifelong learning. Our subscribers include more than 500 member library systems, which each range in size from less than 200 to more than 2 million patrons, across the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand. We are a division of Perpetual Learning.

Becky Brent
Partnerships Manager
Brandon Adler
Operations Manager and Author Talk Host
Chris Williams
Co-Founder and CFO
Frederick Coleman
Operations Manager
Hannah Meyers
Campaign Coordinator
Julia Cutler
Operations Manager
Kyra Schwalm
Finance and Operations Manager
Amy Madison
Customer Experience Associate
Leigh Mikovch
Partnerships Manager
Pinto LeBrun
Customer Experience Manager
Sierra Windham
Operations Assistant
Zach Rubin
Co-Founder and CEO

Let’s Talk

Request a demo and explore how joining the Library Speakers Consortium can increase access to amazing authors for your patrons.

Request a Demo
Let's Elevate Your Programming