Five things to prepare before your first festival interview

One: your one-sentence description. Not the blurb — a single spoken sentence that tells a stranger what kind of book this is and why you wrote it.

Two: your reading passage. Two to three minutes, self-contained, and strong enough to make sense without setup. Read it aloud twice before the session.

Three: three themes. Interviewers work from themes, not plot summaries. Naming yours gives the conversation somewhere to go.

Four: the question you hope to be asked. Send it in the briefing. There is nothing dishonest about steering a conversation towards what you know best.

Five: your practical details. Cover file, author photo, links, and where readers should go after the session. Have them ready before the day, not during it.