For Program Coordinators

Through the JBC Network program, the Jewish Book Council is able to provide extensive resources to the program coordinators of Jewish book festivals, speakers’ series, and cultural events. These services include introduction to authors interested in touring Jewish book programs, advice from experts on topics that affect a book program, and a chance to learn from the experiences of others in the field.

Each year, over 200 authors register for the JBC Network program, hoping to be selected to speak at Jewish book programs around North America. These authors, under the special terms of the JBC Network, travel without an honorarium to JBC Network member sites only. The hosting venue covers all author travel expenses, and each event must include and promote a book sale.

Your organization’s membership dues of $550 per year entitles you to:
• the opportunity to host the current year’s JBC Network authors without an honorarium
• participate in the annual JBC Network Conference held at the end of May (additional registration fee)
• order a set of the yearly touring authors' books (charge for shipping unless attending the conference)
• a reduced fee for BookExpo America through the JBC
• consultation with JBC staff on issues pertaining to book programs
• access password-protected resource center in the Network section of the JBC website 
• a subscription to Jewish Book World, the JBC’s quarterly book review magazine
• a Jewish Book Month kit (includes Jewish Book Month posters and bookmarks)

Questions about Network membership? Please see our FAQ section.

For further information about JBC Network membership, please contact Miri Pomerantz Dauber at 212-786-5157 or author@jewishbooks.org.

JBC Network Calendar

The JBC Network year runs from April 1-March 31. The scheduling period for the fall book fair season runs late June through early August, but additional author requests are accepted through May. Again, we encourage you to look at your full year of programming outside Book Fair season and consider these books and authors for your programs. We will book authors throughout the year.

Registration for the annual JBC Network Conference is emailed out in early February.

The registration deadline is early April. It is still possible to register until the end of the month, but there is a late fee.

At the end of May or early June, JBC Network members are invited to participate in the annual conference. As part of the conference, the Jewish Book Council presents authors who will be available for Network tours in the upcoming year.

After the conference, there is a “reading period” during which time coordinators, along with their community committee members, review the selection of the Network authors, read the books that are being considered, and narrow down the author selection for their upcoming season.

Around mid-June, author requests are due. This is the time to request the JBC Network authors that your site wants to host for the upcoming year. 

After the author request deadline, the JBC office begins the process of scheduling. First choices are always considered and honored whenever possible.

Once the initial scheduling is complete, usually a week after the request deadline, an email is sent out to each JBC Network member, asking for confirmation on their tentative schedule. The schedule has not yet been sent to the authors, but is being sent to you for approval. If there are any changes to be made to the proposed schedule, this is the time to do that.

After it is approved by the JBC Network member site, the requests will be sent to the authors. Once a booking is confirmed by both the JBC Network member and author, it will be considered final.

An official confirmation letter is sent out to both JBC Network sites and authors when the complete schedules are finalized, usually late July or early August. These must be signed and returned. In addition to confirming schedules, these letters provide contact information (email addresses) for the authors and notes about their needs.

When the complete schedules are finalized and the confirmation letters are signed, they are sent to the JBC Network travel agents who will begin working with the coordinators and authors to book travel.

Upon receiving the authors' email addresses, JBC Network coordinators should initiate contact, welcoming the authors and giving them more information about the program, city, etc.