Seasonal Event in Partnership with Regional Book Festivals Will Feature “Not Your Mother’s Romance”

NEW YORK, March 18—Simon & Schuster is excited to announce the lineup for the latest edition of AuthorFest, a series of virtual author events that, through a network of book festivals, literary venues and author lecture series, provide live author programming to communities and readers in the U.S. and Canada.  

The Spring 2024 AuthorFest event is scheduled for Wednesday, April 24 at 7pm EDT and will feature bestselling authors TJ Alexander, Kaliane Bradley, and Jackie Lau in conversation. Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the duo behind the romance powerhouse Christina Lauren, will lead these authors in discussion of how their works expand the genre of romance. From fake relationships to star-crossed time travelers to queer throuples, these are not your mother’s romance novels.

Since the inaugural Fall 2021 AuthorFest event, Simon & Schuster has partnered with book festivals from Boston to Berkeley to Honolulu, entertaining and connecting thousands of booklovers and book communities across the country. 

Simon & Schuster holds AuthorFest events three times a year, in Fall, Spring and Summer. This is a completely free event that is open to all and is designed to support the booksellers we partner with. Here’s how it works:  

• Event partners set up their own registration pages and, where applicable, enroll attendees through their established ticketing systems. 
• Simon & Schuster handles all technical matters for the event and provides Festivals with a Zoom link for attendees. 
• Festivals and venues handle book sales through their preferred bookselling partner. 
• If attendees have a question for the authors, they are able to send it in ahead of time when they register. 
• Simon & Schuster promotes AuthorFest events through consumer newsletters, social media platforms and websites. 

In addition, Simon & Schuster continues to improve its Book Festival Resource Page, which helps book festivals and lecture series find information about regionally relevant books and authors suitable for their events. Literary festival organizers are invited to search for authors and titles by region or category, and can request appearances, all in one place. 

Festivals and booksellers interested in participating in AuthorFest can visit this site or email S&S Event Management for more information. Readers interested in attending can find more information here. 

 About the Authors: 

TJ Alexander, the critically acclaimed author of Second Chances in New Port Stephen, Chef’s Kiss, and Chef’s Choice, writes about queer love. Originally from Florida, they received their MA in writing and publishing from Emerson College in Boston. They live in New York City with their wife and various houseplants. Their upcoming novel is Triple Sec, arriving June 4, 2024.

Kaliane Bradley is a British-Cambodian writer and editor based in London. Her short fiction has appeared in Somesuch Stories, The Willowherb Review, Electric Literature, Catapult, and Extra Teeth, among others. She was the winner of the 2022 Harper’s Bazaar Short Story Prize and the 2022 V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize. Her upcoming novel is The Ministry of Time, arriving May 7, 2024.

Jackie Lau studied engineering and worked as a geophysicist before turning to her first love of writing. She is now the author of over twenty romantic comedies including Donut Fall in Love and The Stand-Up Groomsman. When she’s not writing, she enjoys gelato, gourmet donuts, cooking, hiking, and reading. She lives in Toronto with her husband. Find out more at JackieLauBooks.com. Her upcoming novel is Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie, arriving May 7, 2024.

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA TODAY, and #1 internationally bestselling authors of the Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Autoboyography, Love and Other Words, Roomies, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, The Unhoneymooners, The Soulmate Equation, Something Wilder, and The True Love Experiment. You can find them online at ChristinaLaurenBooks.com or @ChristinaLauren on Instagram. Their upcoming novel is The Paradise Problem, arriving May 14, 2024.

About Simon & Schuster AuthorFest: 

AuthorFest is a seasonal, public-facing virtual author event, presented in partnership with regional book festivals, lecture series and bookstores. AuthorFest provides unique live author programming to communities and readers not traditionally part of an-in person author tour. 

CONTACTS 

For Book Festivals and Booksellers: 
Elizabeth Worthy 
Director, Event Management 
elizabeth.worthy@simonandschuster.com, 646-246-2731 

Media: 
Susannah Lawrence
Manager, Corporate Communications 
susannah.lawrence@simonandschuster.com, 212-698-7033