Knockout Book Bash 2026
June 12-13, 2026
Venue:
Bluegrass Convention Center
aka Clarion Hotel Conference Center
1950 Newtown Pike
Lexington, KY 40511
Event e-mail:
Facebook Attendee Group for info & fun:
2026 Knockout Book Bash Itinerary
June 12, 2026 @ 6pm - 9pm
June 13, 2026 @ 10am -12pm
June 13, 2026 @ noon - 1pm
June 13, 2026 @ 1pm - 5pm
June 13, 2026 @ 5pm - 6pm
June 13, 2026 @ AFTER 6pm
Join us Friday night for our brand new "Pre-Order Pick-Up Party"!
Authors will be set up with PRE-ORDERS for attendees so that when you go to the event on Saturday you have more time to mingle and talk with the authors and other attendees. Vendors selling book themed merchandise will be in attendance for you to get your shopping on. Please note authors are NOT ALLOWED to sell any books that night and you are only there to pick-up your pre-order and get your Author Autograph booklet signed!
VIP ticket holders will have from 10am until noon to meet and greet with all of our authors before the rest of the attendees arrive at 1pm! Meet new authors, find new books, make new friends. What could be better babe?!?!
Don't get hangry babe! Buy a catered lunch ticket so you can relax in the "Paddock" and fuel up. If that doesn't sound like the lunch you were dreaming of we'll also have a couple of food trucks in the parking lot or you can check out the convention center's fab restaurant, Sedona Taphouse. Plenty of options for everyone!
General Admission ticket holders join us for all the bookish fun that can be had and VIP ticket holders are invited to come back!
At 5pm promptly we will have to ask attendees to exit the room and surrounding outer area so that authors can break down their tables and exit in a safe, timely manner.
Go out and explore Lexington, Kentucky! There's bourbon tasting, million dollar race horses and all sorts of fun to be had. Check out our "Things to do in Lexington" page for ideas to help you plan.
FOOD & DRINKS
As an event attendee you have a few options for lunch during the event! There will be food trucks, the venue's restaurant the Sedona Taphouse, or you can purchase a catered lunch ticket and eat at the venue's "Paddock" area.
THINGS TO DO IN
LEXINGTON, KY
Welcome to the "Horse Capital of the World"! The perfect place for a weekend getaway. Click here to explore some things to do.
HOTEL
As soon as we have information on the hotel block for attendees of this event, we will post it here! Please check back often or sign up for our KOBB Newsletter to find those details once they are available.
EVENT
ATTENDEE
FAQS
Knockout Book Bash 2022 & 2024 were SOLD OUT READER EVENTS... ARE YOU READY FOR 2026?!
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Is Knockout Book Bash 2026 accepting Author interest submissions?YES! If you are an author who is interested in signing at Knockout Book Bash 2026 in Lexington, KY, please click HERE to fill out a short google form. If you have any questions that are not answered on that form, please feel free to email us at: knockoutbookbash@gmail.com
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If I fill out the author interest form am I guaranteed a signing author invite?No. We have hundreds of authors who fill out our interest form. For obvious reasons we can't invite everyone. That being said, if you don't fill out the interest form, how will we know that you want to come? *winks*
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What is included in a Signing Author's table fee?Table fees for Signing Authors include the following: 💋 One 6ft full table with a black tablecloth and two chairs. 💋 One Assistant position for your table. 💋 $50 towards Author Autograph booklets. 💋 An invite to the optional "Authors Only Fun Brunch" on Friday, June 12, 2026. 💋 Admission to our brand new Friday night "Pre-Order Pick-Up Party". 💋 Cold pastries and juice served for breakfast on Saturday. 💋 Bottles of water handed to you by volunteers throughout the day to keep that speaking voice strong. 💋 An "author goodie" snack bag with all sorts of goodies to get your through the day on Saturday! 💋 Two catered lunches for you and your Assistant on Saturday. 💋 One full page in the famous Author Autograph booklet that includes your headshot or logo, two book covers featured, a very short bio, and a box to sign your name for attendees.
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If I'm chosen as a Signing Author, can I share my table with another author or vendor?No. Only the author chosen by the hosts can sign at that table, unless you are an author with multiple pen names. If that's the case... bring all your personalities babe! The more the merrier, right? If you have book merchandise, you can sell it at your table. We will not let separate vendors set up with you at your table though. There will be a few vendor tables at KOBB 2026 and if you know a vendor interested in filling one of those tables please have them email us at knockoutbookbash@gmail.com and put "VENDOR" in the email's subject line.
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Does Knockout Book Bash have Sponsors?YES! Knockout Book Bash is a charity book signing where ALL OF OUR PROCEEDS go to the chosen charity of choice. Because of this we rely heavily on authors to sponsor items such as the author autograph booklet, lanyards, VIP & GA bags, swag for aforementioned bags, and raffle baskets. If you are interested in sponsoring Knockout Book Bash whether you are a signing author or not, please feel free to fill out our SPONSOR FORM or email us at knockoutbookbash@gmail.com with "SPONSOR" in the email's subject line. We'll get back to you as soon as we can!
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Are signing deposits, fees or sponsorship donations refundable?Deposits, table fees and sponsorship donations are non-refundable. Please be very sure you want to do this event before you agree to sign. We put all of this money towards all of the many necessary expenses of the event.
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What is the Author Autograph booklet?The Author Autograph booklet is a full color print booklet with a page for each attending signing author. It features a 3-5 sentence bio, your headshot or logo, and at least two of your book covers, as well as, a spot for you to sign for the attendee. All VIP attendees will get this booklet for FREE and General Admission attendees will have the chance to purchase a booklet for only $10. Attendees LOVE this booklet and you will meet a crazy amount of new readers because of it! Please note we will need sponsors for this booklet!
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Do you have an itinerary for Authors?Our tentative event itinerary is here on the website if you want to check it out. The only things not listed there are the optional Author Fun Brunch and Author Set-Up time. ITINERARY HERE. June 12th, 2026 10am - 1pm Optional Author Brunch This is time to just chill and commune with other authors since we all rarely get to see each other. Topics of discussion may be presented for Authors to gab about. 1pm - 5pm Author Set-Up Authors can set up their tables in preparation for the next day's signing and get their pre-orders organized and ready.
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Is this a child friendly event, or adults only?Please be aware that there may be alcohol, provocative merchandise and profusive swear words in both verbal and literary form at our event event. Because of this, young children are discouraged from attending.
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As a Signing Author, what do I need to bring to this event?First and foremost... YOU and lots of books to sign! Seriously. You're going to want to also bring pens or markers to sign your books that you sell and the Author Autograph booklet with. Bring petty cash to make change with, plus some form of payment system that accepts credit cards. It's 50/50 between the two on how attendees pay! Some authors like to give out "swag" to attendees for promotional fun or marketing purposes. Please note you are not allowed to have any swag or marketing materials from other authors who are not Signing Authors on your table. If you have any other sort of merchandise such as t-shirts ore reusable totes, etc., you are more than welcome to bring that for sale on signing day as long as you keep your inventory to your direct area and not invade another Signing Author's area. Other items to consider bringing are display racks for your inventory, a banner to promote yourself and bags of some sort to give attendees when they buy multiple signed books or merchandise from you.
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Is there free WiFi in the event room?Yes! You will be given the wifi information in your author packet before signing day.
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How many books and swag should I bring?Oh boy. this could get tricky fast so we're just going to give you some numbers for your consideration. We expect at least 500 VIP attendees. We can have at least 1,000 attendees there. That's a lot of people. Because of this we highly recommend you do a preorder form for this event. It will help you gauge a good portion of your book inventory. There will be a pinned post at the top of the FB Group where you can put your "Pre-Order Form" link for ease of access to attendees. Plus, we have a new event the night before signing day called the "Pre-Order Pick-Up Party" where readers will be able to come to the event room, meet and greet with you while they pick up their pre-orders from you. That leaves you more time to chat and greet readers, plus make MORE signed book sales the day of the event. Hold our beer... this is going to be EPIC. As for swag... well... one of our 2024 attending author's gave out over 430 business cards at KOBB24. That's how many people she talked to. Seriously. Please plan accordingly.
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Can authors bring posters or banners?Yes, as long as they’re free-standing. You cannot tape, or attach in any way, anything to the walls or airwalls.
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Are there restrooms at the convention center?Yes! And thank the powers at be for that, right? No one wants to see a bunch of people trying to cross their legs and hold it in all day long. That would be HORRIBLE.
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How can I help spread the word?Please be sure to share our new website once it's been announced on all of your social media accounts and in your reader newsletters. Tickets go on sale September 1, 2024 and we highly encourage you to share about that when they do. When you do share about this signing before, during and after the event, please remember to add #KOBB26 to your post. The amount of attendees we have is a direct consequence to how much, or little, you share about this event. So let's make it amazing!
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Is there free parking at the convention center/hotel?Yes!
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As a Signing Author, when will I get the author event schedule and seating floorplan?A few days before the event, we will email you the Author Event Schedule PDF form. This document is created with timelines and information only you, the author, will need. The email will also include emergency contact host information and details certain things you'll want to know such as the Author Event Photo, and all the happenings for both June 12th & June 13th, 2026. This will allow you to get organized, make the most of your time, and then leave you free time to explore Lexington, KY and have fun the night of June 13th and on Sunday, June 14th, if you choose to.
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I would like to plan my own After Signing Event. Can I do that?Absolutely! To be honest, by the time the signing is over, Jessie, Jenn and Barb are going to be exhausted. This is why they don't plan any after signing events. If you are a Signing Author, and would like to arrange some sort of event attendees can come to, let us know and we'll help you spread the word once you have it all organized! Just email us at knockoutbookbash@gmail.com with "After Signing Event" in the subject line.
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Can I donate a raffle basket or item to be raffled?Absolutely! You would totally make our day if you did that! Attendees LOVE the raffle baskets and all of that money goes straight to our charity. The more raffle baskets we have, the more money we raise, THE MORE WINNERS THERE WILL BE TO MAKE HAPPY. It's a win-win scenario. You can either bring the raffle basket with you to the event during Author Set-Up time, or mail it to Jessie or Jenn before hand. Just email us and we'll work it out.
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How many attendees should we expect as a Signing Author?There will be 500 VIP attendees and up to 500 General Admission tickets to be sold. As tickets are sold we'll update Signing Authors on the head count so they can plan for supplies.
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What kind of advertising are you doing to get the word out?We will be utilizing local newspapers, social media posts and ads, and reaching out to local tourism to help promote this event. We expect our Signing Authors to share and post about it to help sell tickets as well.
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How do I get around town?You're going to need wheels. So, if you're flying in, you might want to rent a car.
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Do we need to send swag for stuffing VIP or possible General Admission bags?You can if you want to! Attendees love swag. Email us at knockoutbookbash@gmail.com to make arrangements for mailing your swag to us. If you need ideas on what kind of swag you can give away, some of the more popular items seem to be pens, lip balms, hand fans, keychains, notepads, notebooks, sticky notes, buttons, magnets, highlighters, cups and water bottles.
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Is there a hotel room block for Signing Authors?YES! That information will be coming soon and we will post in the Author FB Group and email our signing authors when we have it.
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Do I need to follow or join you on social media?IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. It makes it easier to tag you, or for you to share posts. Facebook Reader & Author Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/knockoutbookbash X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/KOBBSigning Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kobbsigning/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kobbsigning KOBB Attendee Newsletter: https://www.postermywall.com/index.php/formmaker/view/80f5ebadd07f252d7049090360fc7505
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Will there be name badges for Signing Authors & their Assistants?Yes there will! Each Signing Author will be provided one "Attending Author" lanyard and tag and a "Staff" lanyard and tag that they can write their name on with a sharpie.