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Exhibitor Engagement

Exhibitor Engagement Submissions

To further promote your authors/illustrators and organization, ALA offers contracted exhibitors the opportunity to participate in several engagement programs, most of which are located right on the exhibit floor. Each program has its own format, pricing, submission details and deadline.  

View the Stage Descriptions to help you decide on the best fit for your proposed sessions. Note: all stages are now SOLD OUT.

Use the Exhibitor Engagement Submission Guide to decide which opportunities are best for your organization. You must be a contracted exhibitor or part of an ALA Unit to participate. 

Submission Site & Deadlines

Proposals are gathered through an open call and reviewed by Show Management. Proposals must be submitted by the deadlines noted below. Plan ahead so you can submit early to have the best chance at getting accepted with preferred date/time.

Exhibitor Engagement Submission Site

Click "Join Now" on the submission site to set up your account.

Programs include:

  • Stage Sessions SOLD OUT
  • Book Buzz Theater SOLD OUT
  • Now Showing @ ALA Film Program (this program is open to both exhibiting and non-exhibiting organizations.)
  • Podcast Recording Booth
  • Storytime in the Park
  • Meet the Authors Program

Deadlines:

Stage Sessions SOLD OUT | Now Showing @ ALA Film Program |  Podcast Recording Booth | Storytime in the Park | Author Autographing Stations | Meet the Authors (In-Booth)*

  • Submission Site Opens January 14, 2026, @ 11:00 AM ET
  • First Round of Assignments March 2, 2026**
  • First Round Notifications Start in early April 2026
  • Submission Site Remains Open Until Full or June 19, 2026 (whichever is first)
  • * Meet the Authors (In-Booth) submissions are automatically accepted and migrated into the scheduler once a week. Submission site remains open until June 29, 2026.

Accepted stage sessions will be invoiced a $500 fee per session. There is no charge to participate in the Now Showing @ ALA Film Program, Podcast Recording Booth, Storytime in the Park, Author Autographing Stations, or Meet the Authors program.

**After the first round of assignments, if there are open time slots or cancellations, those slots will be filled as new submissions come in. 

Book Buzz Theater SOLD OUT

  • Submission Site Opens February 2, 2026, @ 11:00 AM ET
  • First Round Deadline February 9, 2026
  • First Round Notifications Start in early March 2026
  • Submission Site Remains Open Until Full or June 19, 2026 (whichever is first)

Accepted Book Buzz sessions will be invoiced a $500 fee per session.

NOTE: For all opportunities listed above details will be included in the ALA Scheduler and Mobile App. 

Questions or Concerns

  • For general questions regarding the submission process please contact ALA Show Management at [email protected]. 
  • For technical issues with the submission site, please contact Cadmium Tech Support at 410-638-9239 or [email protected]. Support is available Mon – Fri, 9am – 9pm ET.

Now Showing @ ALA Film Program

The Now Showing @ ALA Film Program offers a variety of films, documentaries, and trailers throughout the day from Saturday through Monday during the conference. Many will offer a chance to meet with the film’s writer, director, or subjects. This program is open to both exhibiting and non-exhibiting organizations. There is no fee to participate.

You will need to provide an image to be used for marketing purposes. Permission to show the film must be obtained by the sponsoring organization. Room and projection equipment will be provided by ALA. All other costs are the responsibility of the sponsoring organization.

Submit through the Exhibitor Engagement Submission site.

Now Showing @ ALA Film Program

 

NEW: Exhibitor Education Sessions

ALA is launching an Exhibitor Track at the 2026 Annual Conference to provide a dedicated platform for vendors to share industry expertise, practical insights, and innovations shaping today’s library landscape. These one-hour sponsored programs—scheduled Saturday and Sunday in a designated meeting room at McCormick Place—are educational in nature, focusing on timely issues, trends, and solutions relevant to conference attendees.

Programs may take a wide range of engaging formats, from panels and workshops to demonstrations and interactive sessions, with creative approaches and programs that tie into ALA’s 150th anniversary encouraged. Participating exhibitors will contribute $600 to offset AV and room costs, with a portion benefiting ALA’s Hoy Scholarship Fund.

Proposals will be submitted via the official submission site between January and March and will be selected by the ALA Conference Committee based on relevance, quality, creativity, and alignment with current issues facing the profession.

Submissions will close on March 16.

Exhibitor Education Sessions Submission Site

Click "Join Now" on the submission site to set up your account.

(Note: this submission site is different from the Exhibitor Engagement (Stages, etc.) submission site.)

List Rental

Reach out directly to attendees to make sure they’re aware of your participation. 
ALA is offering the following options to you to reach attendees:

Attendee List Rental
Target buyers by industry segment, demographic profile or geographic area. List counts can be modified to meet your budget requirements. TrafficMax online attendee list rental and marketing system allows you to reach qualified buyers for your products and services through attendee list rental or broadcast email service. List rental and broadcast email service will be available through the Exhibitor Registration site.

Note on Unauthorized list rental
In the past, some ALA exhibitors received communications from companies soliciting ALA attendee lists. Please note that these companies have no affiliation with ALA, and we cannot recommend purchasing a list through them. ALA's official list rental is provided through Event Citadel (formerly CompuSystems) Lead Management. For more information, call 708/786-5565, or email Event Citadel at [email protected].

Membership Lists
Market your publications and services with ALA Mailing Lists. ALA offers Membership Lists that include Personal and Organizational Members active in special interest Divisions, Sections and Round Tables. ALA Membership Lists also include foreign and Canadian addresses. Additional information on ordering an ALA Membership List.

 

Note: ALA and their contractors will not call exhibitors on the phone to solicit list rentals. If you receive a call from someone selling an attendee list, this is not a legitimate sales call. Please do not purchase list rentals from unauthorized groups. 

 

Press Releases

Exhibitors can submit press releases to appear in the “News” section of the Annual web site.

Note: Press Releases must be related to your participation in the ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition. Exhibitors can submit a one-line headline for their Press Release, and a PDF file of the Press Release. We will link the PDF file to the one-line headline.

Send headline and PDF file to [email protected].