Exhibitor Manual
Last updated on 3/12/2026
If you would like to ship any of your items ahead of the festival, all packages must arrive between Monday, May 4, and Friday, May 29. No sooner, no later. Anything shipped to the venue outside of this time window must be personally retrieved by you or your team member, with an additional fee. Please plan accordingly.​
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Please make sure all packages are addressed with your EXHIBITOR NAME (not your legal name) so our team can have your things organized for you. Shipping to the IBF warehouse is optional and requires no drayage fees. You must have the shipping address formatted as the template below. If there is a character limit for the address and you aren't able to include all of the requested information, please contact us.
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Closer to this time, we will verify in-person that all boxes have been delivered and confirm the number of packages with you. If you need to confirm things beforehand, you may contact us. Your packages will be brought to your booth by our team, prior to your set-up.
Line 1: WareSpace-Imaginarium Book Festival
Line 2: [EXHIBITOR NAME]
Line 3: 3342 Bladensburg Rd.
Line 4: Unit B18
Line 5: Brentwood, MD 20722​
You do not need to check-in at registration this year. Everything will be brought to your booth. An assistant badge must be picked up at the registration booth, if you will need one. The best time to do this will be during your exhibitor set-up. There is a limit of one assistant per exhibitor, unless you have arranged something different with the IBF organizers. Your exhibitor pass, and your assistant pass, grants access to Lit Talk, Inking Lore, and Lit Feud. You do not need a badge ribbon or add-on to attend these parts of the festival. However, your exhibitor / assistant pass does not grant access to Gilded Gears.
IF LOCATED IN BALLROOM, HALL 1, HALL B, OR APOTHECRAFTY:
You have the option of setting up your booth space on Thursday, June 4. The time window for this is 4PM to 6PM. Again, this early set-up is optional but great if you want to get a headstart. There will be no early registration for attendees this year. Only IBF and UDC staff, and exhibitors, will be allowed on-site on Thursday, June 4. Doors will be locked at end-of-day. You can use the event map to locate your booth.
You must come prepared with your own collapsible cart if you need to load many things inside. ​Anything delivered to the warehouse before the festival will be brought to your booth prior to set-up.
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IF LOCATED IN HERITAGE HALL:
We HIGHLY recommend dropping off your materials on Thursday. The time window for this is 4PM to 8PM (two additional hours). This space will be decorated for the Gilded Gears event on Friday morning, so a Thursday set-up is not possible. However, your items will be organized and labeled by our team in a nearby lounge, then brought to your booth prior to your set-up on Friday afternoon. Please see Friday Set-Up for more info.
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TATTOO / HEADSHOT APPOINTMENTS:
​​If you have an appointment with any of the tattoo artists, or photo headshots with Nadège, please arrive promptly to the UDC Student Center for your session time. You may park in the garage or find street parking.
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Note: The walls of the Student Center are owned by the Smithsonian Museum. Please do not tape/attach anything to the walls, and all standing banners must be at least 4 inches away from the wall. Also note that your booth space only includes your booth. All decorations must be brought by you, including a tablecloth. The UDC Student Center is an eco building with beautiful natural sunlight, which means it can get a bit warm even with the A/C settings on high. We recommend coming prepared with a portable fan.
IF LOCATED IN HERITAGE HALL OR HALL B:
Set-up time for ​exhibitors in Heritage Hall and Hall B on Friday, June 5 is 12PM to 2PM. Since this area will be flipped for the main signing, please do not arrive until 12PM. This will give our team time to coordinate and prepare for your arrival. You may park in the garage, take the elevator to level A, and enter the venue from the terrace doors or the main entrance. At this time, attendees will not be permitted inside the Student Center. The social meet-up and food truck alley will be ongoing outside. ​​
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Volunteers and staff will be on standby if physically able to help. Anything delivered before the festival will be brought to your booth prior to set-up by our team.
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The main signing will begin at 2PM. The festival concludes at 6PM on this day, after which you are free to leave books and decorations at your table for the next day. IBF staff and campus security will be the last to exit the building, and the doors will be locked.
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IF LOCATED IN BALLROOM, HALL 1, OR APOTHECRAFTY:
You also have the option of setting up your booth space on Friday, June 5, before the main signing opens up to attendees. The time window for this is 9AM to 12PM. You can use the event map to locate your booth. Please park in the garage, take the elevator to level A, and enter the venue from the terrace doors. The main entrance will be reserved for attendees attending the Gilded Gears event only.
From here you will have access to the Apothecrafty (Level A) and the elevators up to Level 1 (Ballroom + Hall 1). ​You must come prepared with your own collapsible cart if you need to load many things inside. Volunteers and staff will be on standby if physically able to help. Anything delivered/dropped-off to the venue before the festival will be brought to your booth prior to set-up by our team.
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The main signing will begin at 2PM. The festival concludes at 6PM on this day, after which you are free to leave books and decorations at your table for the next day. IBF staff and campus security will be the last to exit the building, and the doors will be locked.​
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Note: The walls of the Student Center are owned by the Smithsonian Museum. Please do not tape/attach anything to the walls, and all standing banners must be at least 4 inches away from the wall. Also note that your booth space only includes your booth. All decorations must be brought by you, including a tablecloth. The UDC Student Center is an eco building with beautiful natural sunlight, which means it can get a bit warm even with the A/C settings on high. We recommend coming prepared with a portable fan.
The venue is located on the corner of Connecticut Ave NW and Van Ness. You can find it on Google Maps here. For Thursday drop-offs before the event, you can pull up in front of the UDC Student Center and unload, or find nearby street parking. For Friday and Saturday parking during the festival, there is an on-site parking garage that is $20 for the whole day (up to 24 hours) on Friday, and then it is free on Saturday. Lost parking stubs are an extra $20, so don't lose it! We recommend parking here to remain close to the Student Center. However, street parking is an alternative. Those rates will vary, so you can read the street signs when you arrive for more information.
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We also recommend checking out the IBF parking tour video, so you know the best ways to access the venue.
Garage Address:
3305-3365 Van Ness St NW, Washington, DC 20008
Directions:
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Parking tour video here.
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Drive into the Van Ness Parking Garage from Van Ness St. ONLY and collect a ticket at the entrance.
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Keep ticket in possession after you park your car
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When you wish to exit the garage, go to a Pay Station at either the Plaza Deck Elevator Lobby on the Breezeway OR the B level garage near the Auditorium
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Insert ticket into the Pay Station and pay the displayed amount (Credit/Debit cards and Cash are accepted)
The festival ends 4PM on Saturday, June 6, so you should plan to have everything packed up and out by 6PM. You're free to start a little earlier than that if you would like.
IF ATTENDING LIT FEUD AUTHOR TOURNAMENT:
All exhibitors and their assistants have access to the Lit Feud tournament. It will begin at 5PM. If you are on a participating team, we HIGHLY recommend carrying your team shirt with you, so that there's no need to return to your hotel/lodging. Rush-hour traffic can be a lot to navigate back-and-forth. All exhibitors attending Lit Feud may clear off their booth tables and set things underneath to retrieve later. The tables will be collected by a rental company that evening, but as long as your table is cleared, you're good. IBF staff will be on-site through the evening.
Or, if you will be bringing an assistant, they can take things back to your hotel/lodging for you, then return.
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SHIPPING HOME:
If you plan to ship things back to yourself after the festival, we have prepared an easy way for you to do so from the venue, via UPS. Please come prepared with your own prepaid UPS labels and packing tape. We recommend using services like PirateShip or Shippo. Once the festival concludes on Saturday evening, attach the prepaid labels to the boxes you would like to ship home, then bring those fully sealed boxes to Room A01 on Floor A (Lit Talk). Neatly organize your boxes behind the lockers. A UPS pick-up will be scheduled for Monday, June 8.​
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ALTERNATIVE: US Postal Office
4005 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016
Hours
Friday | 8 AM–6 PM
Saturday | 8 AM–4 PM
Sunday | 8 AM–4 PM
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Each exhibitor space comes with a 6ft table; 3ft if you have a half table (shared table). There will be ample walking space between each booth, with 3-4 feet of room behind each table. Pipe draping and tablecloths are not provided, so we encourage you to come prepared with your own, should you decide you need it. A 90x132in tablecloth is highly recommended. Otherwise, the table is bare. Access to an electrical outlet isn't always guaranteed, so please plan accordingly. If access to one is necessary for you, we recommend portable outlets / portable chargers.
Here's a quick checklist of items we recommend bringing with you!
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Pens & Markers
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Portable/Mini Fan (highly recommended)
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90x132in Tablecloth (mandatory)
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Collapsible/Wheeled Cart(s)
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Portable Chargers
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Book Stands / Displays
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Promotional Swag Items
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Reusable Water Bottle & Snacks
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If you choose to give out badge ribbons to attendees, the correct size is 3 1/2 x 1 5/8 (horizontal)
Wi-Fi will be available to all exhibitors, but note that it is a password protected network. Although you will have access to the password, the network may not work with kiosk/terminal devices used to accept credit and debit purchases. Ex: Square, Shopify. If you will be using your phone to accept card payments, then it will very likely work just fine. Still, we recommend being prepared with other forms to accept payment for purchases, such as Venmo, CashApp, Zelle, or Paypal.
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This WiFi network was created for EXHIBITORS ONLY.
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SSID:
UDCEVENTS​
PASSWORD:
G0Firebird$
We are expecting 600-800 attendees at our 2026 event, with over 1000 tickets sold (including add-ons). Since there is no general admission, this number range won't fluctuate higher at all.
If you are an author, we recommend coming with around 80-150 copies of your first book or standalone book, and then stagger that number down for other books in the series. NOTE: This is just a suggested amount. It totally depends on the book and what works best for you, but we'd rather you leave with having sold out, rather than have too many to take back home. If your mode of transportation allows it and you can bring more books, please do!
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If you are a small business vendor, we recommend coming with 100-200 items total. It is completely up to you and what works best for your art/products, but for a two-day event, you can expect to sell more on Day 1. We highly encourage event-exclusive items to entice buyers.
