In-Person Events

Hospitality, Venue Tour, and Tech Check Considerations

It’s vital that the venue is regularly checked for accessibility issues so that authors can be alerted if their needs can’t be met prior to an event, and alternative arrangements can be made. Providing a walk-through video or an in-person walk-through, as well as a tech-check before the event will help to make disabled people feel comfortable and relaxed when it comes to their event.

Papworth Trust’s 2018 report (PDF) shows the most commonly cited barriers to accessing buildings for disabled adults are:

• 44% – Moving around the building (stairs, doors or narrow corridors)
• 39% – A health condition, illness or disability
• 23% – Inadequate lifts or escalators
• 22% – Difficulty with approach areas due to lack of ramps/handrails
• 21% – Parking problems
• 17% - Bathroom facilities (location, layout, size)
• 15% - Footpath design and surfaces
• 14% - Difficulty with transport getting to the building
• 13% - Lack of assistance

1. Welcome

   Welcome every author, ask if they have any needs, and make sure to escort them to the green room and show them around the venue (getting around a venue could be difficult for many reasons, not just mobility, and could cause needless distress).

2. Green Room

   Make sure authors know where this is. Have warm, ambient lighting, and comfortable places to sit. Plants and string lights make a place feel very welcome. Don’t have any background music. Inform all authors if the route from the green room to the event venue is long and give them options if they need assistance to get there; you can’t always tell if someone has mobility issues.

3. Wheelchair access

   Every aspect of the venue being used for the event should be wheelchair accessible. If you are using a stage for any of the participants, ensure this is accessible, otherwise choose not to use the stage for anyone. Ensure dimensions of lifts and doorways are available on your website, alongside any sharp corners or difficult turns.

   Reference: Jamie Hale

4. Accessible Toilets

   Ensure there are working accessible toilets near the event venue and green room and that authors know where they are. While Changing Places toilets (adapted toilets with adult-size changing bed and hoist - www.changing-places.org) are rare, they should be automatically in place for larger events, and should be made available where requested at smaller events, where hire services such as Mobiloo exist (www.mobiloo.org.uk).

   Reference: Jamie Hale, Elspeth Wilson

5. Venue

   Prioritise using venues with ground-floor step-free access, and:

   • Ensure the whole venue is wheelchair accessible

   • There are ground-level rooms with accessible toilets

   • Welcome all assistance dogs. However, bear in mind that some people have severe allergies to dogs, and spaces (especially small or poorly ventilated spaces) containing dogs might be inaccessible to them.

   Reference: Khairani Barokka, Jamie Hale, Sandra Alland, Elspeth Wilson, Jeda Pearl

6. Lifts

   When choosing a venue, prioritise using a ground-floor space.

   If you’re using a venue with lifts, ensure the lifts in working order and are big enough to hold a large electric wheelchair and have a high Safe Working Load (minimum 400kg, but above 450kg is recommended).

   • You should discuss the risk of lift-breakdown with the venue and ascertain the alternative options: for example, buildings with a second lift channel are preferable

   • If the building has only one lift channel, ensure that you have considered a backup plan, so that if it is out of order, you know how to proceed

   • Have dimensions of lifts and doorways listed on the access information, that ramps are correctly angled, and ask for assessments of this, i.e., Euan’s Guide

   Reference: Khairani Barokka, Jamie Hale, Sandra Alland

7. Stage

   Give authors time to familiarise themselves with the venue space and stage:

   • Stairs should have a handrail on one side if less than 1 metre wide, and on both sides if more than 1 metre wide

   • If there is step-free access to the stage, inform the authors of this, and allow them to see this before the event

   • Any ramps should have a gradient of no steeper than 1 in 12, or 1 in 8 over very short distances

   • Ask if authors require certain kinds of seating, including chairs with backs, softer furnishings, a cushion, a stool to place their feet on, a sofa, etc

   Reference: Jamie Hale, Penny Batchelor, Khairani Barokka, Elspeth Wilson

8. Soundcheck, Mic Use, Hearing Loop and Captioning Screen Check

   Regardless of the size of the venue and audience number, always use microphones and make sure everyone is speaking as clearly as possible and at an appropriate volume. Ensure to:

   • Have a soundcheck

   • Use clip-on lavalier mics, or mics on stands

   • Be careful taking audience questions; you either need someone with a mic to go to them or the author should begin their response by repeating the question, or the Chairperson should repeat the question

   • Check if an author is using a lower chair or sitting down instead of standing up and make sure staff adjust the mic accordingly

   • Check the venue has a hearing loop or infrared technology

   • Check if an author is deaf or hard of hearing, run-through with them in advance what tech support they need and make sure it’s working

   • Test captioning screens with any authors who will use them

   • Ask the author(s) their colour, font and size preferences, where the tech exists

   Reference: Jamie Hale, Penny Batchelor, Sandra Alland, Khairani Barokka, Elspeth Wilson

9. Assistance

   Make sure there is a person in the room who is on hand to assist if an author needs any support, such as adjustments to lighting and temperature, or access to more water.

   Reference: Jamie Hale

Sensory Considerations

Managing the sensory input in a space is a crucial part of making it accessible to people with a wide range of experiences and impairments but can be challenging when two sets of needs contradict one another. Discuss the sensory experience of the space with authors and find out what they need, and what works for them.

Reference: Jamie Hale

1. Lighting

   Ensuring the lighting meets everyone’s needs requires an open discussion. For some blind and partially sighted people, bright lighting is necessary, while for some people susceptible to migraines, or to autistic people, bright lighting is a significant trigger. Best practice is to:

   • Ensure that there is always a degree of house lighting for audience safety and to maintain a relaxed atmosphere

   • Raise house lights when discussions with the audience are happening to facilitate authors being able to see the audience, but also ensure that audience members introduce themselves with a visual description

   • Find out what lighting is available in the venue and communicate this to authors, while making it clear that you are prepared to hire appropriate alternative lighting if needed

   Reference: Jamie Hale

2. Sound

   Avoiding clapping, shouting and whistling can be useful to neurodivergent, disabled and deaf people who are negatively affected by loud noises. Event organisers/hosts can replace clapping with the sign language used by deaf people to express appreciation, similar to, and popularly referred to as 'jazz hands' (though the arms are vertical, not out to the sides like in jazz dancing).

   It’s important to know that silence makes it impossible for blind people to judge what the reception was. If you have chosen to eliminate clapping, suggest that the Chair visually describes “everyone in the room is doing enthusiastic jazz hands – they clearly agreed with that point”.

   Avoid having background or house music once people are in the space, as this may make it hard or impossible for deaf and hard of hearing people to communicate.

   Reference: Jamie Hale, Sandra Alland

3. Scent

   Scent can be overwhelming and painful for neurodivergent people or those with allergies or inflammatory diseases like MCAS, so consider asking authors and attendees not to wear scent and advertise that you have done so. Remember:

   • Unless you intend to forbid entrance to anyone wearing scent on the day, you cannot advertise it as a scent-free space

   • Some medical washes and skin products are unavoidably scented, and that some people use scents to mask the smell of incontinence or stoma bags

   Reference: Jamie Hale

4. Quiet/rest spaces

   Provide a quiet rest space – ideally one for audiences and one for authors. This should be separate from the Green Room and should be somewhere people can go to lie down or sit down privately.

   See “Spotlight: Quiet Rooms” for more information.

5. BSL Interpreters and Captioners

   It’s important to check if a deaf author needs a BSL interpreter, captioner, or other communication support for the book signing, post-event reception, or spending time at the festival and in the author’s green room.

   See “British Sign Language (BSL) Interpreters” for more information.

   Reference: Bea Webster

6. Book Signing Room

   To minimise background noise, provide a separate room for the book signing and only allow in a few people at a time; this helps those who are hard of hearing and some neurodivergent people. Provide a hearing loop at the signing desk/in the room.

   Reference: Penny Batchelor