What Should Be in an Author Media Kit?

Everything someone writing about you needs, so they never have to ask. Bios in three lengths, a high-resolution author photo, cover images, book details with buy links, a one-paragraph pitch, review or editorial quotes, suggested interview questions, and contact information. The whole point is removing friction — a producer choosing between two authors will pick the one whose materials are already sitting there.

The longer version

The contents, in order of how often they are requested

1. Bios — three lengths, written to be pasted

50 words for event programmes and podcast descriptions
100 words for press releases and articles
250 words for a full profile

Write them in the third person and keep them current. You will be asked for all three, and always at short notice.

2. Author photo. High resolution, and one you would accept seeing in print. Supply both a landscape and a portrait crop. A phone photo against a plain wall in good light beats a studio portrait from nine years ago.

3. Book information, per title. Cover image at print resolution, title and subtitle, series and number, genre, publication date, page count, formats, ISBNs, price, publisher or imprint, and buy links.

4. The pitch. One paragraph describing the book the way a journalist would — not your blurb, which is written to sell to readers. What the book is about, why it exists, why now.

5. Social proof. Editorial quotes with attribution, notable reviews, awards, shortlistings, previous media appearances.

6. Suggested interview questions. Five to eight. This is the most underused item on the list and the one podcast hosts are most grateful for — it saves them preparation and it steers the conversation toward what you actually want to discuss.

7. Contact. An email that you check, and your website. Say clearly whether you are available for interviews, guest posts or events.

Format

A web page is better than a PDF: always current, linkable, and no download friction. Offer a downloadable ZIP of the images alongside it, since journalists need the files at full resolution.

If you do produce a PDF, keep it under about 5 MB.

The per-identity point

If you write under more than one name, each pen name needs its own kit. Mixing them is one of the easiest ways to break a firewall — a shared photo or bio phrase is searchable.

The realistic version

If the full kit feels like too much, build this and stop:

Three bios
One good photo
Cover images
One-paragraph pitch
Contact details

That covers most requests and takes an afternoon. Add the rest when someone asks for it.

Common exceptions

Non-fiction and speaking-led authors need more — speaker reel, topics, past audiences, a one-page speaker sheet.
Traditionally published authors should check whether the publisher's publicity team handles this and coordinate rather than duplicate.
Anonymous or firewalled identities may substitute an illustrated avatar for a photo; many outlets accept it if you say so upfront.
Keep it current. A kit listing a book as "forthcoming" two years after release does more harm than no kit.

Sources

General publicity practice; no standard body defines media kit contents.

Verified 9 August 2026.