--- title: "The Author's Table: Launch Dinner" url: https://mkelango.com/events/authors-table/ description: "A forty-seat launch dinner in Chennai where three readers present the weakest parts of the book and the author answers at the table. By invitation only." site: mkelango.com author: M. K. Elango updated: 2026-08-26 evidence_standard: "Every figure carries a grade [A] verified / [B] claimed / [C] estimate and an as-at date. See https://mkelango.com/evidence/" --- IN-PERSON Per book # The Author's Table Forty seats, one book, and the argument taken apart by people who are allowed to disagree with it in public. What you leave with A signed copy and the parts of the argument the author is least sure about. 40 seats · **40 open** - **Dates:** Next: on publication of The Constitution Engine - **City:** Chennai - **Shape:** Book-launch dinner · 40 seats - **Who it is for:** Press, clients, alumni - **Price:** By invitation Press seats are held and never charged. Announced per launch. As at 26 August 2026. In short Updated 2026-08-26 The Author's Table is a forty-seat book-launch dinner held in Chennai on publication of each book, by invitation, with press seats held and never charged. The format inverts the usual reading: three readers who have had the manuscript for a month present its weakest parts and the author answers at the table. The room ## Book-launch dinner · 40 seats A launch dinner built around a disagreement rather than a reading. Forty seats: press, clients, and alumni of the programmes. The format inverts the usual one. Rather than the author presenting the argument, three readers who have had the manuscript for a month present the weakest parts of it, and the author answers at the table. The corrections that come out of these evenings go straight into the Evidence Log. Seats 40 seats · **40 open** Not yet scheduled. No countdown timers on this site — real scarcity, stated plainly. Register Invitation only. Requests are read, and answered either way. The running order ## Published in advance. You should be able to decide whether a day is worth your time from the agenda rather than from the promise. 19:00 The argument, in ten minutes The shortest honest version. 19:20 Three readers, three objections Prepared in advance. Not softened. 20:30 The table Open floor, on the record unless a speaker says otherwise. 22:00 What goes into the corrections log Agreed at the table, published within a week. A signed copy and the parts of the argument the author is least sure about. Every event page on this site carries the same five things: a date, a city, a price, a seat count, and this line. If any of them is missing, the event is not ready to be sold. [Full calendar](https://mkelango.com/events/calendar/) [All events](https://mkelango.com/events/) FAQ ## Questions about The Author's Table Answered plainly, with the real figures. If something here is wrong, [tell us and it goes in the log](https://mkelango.com/evidence/). ### How do you get a seat at the Author's Table? By invitation. Forty seats go to press, clients and alumni of the programmes. Press seats are held and never charged. Requests can be sent through the page and are read, and answered either way. There is no ticket price, and the venue is announced per launch. ### When is the next Author's Table? Not yet scheduled. The next one is held on publication of The Constitution Engine, in Chennai. All forty seats are shown as open because no date has been set. The date is published here once the publication date is fixed, as with every event on this site. ### What happens at an Author's Table? The format inverts the usual launch. Rather than the author reading from the book, three readers who have had the manuscript for a month present its weakest parts, prepared in advance and not softened, and the author answers at the table. The open floor is on the record unless a speaker says otherwise. ### What do you leave with? A signed copy and the parts of the argument the author is least sure about. The corrections agreed at the table go into the public Evidence Log and are published within a week, which is the same standard applied to every figure on this site: a grade and a date. Other rooms ## A different shape of commitment. [All events](https://mkelango.com/events/) IN-PERSON The Inevitable Summit 2 days · single track · ~600 seats 11–12 Feb 2027 [The Inevitable Summit](https://mkelango.com/events/summit/) IN-PERSON Moonshot Day 1 day · 30 seats · closed room 19 Mar 2027 [Moonshot Day](https://mkelango.com/events/moonshot-day/) IN-PERSON The Chairman's Table Dinner + roundtable · 12 seats 14 Nov 2026 [The Chairman's Table](https://mkelango.com/events/chairmans-table/)