Sarah Palin Book Tour Kicks Off: People Lining Up Night Before, Sleeping in Their Cars, 1000’s of Tickets Snapped Up Early

We’re tracking news reports of the latest info on Sarah Palin’s “Going Rogue” book tour: How Sarah’s tour has fared so far, and, news reports on upcoming events in the days ahead. We’ve also included Palin’s book tour schedule at the bottom of the page.

The tour kicked off yesterday to a throng of 1500 who waited in line for a chance to “meet” Sarah Palin and purchase a signed copy of her book, Going Rogue: An American Life in Grand Rapids, Michigan. According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, there were reports from Grand Rapids that people had slept in their cars overnight to ensure they’d get in to see Palin as the tickets were limited to 1500.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Sarah Palin draws a big crowd as her book tour begins

“After the mall opened in the morning, the estimated 1,500 in line were outfitted with orange wristbands, which would guarantee them a few seconds of face time with the former Alaska governor, who was not scheduled to arrive at the mall bookstore until the early evening.”

Hundreds cheer Palin for book tour

KENTWOOD, Mich. (AP) – College students ditched class, employees skipped work and some huddled in the cold overnight just to make sure they get an orange wristband Wednesday that would let them meet Sarah Palin.

A line of more than a thousand people — some sporting Palin Power stickers and Palin T-shirts — moved slowly into a Barnes & Noble store Wednesday to see the former Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor on the first stop of her “Going Rogue” book tour. During the hours they waited, some broke out in chants of “Palin! Palin! Palin!”

Today, Palin is in the Fort Wayne, due to appear at the Maysville Road Meijer and then the Borders Book Store in Noblesville. Here’s what the Fort Wayne media has reported so far:

Fans line up early for Palin

The book signing is scheduled for Noon until 3 p.m.

By about 7:30 a.m. Thursday, about 700 people were already in line. Some fans traveled from as far away as Michigan and Illinois. One gentleman came all the way from Florida, but always comes to Indiana everything Thanksgiving, so he moved up his travel plans by a few days.

Some people even slept in the aisles, with blankets and pillows during their down time. That’s because some people waited in line since about 11:00 pm, which is when Meijer started forming a line. Other people had been around the store since about 6:00 pm.

From the Indianapolis Star:

Sarah Palin “Going Rogue” in Noblesville

Hoosiers lined up early Thursday morning, November 19, 2009 at the Borders Bookstore in Noblesville, IN for a chance to see Sarah Palin at a book signing later this evening. Wristbands were handed out to the first 1000 in line so they can return later tonight for the Palin appearance. Those at the front of the line began lining up at 9pm Wednesday evening, spending the night in their cars in the parking lot outside the store. (Sam Riche / The Indianapolis Star)

On Friday, November 20, Palin will be in Cincinnati at Joseph-Beth Booksellers. Tickets for the event have already “sold out”.

From Cincinnati.com:

Palin’s noon book-signing at Joseph-Beth, by the way, is sold out, according to the bookstore’s events coordinator, Barb Hudson. Somewhere between 1,000 and 1,200 people have numbered line tickets for the signing. There will be no opportunity for photographs with Palin and she won’t sign anything but the book. She won’t be doing personalized autographs either.

Palin is set to appear in South Strabane, PA, on Saturday at the local Sam’s Club. According the Pittsburgh Gazette, the western PA town is “abuzz” over Palin’s upcoming visit, that Sam’s Club planned on handing out wristbands to the first 1,000 who showed up while those who weren’t members of the store had to obtain a one-day pass. So far, the store has reported receiving “hundreds of calls”.

Also reported, that events such as Palin’s book signings are “rare” in the Pittsburgh area, but not unprecedented: Palin’s book tour and the response from fans was compared to an appearance at a Pittsburgh area Borders Book Store by author Anne Rice ten years ago, and book signings by chefs Emeril Lagasse and Rachael Ray at the Borders store in Monroeville, PA..

Complete List of Palin’s Book Tour Schedule

We’ll be posting further updates on future Sarah Palin book tour events.

NOTE: DBKP will be covering Saturday stop on the Palin book tour.

By LBG