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London Book Fair 2027 – Opportunity for Independent Publishers

Inpress is delighted to be working with Arts Council England for a second year to offer twelve independent publishers a place on a stand that showcases independent publishing in England at London Book Fair (LBF) 2027, taking place from 16-18 March at ExCeL London.

With the support of the Arts Council, each selected publisher will receive full delegate access for up to six attendees, use of a stock display shelf on the Arts Council England/Inpress stand, access to bookable meeting tables on the shared stand, and an Exhibitor Profile Listing in the LBF Directory. Each publisher will also receive a £500 bursary to use toward travel, accommodation, subsistence and other costs of attending.

LBF is one of the world’s biggest international literary and publishing events. It offers a valuable space for the global publishing community to network, conduct business meetings and develop their publishing programme. We recognise, however, that the cost of attending can be a prohibitive barrier for many small publishers, who are crucial to national excellence in literature. This scheme exists to help remove that barrier.

In 2026, publishers shared twelve spaces on the Arts Council England/Inpress stand at Olympia. Between them they held almost 300 meetings and made over 100 new contacts in three days. Just as importantly, publishers told us what it meant to be there together. One described attending “as part of a collective of independents” as “genuinely transformative”, and another said that “the feeling was very much that we were seen, and part of the industry, more than ever before.”

To qualify for this opportunity, we ask that:

  • You are a small independent publisher, based in England. We define “small independent” as not part of a larger publishing group, with fewer than five FTE staff.
  • You have a list (or lists) foregrounding fiction, poetry, comic or graphic novels, creative non-fiction, including work in translation, and/or children’s books. We are unlikely to consider academic or educational publishers.
  • You plan to publish one or more titles between February and August 2027 that would benefit from LBF market exposure.
  • You are not self-publishing or operating a hybrid publishing model.

Publishers already in receipt of Arts Council England national portfolio funding are welcome to apply but will need to make an exceptional case for additional public investment. Additionally, those who attended last year as part of the scheme will have to make an equally exceptional case, indicating how they will build upon their experience in 2027.

We expect successful applicants to attend all three days of LBF. Joint bids, in which two publishers share a single place on the stand, will only be considered in exceptional circumstances where there is a compelling reason why full attendance is not possible. If you wish to apply jointly, please set out this reason clearly in your application.

Applications open on Friday 23rd of October and close at 12pm on Friday 20th of November. Decisions will be made by Inpress, with the support of the Arts Council, and communicated by early December. We will not be able to share any decisions in advance of an official announcement. Publishers will be selected on application merit, geography and representation of contemporary England. All publishers must contractually abide by LBF’s Terms & Conditions.

We look forward to hearing from you! To apply, please click here from Friday 23rd October. If you have any questions, please contact enquiries@inpressbooks.co.uk.