Date: 28th January 2026 | Location: Crowndale Centre, London | Time: 10:00 – 16:00
Independent publishing remains a space where ideas can take shape. This year’s Festival looks at how small presses can maintain their independence while adapting to the pressures of growth, sustainability, and change.
Across the day, we’ll explore how editorial and business decisions are connected, from building a coherent list to understanding readers, developing new income streams, and strengthening long-term resilience.
The Festival brings together publishers, editors, booksellers, and other industry professionals to share practical insight, exchange ideas, and consider what independent publishing can look like in the years ahead.
Programme
10:00 – 10:25 | Opening Keynote - Fleur Sinclair (Booksellers Association)
On why independent publishers and booksellers are stronger when they work together, and what collaboration looks like in practice.
10:30 – 11:15 | Growing a Small Press: Strategies and Lessons Learned
What does success look like for a small press, and how do you get there? This session brings together publishers to share the strategies, decisions, and trade-offs that have shaped their growth. Panellists will discuss practical approaches to expanding reach, building a team, and managing challenges and reflect honestly on how staying true to their vision has helped or hindered their progress.
Panellists: Stefan Tobler - And Other Stories, Kevin Duffy - Bluemoose Books, Jenna Gordon - Verve Books
11:15 – 11:30 | Coffee Break
11:30 – 12:15 | From One Title to a List: Curating a Cohesive Catalogue
What makes a publishing list feel deliberate and connected? This session explores editorial vision, long-term planning, and how to make each book strengthen your overall identity and boost sales.
Panellists: Tamara Sampey-Jawad - Fitzcarraldo Editions, Jane Commane - Nine Arches Press, Lantana Publishing
12:20 – 12:50 | What Readers Want Now: A View from the Trade
A data-driven look at changing reader habits and what this means for small presses. How audiences are discovering books, what they’re buying, and how presses can respond.
Panellists: Natasha Onwuemezi – The Bookseller, Fleur Sinclair – Seven Oaks Bookshop, 1 Panellist TBC
12:50 – 13:50 | Lunch
13:50 – 15:00 | Small Press Open Forum
An informal, facilitated discussion where independent publishers can connect with peers facing similar pressures. Bring your questions, frustrations, and half-formed ideas, whether it's cashflow concerns, marketing strategies, or finding the right freelancers. This is a chance to pool knowledge, swap practical advice, and hear directly from publishers navigating the same landscape. For booksellers, editors, and other industry professionals, it's an opportunity to understand the real challenges small presses face and explore how the broader publishing community can work together more effectively.
Facilitator: Jess Chandler
15:00 – 15:45 | Making It Work: Alternative Income and Sustainable Business Models
From subscriptions to events, masterclasses and partnerships, this session looks at how presses are building financial stability in uncertain times by leveraging what makes them unique.
Panellists: Jack Thompson - Cipher Press, Isabelle Kenyon - Fly on the Wall Press, Hayley Sothinathan - Faber
15:45 – 16:00 | Closing Remarks – Anthony Anaxagorou
A reflection on small press beginnings, creative community, and the value of the independent publishing ecosystem.