The bookish community is an amazing thing to be a part of. All around the UK, there are book fairs and festivals set up to celebrate this and bring people together in person. With these bookish events becoming more popular year after year thanks to social media showcasing them, you can have so much fun! Let’s take a look at some literary events taking place this year that you should keep in mind and visit if you can!
Table of Contents
The Alternative Book Fair
5 – 8 March 2025
The Alternative Book Fair is happening at the Islington Central Library! This event holds everything to include all wider audiences and small authors and incorporates the Indie Press Fair and Children’s Press Fair. With this book fair being completely free, here’s what events and panels you can expect if you attend:
- The Art of Romance: Editing, Writing and Reading with Jacaranda Books authors.
- International Women’s Day panel discussing women in the publishing industry and partnered with the Book Banks charity.
- The Indie Press Fair will include a variety of stalls from many independent publishers in the UK.
- The Children’s Press Fair will have stalls and include two talks for children to join and have fun with.
- Lifting the Lid on Literary Prizes for a behind the scenes look at what goes into picking a winner for literary prizes, such as the The Booker Prize and Orwell Prize.
- Debut Authors panel featuring Eva Wyles, Alice Chadwick & Anne Hawk.
- Publishing Panel – gain insights on how to submit your work to independent publishers, and what it is like to work with one.
- Headline Panel with Camilla Grudova and Santanu Bhattacharya
Remember – the tickets are completely free!
The London Book Fair
11–13 March 2025Now the London Book Fair is a huge annual event which is more prominent for businesses within the publishing industry, hosted at Olympia London. LBF themselves explain this event ‘is where the global publishing community unites to develop relationships, gain insights, and define the future of creative content.’
The exhibits mostly include publishers, but they also invite:
- Literary agencies
- Copyright experts
- Global licensors
- Commissioners
- Dealmakers
- Many more!
Personally, I feel this is a very fulfilling event to attend if you want to join the publishing industry yourself, whether this is as an author or anything else. It is less of a book fair and more of a trade show.
Unlike the other events in this post, LBF does cost money to enter – and quite a lot of it! There are also some additional fees to pay for certain talks and workshops, but more are free to book a place when you have your ticket.
They have different tickets for the different events and you can choose a specific day or get a three day pass. LBF boasts The Writers’ Summit and The Academic and Professional Publishing Conference, which will include:
- Trends and challenges in publishing
- Themed topics each day – this year is business models, new technologies, and sustainability
- Guided journaling sessions.
- Trends and challenges in publishing (with themed topics each day – this year is business models, new technologies, and sustainability)
- Networking lunches and coffee breaks between different talks.
- Tips from top literary agencies.
This includes people such as:
- Alice McIlroy, author of The Glass Woman
- Lucy Pearse, Fiction Editorial Director at Simon & Schuster Children’s Books
- Abiola Bello, bestselling author of children’s and YA literature.
- Molly Arbuthnott, 14x award-winning author, poet, and academic contributor to My Favourite Books Podcast.
- Sarah Burton, Deputy Chief Executive at the Society of Authors (SoA)
- Penny Batchelor, Novelist with Embla Books
- Orna Ross, award-winning author and founder of the Alliance of Independent Authors
- Ethan Ellenberg, President of the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency
- Caroline Hardman, literary agent at Hardman & Swainson
- Georgia Henry, digital marketing expert
- Rosie Kellett, author of In For Dinner, Square Peg, with Penguin Random House
- Lou Gilmond, author with Fairlight Books
- Amber Ivatt, award-winning publicist and Head of Publicity at Bonnier Books
- James Daunt, Managing Director of Waterstones and CEO of Barnes & Noble
- David Shelley, CEO Hachette UK and Hachette Book Group US
- Dr Carolina Orloff, Publishing Director at Charco Press
- Prof. Cecilia Rossi, Professor of Literary Translation at the University of East Anglia
- Claudia Piñeiro, multi-award winning Argentinian novelist
- Stewart Gardiner, Global Production Director with the Taylor & Francis Group
- Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief at Publishing Perspectives
- Angus Phillips, Director of the Oxford International Centre for Publishing at Oxford Brookes University
- Sue Porter, Owner of Linghams
- Fleur Sinclair, President of the Booksellers Association and Owner of Sevenoaks Bookshop
- Daphne Tonge, Founder and CEO of Illumicrate
- Emma Quick, Marketing Director at Simon & Schuster Children’s Books
- William Hussey, award-winning author
- Beth O’Leary, bestselling author of The Flatshare and other romance novels
- Saara El-Arifi, adult fantasy author
- Lucy Clarke, author with HarperCollins
- Judith Murray, literary agent at Greene & Heaton Ltd
- Taylor-Dior Rumble, author with Merky Books
Here is what you could expect with a Writer’s Summit ticket. These are the titles of actual talks happening this year:
- Choose Your Own Adventure: Identifying Your Author Archetype and Path to Success.
- Getting Published, Tackling Big Themes & How A Writing Course Can Help.
- Self-Published vs Traditional Publishing
- Society of Authors Panel – What Does A Publisher Actually Do?
- Building a Community and Brand Around Your Writing
- Preparing for Publication
- Navigating the Future: UK Government’s Impact on AI, Copyright, and Open Science
- Navigating The Future: The Art and Science of Librarianship in Uncertain Times
- A Look at New Technologies and Trust in Academic and Professional Publishing
- The Evolving Role of Libraries in the Digital Age
- Research Integrity: Challenges and Solutions in Academic and Professional Publishing
- Unpacking the Digital Impact of Publications: Is Digital Really Sustainable?
- How To Get into Publishing with the 2025 Trailblazers
- Faster, Higher, Stronger? The UK & International Book Markets in 2024
- Navigating the Technology Landscape in Publishing: Fine-Tuning or Future-Proofing?
- The Task for Feminist Translators Today (hosted by British Centre for Literary Translation)
- Keeping Up With Social Media
- Publishing Jobs of the Future
- Trends in Academic Publishing 2025
- Beyond the Algorithm: Relationship Marketing for Authors & Publishers
- Safeguarding Research Integrity: Leveraging AI to Combat Content Manipulation and Enhance Credibility
- Apprenticeships Uncovered: The Benefits and Opportunities for Publishers
- The Future of Book Licensing and Distribution
- New Self-Publishing Models for Indie Authors
- The Power of Licensing & Responsible AI – A Proactive Path for Publishers
- Audio Boom: The Expanding Audio Category
- Author Connections: Maximising Opportunities with Bookshops and Festivals
- The Art of Creating an Audiobook
- Writing Others’ Experiences: Freedom and Appropriation
- The Cutting Edge of Book to Screen Adaptation Worldwide
- View on AI in Academic Publishing
- Influence & Impact: Shaping the Future of Publishing
- Publishing and Environmental Responsibility: Why the Climate Crisis is a Free Expression Issue
- Beyond The Love Story: Sharing the Future of Romance in Publishing
- The Ethics of Funding: The Future of UK Literary Festivals and Prizes
- From Book to Screen: Transforming a Best-selling Book into a Hit TV Series
- Cultivating the Next Generation of Readers
- Understanding the U.S. Book Market Landscape
- Behind the Book: From Pitch to Page
- The Women’s Prize 30 Years on: Why We Still Need to Tackle Inequality for Female Writers
As you can tell, there is so much to discover with this so-called ‘book fair’ if a trade show is what you’re really looking for!
Hay Festival
22 May – 1 June 2025
This is possibly one of the most famous festivals nowadays, primarily because of its prevalence on BookTok. The Hay Festival has invited many BookTokers and independent authors present on the social media platform as well as traditionally published and established authors and speakers.
They have already released some early bird tickets to certain confirmed talks and workshops. Personally, I’m jealous that the tickets are sold out for Miranda Hart, especially after reading her latest book I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You.
The organisers have boasted that there will be 43 events offered this year and the full programme will be released in March.
You are able to enter the festival grounds for free, but you must purchase tickets for individual events taking place. They also offer the Festival Lounge Pass, which costs £60 – £80 depending on the day. This allows guests to access the lounge onsite with comfortable seating, private bathrooms, free charging and Wi-Fi, and, potentially best of all, screenings of popular and sold out main stage events!
Newcastle Ewan Brown Anarchist Bookfair
7 June 2025
The Newcastle Ewan Brown Anarchist Bookfair is an event fully run by volunteers and they collect donations to put towards the following year’s book fair!
This event will be held at the Star and Shadow Cinema on Warwick Street in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The book fair will have family-friendly activities running all day, with the stalls and workshops opening at 10 am. Later in the evening, the organisers are also providing music and films from 7 pm until 11 pm – aptly named the After Party!
This is their fourth year of holding a book fair in honour of Ewan Brown (please take the time to read more about him after this post).
Borders Book Festival
12 – 15 June 2025
The Borders Book Festival is another free to visit event this year hosted in Harmony Garden in Melrose Scottish Borders.
In this festival, the organisers provide so many stalls and workshop events to keep everyone busy as well as featuring plenty of famous faces tagging along. Their festival venues in the garden includes:
- Festival Bookshop
- Harmony Bar
- The Food Village – featuring local artisan food and drink
- The Heartland Market – buy directly from local creative artisan producers
What originated as a small event for bringing the small Melrose bookworm community together has now become a four day event with an audience of more than 34,000 people – maybe you can be one this year!
Penzance Literary Festival
1-5 July 2025
This is a literary event that has been around since 2010. They have always offered programmes with diverse projects going on and it doesn’t just include books. At this book fair, you will find music and performing arts around to keep everyone immersed in the creative world!
Penzance LitFest often includes surprises for their audiences each year with unannounced famous people and authors and renowned writing workshops that you can join.
If you couldn’t already guess, this book festival is in Penzance down south of the UK and is easily accessible for everyone. Go have fun and participate with this charity’s goal of bringing all bookworms together in the book community.
Primadonna Festival
18 – 20 July 2025
Primadonna is a charity who hosts this book festival each year to get as many donations to go into running it. Maybe the name gives you a clue, but this is a female-led literary festival and they describe themselves as ‘ writers and readers, rebels and restless, feminists, thinkers and dreamers’.
They want to build a community for people of all backgrounds, genders, disabilities, etc. the main aim is to push inclusivity and diversity within the book community – something we can agree is a fantastic goal!
The Primadonna Festival boasts supporting new creative careers in which 50% of the artists attending the event (from authors to featured musicians) have never been programmed at a festival before.
This festival does have a ticket entry fee, but I’m fairly confident people won’t mind paying it to this charity! They even offer the opportunity to ‘pay it forward’ when purchasing the tickets online, meaning you pay a little extra for someone else to attend who wouldn’t be able to. The tickets will be on sale soon – you’re welcome!
This year, the book fair will be hosted at the Food Museum in Stowmarket.
Edinburgh International Book Festival
9 – 24 August 2025
Another Scottish book festival this year! Unfortunately, the programme for the Edinburgh International Book Festival isn’t available until June, but you can sign up to their newsletter for updates.
However, there are certain things I noticed with this festival which are probably available at other festivals, but they advertise it – that is the accessibility. The best thing I found out was that they offer ways for people to join in without having to attend the actual festival.
This book festival live streams most of the talks and workshops that happen throughout so those who are unable to travel to the event! They also provide the full list of streamable events in the programme when it is available. The remote events aren’t only extended to would-be visitors, but also to participants – authors have been invited from around the world to attend via online channels. These are shown on screens in the venue during the festival and they are still included in the programme so visitors know when they can watch. I think this is a fantastic way to include everyone and it allows the charity to gain more donations – a win-win!
Cheltenham Literature Festival
10 – 19 October 2025
The Cheltenham Literature Festival, run by The Times and Sunday Times, is not only the UK’s longest running book fair, but the world’s! This year will be their 75th year anniversary celebrating the wonderful world of books!
Being such an established event, you can probably imagine all of the major partnerships and high-profile speakers featured each year. You may also not know that they also organise a science festival as well as music festivals to support their charity. According to their website, the festivals and funds they receive go into ‘projects focusing on music, science, and the spoken and written word so that everyone can experience the benefits of cultural engagement and explore or advance careers in science and the arts.’
Get involved in their literature festival this year and support the arts for our future generations!
The Mallaig Book Festival
7 – 9 November 2025
Possibly the best book fair held in Scotland each year! The Mallaig Book Festival is held over a weekend and the organisers highly recommend staying in The West Highland Hotel where it is held for the best experience. This is probably because most of the authors and talking guests would be there too! The meals served that weekend will only be for the residents in the hotel with live music and the bar open afterwards.
The festival claims:
‘Our programme is eclectic, with events to suit all tastes, mixing genres that include crime, history, memoir, nature, fiction, folklore, poetry, and outdoor pursuits.’
If you want an awesome bookish weekend with traditional Scottish musicians playing throughout the day, this is for you!
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