Prize Winning Authors, Award Winning Publishers, Free Events,

Taking place in Islington, north London, at the grand, newly refurbished Islington Central Library, the Alternative Book Fair London is part of an initiative developed by Islington Libraries and the Indie Novella Diversity in Publishing Partnership which seeks to make publishing more accessible to new writers, especially from diverse and working-class backgrounds by removing the barriers to publishing – most notably the knowledge and the cost barriers.

As such, the Alternative Book Fair is a week of completely free events and exhibitions designed to connect big name and exciting authors with readers and new audiences and encourage more people from a wide range of backgrounds to take up writing and tell their stories.

Wednesday

5th March 2025 6.30pm

The Art of Romance: Editing, Writing and Reading

To kick off The Alternative Book Fair’s programme, award-winning, diverse-owned independent publisher Jacaranda Books are bringing together three of their authors to discuss the Art of Romance.

Romance authors Sareeta Domingo, Lisa Bent and Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm will talk through the journey of debuting in the industry versus now, and take us on a journey to help us to understand where the genre has come from, what development takes and where they see it going.

Curated by Jacaranda Books

Thursday

6th March 2025 6.30pm

International Women’s Day Special Event: Female authors Writing on Womanhood, Identity & Who We Are

We will celebrate International Women’s Day with a panel of writers who will delve into craft, identity and voice: Catherine Mayer, Rowan Hisayo Buchanan and Kelly Frost talk with journalist, Emily Rhodes, about examining and challenging societal norms and expectations on being a woman, identity and choice. Event in partnership with local charity Book Banks.

Saturday

8th March 2025 10am - 5pm

The Indie Press Book Fair - All Day from 10.00am

We will be welcoming award-winning and game-changing independent publishers including Influx Press, époque Press, Jacaranda Books, Weather Glass Books, Cipher Press, Renard Press, Indie Novella, Heloise Press, Scorpius Books, Istros Books, époque press, SRL Publishing, Prototype Publishing and many more.

Plus the Children’s Press Fair with face painting, author talks and book stalls for children of all ages.

Talks & Events in Theatre

11.00am: What it takes to run Literary Prizes - with the organisers of The Booker Prize, The Orwell Prize and The Republic of Consciousness Prize.

12.30pm: Debut Authors Panel – Aclaimed authors Anne Hawk, Eva Wyles and Alice Chadwick speak of their journey as writers and the steps (and awards) along the way to their first published novel. The authors will also offer advice to aspiring authors.

2pm: Publishing Panel with leading Independent Publishers including Gary Budden (Influx), Jack Thompson (Cipher Press) and Jess Chandler (Prototype Publishing) on what they look for when publishing a novel.

3.30pm: In Conversation with Award-Winning Authors, Camilla Grudova and Santanu Bhattacharya: We will finish the programme with a panel of headline authors featuring two breathtaking authors whose epitomises what the Alternative Book Fair is about; Camilla Grudova, recently named one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists 2023, and Santanu Bhattacharya, selected as The Observer's Debut Novelist of the Year 2022.

Camilla Grudova was born in Toronto, Canada and lives in the UK . She is the author of the critically acclaimed The Doll’s Alphabet, Children of Paradise which was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and The Coiled Serpent, longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. She was named one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists in 2023 and a Frank O’Connor fellow in 2024. Her work has appeared in The White Review, Granta, The TLS, The Stinging Fly and the Daily Telegraph.

Santanu Bhattacharya grew up in India, and studied at the University of Oxford and the National University of Singapore. He is the winner of the 2023 Desmond Elliott Prize Residency and the 2021 Mo Siewcharran Prize. His first novel, One Small Voice, was an Observer best debut novel of 2023, and was shortlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award and the Society of Authors’ Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize. He now lives in London.