Yes, our first in-person panel took place on Sunday, and I’m already thinking of next year’s 25th Apr 2027 Festival ~ Meet the (Indie) Authors event! While the 26th Apr 2026 Festival ~ Meet the (Indie) Authors day was very successful, it was agreed ~ and I knew it could be an isssue but wanted as many authors involved as possible ~ that the panels were too big and too short.

So next April will be a smaller version with a maximum of three* authors per panel, plus a moderator, running for an hour rather than thirty minutes. *This original format was devised to fit in all seven main genres (children’s ~ crime ~ historical ~ non-fiction ~ poetry/short stories ~ romance/women’s ~ sci-fi/fantasy/horror) when we had 27 authors involved! That made sense, right?

This did mean there were fewer spaces available for paying ticket holders which reduced the chance (by half!) of earning more money for the three local book-related charities.

I also felt that I was battling against the idea that it was a fair-style, where I’d charge authors to have a stall, which they’d sit at for several hours in the hope that someone would stop at and buy a book. These have had mixed results in terms of sales (and with travel and parking fees worked out at breaking even or making a loss) and meant limited networking time unless they abandon their stalls. I didn’t want this format… still don’t. So the genres day is now ‘Meet the (Indie) Authors’.

I don’t charge authors a penny, in fact I offer a free +1 ticket if they want to bring a friend or family member, or their welcome to pass this value (£15 in 2027) directly to the charities. Ten authors did so in 2026. Plus all the authors retain 100% of their book sales. Card fees come out of the ticket sales.

With all the initial set-up costs (website, banner, goodie bags, marketing material, advertising etc. and venue cost… that alone was £400)  Self-Pub Fest is running at a loss (I will be announcing the accounts on the Charities & Donate page shortly) but that’s okay. It should break even at some point then hopefully turn a small profit, which will all go to the charities.

In the meantime, we have already raised £311 (see the Donations page for the breakdown) from the ten authors mentioned above as well as three direct donations. I’ve also set up a ‘300 Words’ Flash Fiction Competition from which 50% of the money received will be split between the top three authors, the other 50% split between the three charities. I’ll be updating the figure on the Donations page (it also appears on the Self-Pub Fest home page) as each stage (bi-monthly) of the competition closes.

And there’s always the second in person event on 4th Oct 2026 Festival ~ concentrating on Publishing ~ to look forward to!

*There were supposed to only be four panelists but some authors I really wanted involved came back to me after I had four so we ended up with five or six! The format will therefore be:.

• 10am: the first panel will take place and feature three novelists with a guest moderator (all t.b.a.).
• 11am: there will then be a 30-minute break to buy books, have them signed and network.
• 11.30am: the second panel will take place and feature three children’s authors with a guest moderator (all t.b.a.)
• 12.30pm: there will then be a 45-minute break to buy books, have them signed and network, and have lunch!
• 1.30pm: the third panel will take place and feature three poets/short story authors including Self-Pub Fest founder Morgen Bailey, with a guest moderator (all t.b.a.).
• 2.30pm: there will then be a 30-minute break to buy books, have them signed and network.
• 3pm: the  panel will take place and feature non-fiction authors with a guest moderator (all t.b.a.).
• 4pm: there will then be a 30-minute break to buy books, have them signed and network
• 4.30pm:the  panel will take place and feature novelists with a guest moderator (all t.b.a.).
• 5.30pm: there will then be a 30-minute break to buy books, have them signed and network.
• 6pm: the festival will then close..

So six novelists, three children’s authors, three poets/short story authors, and three non-fiction authors ~ fifteen self-published authors, some of whom will moderate some of the panels. All their books will be available  in our bookshop along with tote bags (£2 each), pens and A5 notebooks (£1 each).

Other authors (self-published and traditionally published) will be ticket holders so you’ll be able to meet them too. Although their books won’t be in the bookshop, they will have flyers and bookmarks on a marketing table.

What do you think of this new format? Please leave a comment below…

This in-person festival will differ from the 26th Apr 2026 Festival by concentrating on the nuts and bolts of publishing rather than genres. The sessions will cover of the topics below, each panel consisting of up to three experts in that field and three or more authors (different to April’s), making six total.

Following feedback from our first festival, on Sunday 4th October 2026 we will have fewer panels (five instead of eight) lasting longer (an hour instead of thirty minutes including audience questions). We were also told that some panels were too big (too many authors). I had planned no more than four authors but some had five or six, perhaps too much for a 30-minute overview. It was difficult enough to say ‘no’ to authors when the panels were full but there were authors I’d particularly wanted and they’d taken so long to come back to me that their panels had already officially filled.

Next April’s event will be genres again so I’ll have to think about the format because there are seven genres so we had seven panels plus a moderators’ panel… a really packed day!

Within the topics, the experts and authors will be talking about the importance of each step, the service the expert provides, what the author should provide to the expert, and anything else they think of.

4th October 2026 (Aylesbury, UK)

• 10am: editing: you’ve finished your book, you’ve had someone you trust to go through it so now you’re ready for a professional to go through it, and get it ready for publication.
• There will be a mix of three or more authors and up to three editors talking about this topic.
• Editing is SPBF founder Morgen Bailey‘s day job so this is the only panel she’ll appear on, leaving her available to oversee the rest of the day.
• 11am: there will then be a 30-minute break to buy books, have them signed and network.
• 11.30am: cover design, illustrations and book formatting ~ when you know what your book is finished (before or while the editor has it) you want to think about your cover, and any illustrations you might like inside, especially if you’re creating a children’s book or graphic novel. When it’s ready, how do you want the inside to look? What software might be used? This is the panel for that stage.
• There will be a maximum of three authors on this panel as well as one or more cover designers, one or more illustrators and one or more formatters talking about this topic.
• 12.30pm: there will then be an hour break to buy books, have them signed and network, and have lunch!
• 1.30pm: what else do you need before your book is published? ~ this panel will be looking at what else is needed, i.e. what price will you charge? What should your blurb look like?
• 2.30pm: there will then be a 30-minute break to buy books, have them signed and network.
• 3pm publishing ~ you have your edited/formatted book and cover with all the information you need to proceed… how do you publish it? Do you do it yourself via Amazon’s KDP, Draft2Digital (who helps go wide), or each platform individually (i.e. Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo etc.) or hire someone to do those processes for you then give you full control thereafter. They will also talk about ‘vanity’ publishing. Self-publishing publishers will only do the work for you that you would do. You would retain all your rights, be able to access your Amazon bookshelf, be paid your royalties directly rather than via the publisher etc.
• There will be a mix of three or more authors and up to three publishing experts talking about this topic.
• 4pm: there will then be a 30-minute break to buy books, have them signed and network
• 4.30pm: marketing/advertising inc. social media, website designe etc. taking part
• There will be a mix of up to three authors, one or more marketing/advertising/social media experts and one web designer talking about this topic.
• 5.30pm: there will then be a 30-minute break to buy books, have them signed and network
• 6pm: the festival will then close..

Authors confirmed so far…

• Crime novelist Damiano Polcaro
• Multi-genre short story author HJ Furl
• Multi-genre author and poet Karl W Newton
• Multi-genre author Lesley Bootiman
• Science fiction/fantasy novelist Phil Oddy.
• Historical (inspired by real events) author Tony Ferguson.

If you are a self-published author or provide any of the services above (or another!) to self-published authors, please see the Participate page.

I think so anyway. I will be posting the photos on the 26 Apr 2026 Festival page and relevant Authors‘ pages in the next few days.

This photo shows the historical panel with AK Nairn at the helm, BG Lambourne, Cristina Loggia and Paula Harmon to his right.

We sold 94 books (for 26 authors) and raised £51 for the three charities from the sale of tote bags, notebooks and ‘keep the change’ round-ups.

The full accounts (ticket sales minus expenses, i.e. venue fees, lanyards, marketing materials, advertising etc.) will be added to the Charities & Donate page shortly.

There are four sessions most weeks (with exceptions of prior commitments and holidays), running Mondays at noon, Tuesdays/Thursdays at 6pm and Saturdays at 7pm. See the CALENDAR page for what’s on when… and what we’re doing. There’s usually space if you’d like to take part. 

The first in-person (genres) event took place on Sunday 26th April in Aylesbury, Bucks, England. It was fantastic, selling 94 books (for 27 authors), all receiving 100% of their book sales, and £51 for the three charities through sales of tote bags, notebooks and ‘keep the change’ donations.

The next event, focusing on the nuts and bolts of publishing, will be 4th October 2026.

The doors open to the public at 9am with the first panel starting at 10am and final panel at 5pm, with a wrapping up at 6pm.

All-day tickets (BOOKED IN ADVANCE PLEASE) are just £20 or £10 for the morning (three panels) or afternoon (four panels) half-day.

The October booking link will be listed here when available.

On Monday 20th April 2026, the panel below talked about endings in fiction…

• Crime novelist Damiano Polcaro
• Dark erotic steamy romance, drama, scifi/fantasy author HJ Furl
• Crime/thriller novelist Jill Todd
• Crime/women’s novelist and non-fiction author and Self-Pub Fest founder Morgen with an ‘E’(host)
• Science-fiction/fantasy novelist Phil Oddy

These are free events but we’re raising money for local book-related charities and we’d be really grateful if you would donate whatever you afford via the Charities & Donate page. Thank you so much.

Yes, with a week and a day before the first in-person festival here in Aylesbury, the programme is now fixed. Doesn’t it look great!

Why do I say ‘on’ rather than ‘in’? Because we’re on their website at:

https://www.bucksherald.co.uk/your-world/new-book-festival-coming-to-weston-turville-aylesbury-6576557

If you can bear with the umpteen number of adverts, you’ll see the details for our 26 Apr 2026 Festival.

Following on from the first T&T panel which took place on Thursday 12th March…

On Tuesday 14th April the panel below talked about staying with Amazon’s KDP Select exclusive or go wide?

• Crime/thriller author Dan Burford (currently with Amazon only)
• Fantasy author Eric Goebelbecker (currently wide)
• Crime/women’s novelist and non-fiction author and Self-Pub Fest founder Morgen with an ‘E’ (host)

The recording from this session is below.

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If you’d like to take part in any of these sessions, do take a look at the other topics on The T&T Panels page, and there’s also the weekly Monday Mini-fests. The Participate page outlines the process of getting involved.

These are free events but we’re raising money for book charities local to the Aylesbury (Buckinghamshire, England) area and we’d be really grateful if you would donate whatever you afford via the Charities & Donate page. Thank you so much.

On Monday 13th April 2026, the panel listed below talked about the saggy middle of a novel. The recording is at the end of this page.

• Historical fantasy novelist and short story author BB Elsin
• Crime; science-fiction; fantasy author David Wake
• Crime/thriller novelist Jill Todd
• Suspense thriller novelist, poet and children’s author Karl W Newton
• Children’s author, speaker and beekeeper! Meriet Duncan
• Crime/women’s novelist and non-fiction author and Self-Pub Fest founder Morgen with an ‘E’ (host)

We talked about what the middle of a novel should look like, how to avoid a ‘saggy’ middle, what to do if you find yourself with one (or without a middle!), whether genre affects the middle of novels, published novels that feel like they still have a saggy middle… and anything else we could think of.

These are free events but we’re raising money for local book-related charities and we’d be really grateful if you would donate whatever you afford via the Charities & Donate page. Thank you so much.