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…
Following on from the first T&T panel which took place on Thursday 12th March…
I think so anyway. I will be posting the photos on the 
There are four sessions most weeks (with exceptions of prior commitments and holidays), running