Below was the programme for the day ~ click on either picture for the full pdf…

 

 

 

 

 

We had a fantastic day at the 26th April 2026 In-Person Festival so it happened again, although October’s differed from the April festival by concentrating on the nuts and bolts of publishing rather than genres.

The sessions covered of the topics below, each panel consisting of four authors (different to April’s), plus a moderator (also authors): Morgen Bailey was on the 10am: editing panel but hands-off thereafter.

Following feedback from our first festival, we had fewer panels (five instead of eight) lasting longer (40 minutes instead of 30 minutes Q&A including audience questions plus a five-minute reading from each of the four author on each panel) before the 30-minute break to buy/sign books and network. All the books were available all day from our bookshop so no one had to wait until after each panel as there was a separate signing area.

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.

New to Self-Pub Fest? If you are a self-published author and would like to take part in any of the other all-day festivals (FULL-DAY (In Person) or FULL-DAY (Online)) or are traditionally (or un-)published or reader and would like to take part in the mini-fests listed on the Calendar page, please see the Participate page.

If you missed out on this October festival, there is currently limited space on the Sunday 25th April 2027 Festival panels (I’m gathering interest at the moment) and plenty of opportunities online – see the Calendar page for details.

Next April’s event will be different to this year with twelve novelists (over three panels), four children’s authors (on one panel), four poets/short story authors (on one panel), and four non-fiction authors (on one panel) ~ twenty-four self-published authors total, some of whom will moderate some of the panels.

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

• 10am: editing panel: 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.
• Moderator: Nikki East. The four guest authors on this panel were: Alastair McIver, David Wake, Greer Glover and SFPB founder Morgen Bailey. As editing is SPBF founder Morgen‘s day job this was the only panel she appeared on, leaving her available to oversee the rest of the day. Photos courtesy of Guy Gratton.

 

• 11.30am: cover design, illustrations and book formatting panel ~ 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.
• Moderator: Petra Gratton. The four guest authors on this panel were Damiano Polcaro, Ella Hamilton, Jane Killick and Paul Gitsham. Photos courtesy of Guy Gratton.

1.15pm: Science-fiction, fantasy, cosy mystery, thriller and comedy author David Wake launched his latest book ‘The Murder Clubs of Conky Whallop‘! Leading into…

Photos coming soon.

• 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? How many ISBNs should you buy? What formats of books: as well as the eBook and paperback, should you create a hardback and audiobook? Could you do the latter yourself?
• Moderator: Jane Killick. The four guest authors on this panel were: BB Elsin,Guy Gratton, Karl W Newton, Meriet Duncan.

Photos coming soon.

• 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.
• Moderator: David Wake. The four guest authors on this panel were: Deborah E Wilson, Lesley Bootiman, Nikki East and Tony Ferguson. Photos courtesy of Guy Gratton.

• 4.30pm: marketing/advertising inc. social media, website design etc. ~ you’re ready to tell the world about your book. How much of an online presence do you need? Do you need a website or is social media enough? Which social media platforms should you be on? What should you do on them? What are blog tours? Should you go out in the real world too?
• Moderator: Guy Gratton. The four guest authors on this panel were: Damiano Polcaro, Daniel Furl, Jonathan Durden, Phil Oddy.

Photos/videos coming soon.

• 6pm: Morgen then closed the festival.

To recap the panellists were…

1. Psychological thriller novelist Alastair McIver (10am: editing panel)
2. Fantasy novelist and short story author BB Elsin (1.30pm: what else? panel)
3. Crime novelist, graphic designer and marketing expert Damiano Polcaro (11.30am: design panel and (4.30pm: marketing panel)
4. Multi-genre short story author Daniel Furl (4.30pm: marketing panel)
5. Science-fiction, fantasy, cosy mystery, thriller and comedy author David Wake (10am: editing panel). David will be launching his latest books at the festival at 1.15pm!
6. Poet Dawn the Poet (9.45am: poetry performance)
7. Gothic/historical novelist Deborah E Wilson (3pm: publishing panel)
8. Romance novelist Ella Hamilton (11.30am: design panel)
9. Multi-genre author (fiction and non-fiction), editor and writing coach Greer Glover (10am: editing panel)
10. Non-fiction and aviation-related crime thriller author Guy Gratton (1.30pm: what else? panel). Guy’s wife and non-fiction collaborator Petra Gratton will be moderating the cover design panel.
11. Multi-genre author Jane Killick (11.30am: design panel)
12. Literary novelist and marketing expert Jonathan Durden (4.30pm: marketing panel)
13. Multi-genre author and poet Karl W Newton (1.30pm: what else? panel)
14. Multi-genre author Lesley Bootiman (3pm: publishing panel)
15. Children’s author Meriet Duncan (1.30pm: what else? panel)
16. Crime/women’s fiction and writing-related non-fiction author, and Self-Pub Fest founder Morgen Bailey (10am: editing panel)
17. Editor, cover designer and formatter Nikki East (10am: editing panel)
18. Editor, agent t.b.a.
19. Crime novelist Paul Gitsham (11.30am: design panel)
20. Science fiction/fantasy novelist and marketing expert Phil Oddy (4.30pm: marketing panel)
21. Historical non-fiction author Tony Ferguson (3pm: publishing panel).

New to Self-Pub Fest? If you are a self-published author and would like to take part in any of the other all-day festivals (FULL-DAY (In Person) or FULL-DAY (Online)) or are traditionally (or un-)published or reader and would like to take part in the mini-fests listed on the Calendar page, please see the Participate page.