3 Days and Counting

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Yes, as this site’s helpful countdown timer tells me there are just three (whole) days until the 25 Jan 2026 Festival! Am I panicking? No. I’m excited actually, especially as we have at least one author on each panel… so I have someone to talk to!

Okay, yes it’s still a little daunting but I have some help with some of the panels (Children’s: Lee, Donna: crime, Denise: historical) so I will have time to relax. (Ha!) I live and breathe writing so I’ll be in my element.

Having 20 minutes between panels to download the recording and set up the next panel will be a challenge but who said life was easy?

The January 25th (yes, in 9 days!) Festival is coming together

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Three months ago, I decided to put together a twice-a-year in-person book festival ‘celebrating self-published authors’, knowing – from looking after several book swap cupboards in the Aylesbury area, including most recently in the local train station ticket offices – that there was a fabulous reading community in the area.

So I found the perfect location – the Holiday Inn hotel on the A41 dual carriageway and booked four dates: 26th April/4th October 2026 and 25th April/3rd October 2027.

While most festivals run yearly, I wanted to run ‘Self-Pub Fest’ more often, probably having smaller local events in the quarters in between (January and July). But ‘this’ January (2026) would be way too soon, surely… No, they would start in April then I’d see how that went then have time to find another venue for July. But that would still only reach a local audience. What about the wider community. There are tens (hundreds?) of thousands of self-published authors online.

About a month ago I decided not to start with the April but go mad (I feel that way now!) and launch it in January. So, in 9 days time, we’ll be running a full day 10am-6pm of seven genre panels on the hour every hour with the exception of 1pm.

You can see from this photo (if you click on it it’ll take you to the 25th January page) that there are still quite a few gaps. I have four names to add (which means making pages for them – I still have a day job!) but as long as I have one person for each panel, it will go ahead. Otherwise anyone who turns up with have to talk to me. 🙂

Self-Pub Fest gets a mention!

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Woo hoo! The wonderful Jacqueline Lambert (who I hope will join us on our non-fiction panel at some stage!) has added us to her list of UK book festivals. There is a link on that page for those running overseas.

In fact not only has she added us to January but also April, July and October! How wonderful.

Do check out the list – I’ve saved it as a favourite. And I certainly plan on attending some so hopefully I’ll get to meet her IRL… as the acronym goes.

She does say that “Some are genre specific: Crime is very well represented” and boy, do I know that. Fair enough that most of my friends – online and in real life – write that genre but having gone to a number of crime-only and mixed genre festivals, I know what a lovely bunch crime writers are. So much so that the crime panel for the 25 Jan 2026 Festival overflowed to the extent where I tweaked the 1pm ideas workshop/mixed panel Q&A to chatting with crime authors about ideas. So if you love crime you’ll get a double dose of us.

Quick plug: tickets for the online festivals are free (see the ‘Tickets‘ page) although we’re raising money for three (two announced at the time of writing this – 15th Jan 2026 – ten days before the first online festival… no pressure!) local book-related charities so if you could find a few pennies (the suggestion starts at £1 but you can put in a different amount) for them, that would be great.

ALL the profits from the festivals (there’s no expense to the online one – everyone’s giving their time for free – but the hotel’s not cheap then we need equipment: lanyards, goodie bags and so on) go to these charities. I hope to be announcing the third charity shortly. This may stay as the third or I may change this each year – I’ll let you know.

Jan 25th online festival is gathering momentum

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Having only decided to hold an online version a month before it was due to take place, I was concerned (yes, middle of the night wake-ups) that it would be a hollow shell of a festival.

As of this post (15th Jan… eek 10 days to go), it still has more patches than it should but thanks to Donna Morfett (fabulous woman, crime writer, my marketing guru and festival committee member – not necessarily in that order) and all the lovely authors for whom the festival is on their radar, the crime panel’s full to overflowing (it has actually overflowed) with ten out of eight authors wanting to take part.

So in cunning Baldrick style, I’ve come up with a cunning plan, which actually is cunning (sorry, Baldrick – you’re one of my favourite characters). Instead of a 1pm workshop on ideas and inspiration, I will run a panel on that topic but be joined by crime writers! And other genres if there is space but there is currently space on the other panels so the crimies – of which I am one – take priority.

Hello everyone!

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I’m so delighted to share this new website with the world. I had originally planned on starting it in April but thought Aylesbury wasn’t central enough to the universe (the UK is a little high) that not everyone would descend on the town, especially as the hotel conference room only holds 120 people!

So I brought it forward – with about a month’s notice! – to 25th January. See the ‘About & Dates’ page (clicking on the big ‘Self-Pub Fest’ at the top of the site will take you to the News) for what it’s all about.

Why is there a picture of a dog? Because everyone loves dogs (don’t they?). This is Gus, our 14-year-old (late Nov 2025) rescue dog – from Animals in Need in Northamptonshire – Schnorderdale. I know, not a ‘proper’ breed but we’ve been told he’s “some kind of Schnauzer” and “definitely… and I’ve never been wrong… a Border terrier and Patterdale”.

Sadly he can’t be our mascot at the April event but he’ll definitely be around (usually in his bed beside my office chair) for the online festivals. So if you spot him do say “Hello, Gus!” and he loves treats. The stinkier the better.