After the success of the October 2023 event at Lansdown Hall organised by local independent author Fanny Garstang, this year’s festival will showcase 18 writers from Gloucestershire, Bristol, Wiltshire and Birmingham.
The authors will be talking about their literature from genres including romance, contemporary fiction, crime, children’s fiction, sci-fi, fantasy and non-fiction.
Speaking about the event, Fanny said: “Independent publishing is a growing concept, and has moved a long way from the early idea of ‘vanity publishing’ when anyone could buy their way to having a book published. Today independent authors employ professionals such as editors, sensitivity checkers and book cover artists to ensure their books are as good, or often even better than, those selected by the big publishing houses.”
Many independent authors choose the route because it gives them control over their writing – they own all the rights to their books, have control over future development of storylines, and can manage their own creative and promotional work. Additionally, it is harder today than ever before for new and emerging authors to attract the attention of the big publishing houses, making the independent route attractive.
Fanny adds: “We have some great support available these days to independent authors – here, locally, we have the Gloucestershire Writer’s Network, and nationally there is the Society of Authors and Alli, the Alliance of Independent Authors. These networks are great ways for authors to meet each other, learn the many skills they need to write and promote independently, and to publish great books.
“Events like ours planned for Stroud are a great opportunity for authors to meet existing and new fans of their works, and for avid readers to find and support new local authors. There are many held in America, and now we’re starting to see more across Britain along with greater visibility of independent authors at craft markets and Comicon events. However, we are ahead of the curve here in Stroud by offering a full independent book fair, which is fitting as our town is so well known for its independent shops and businesses.
“As an added bonus this year we have the privilege of supporting Bristol based Melanie Leeder in launching her first book on the same day as the book fair, a romance set at the outbreak of World War Two.”
Stroud’s second independent book fair will take place at Lansdown Hall in Stroud from 10am – 3pm on Saturday 14th September, and is free to attend.
