I do love when the world conspires in my favour. I mean, it doesn’t happen as often as I’d like, but that’s not the point. A few weeks ago I booked a train down to London to see my baby brother (FYI: a fully grown man at this point, but forever baby brother) and what pops up in my Instagram feed? This bad boy:
YES. Right up my book-strewn alley. The London Indie Press Book Fair is a free event organised by Dostoyevsky Wannabe and the Contemporary Small Press Project that invites independent presses to sell their books and zines, chat about industry trends and celebrate the industry we love – with drinks and snacks available, of course. Is it even a literary event if you don’t have a glass of red in your hand?
I wish I could have bought something from every press there, but there’s only so much a girl can carry back up north. Here’s what I picked up!
Happening by Annie Ernaux
Kong’s Garden by Hwang Jungeun
Bad Boy Poet by Scott Manley Hadley and Shitstorm by Fernando Strigotti

If you’re curious about all the indie presses that were there, here’s the full list:
- Ma Bibliothèque
- Prototype Publishing
- The 87 Press
- Pamenar Press
- Fitzcarraldo Editions
- Ink, Sweat and Tears
- Influx
- Open Pen
- And Other Stories
- Bookworks
- Dostoyevsky Wannabe
- Les Fugitives
- Boiler House Press
- Partisan Hotel
- Green Bottle Press
- Death of Workers Whilst Building Skyscrapers
- Silver Press
- Source Magazine
- Gallic Books
- Arachne Press
- Nightjar
- Tilted Axis
- Information as Material
Anyway, my fellow bookworms, I need to go and crack on with this growing to-be-read pile or there won’t be any book reviews. THE HORROR. If you’ve read any of these, or have any other indie publishers and presses you’d like to share, go for it!
-Kelly