SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL
Independent presses support new authors, are prepared to take a chance on short fiction and poetry, and actively encourage the quirky, the exciting and the different.
High Street stores stock a limited number of titles, even from mainstream publishers, and independent bookshops are closing.
Libraries are judged on the range of stock they hold and are charged with developing a new and more diverse audience.
Doesn’t it make sense then to bring libraries and independent presses together?
Three library authorities in Yorkshire certainly think so. Ann Cleeves, Reader Development Officer for Kirklees, put together a proposal to promote independent presses in her libraries and also in East Riding and York. Arts Council England, Yorkshire has supported the project with substantial grant funding.
The project will get titles by small publishers - especially those based in the North of England - out to reading groups in the three authorities, there will be displays and promotions in branches and events at literature festivals throughout the region.
On Sunday March 18th there will be an opportunity for librarians, book shop owners and reader development professionals to meet editors and authors at a small press fair in Huddersfield Town Hall. The event will coincide with a Readers’ and Writers’ Day at Huddersfield Library and will mark the climax of the Huddersfield Literature Festival.
The Readers’ Day will be an exciting and vibrant event celebrating the range of writing from independent presses - there’ll be performance poets, short story writers and novelists.
Attendance of the fair will be free. Professionals who book in advance will be offered special hotel rates and discounted Huddersfield Festival tickets, and will have the chance to participate in the Readers’ Day. For more information or to book a place, contact project officer, Sarah Jackson, email: [log in to unmask] or phone Mai Lin Li at Huddersfield Library 01484 225076
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