States of Independence 2026

States is coming … 28th March 2026

States of Independence is an annual one-day festival that celebrates indie publishing. States will be hosted by the Leicester Centre for Creative Writing at De Montfort University. As ever, our ‘Book Festival In a Day’ on Saturday 28th March 2026 will be open to the public and FREE to all.

Our theme this year is ‘Back to the Book Stalls’ with a returning emphasis on promoting the hard work of independent publishers, creators, and communities from the region and beyond!

Carol Leeming MBE DUniv FRSA will deliver the festival’s keynote. Carol is a poet, playwright, director, curator, musician, composer, digital / visual artist, and Leicester legend!

Literary agent Oli Munson (A.M. Heath Literary Agents) will be offering 1-2-1s (slots are limited and require an application via the form here). Applications close at 12 noon on Monday 16th March.

Plus, an Open Mic poetry reading, Children’s activities, a café; and bookstalls galore!

Join us for an hour or the whole day, and browse the stalls to see what the independent sector has to offer. Programme is live here!

Your States of Indie Team
statesofindie@gmail.com


Book your FREE tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/states-of-independence-festival-2026-tickets


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