Indie Press Network – Cabaret Day at the British Library

We were delighted to be welcomed by the British Library on the 1st of October 2024 for the inaugural Indie Press Network Cabaret Day.

The British Library kindly gave us use of their Foyle Suite (posh rooms out back) for the day, and we held a day of networking and industry insights, with a focus on diversity, sustainability and the aspects of the industry members have mentioned as being the most opaque.

We held sessions on:

• Distribution: with small-press book distributors Central Books and worldwide POD specialists Ingram, on using their Global Connect model to reach a global audience;

• Sustainability session with climate-positive small presses SRL Publishing and Renard Press and Alice Wood, Sustainability Manager of the Publishers Association;

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion session with Indie Novella reporting on the findings of their DEI in Publishing report, and PEN International, on working with PEN;

• Printer panel with Clays, CPI and CMP, talking about their small press offerings and sustainability credentials, as well as tips and advice on production;

• Publicity and Booksellers panel session with advice and answers for small presses from bookshop managers and publicity folk;

• Agents panel, with reps from Watson Little, Andrew Nurnberg and Darley Anderson, on working with small presses to improve diversity in publishing.

(ICYMI: why ‘cabaret’? Well, we don’t want this to be a dry, dusty old conference, and part of the fun of the layout of the room is we should be able to put the focus on networking, with lots of milling about baked into a relaxed format. Which is not to say you can’t break into song if you feel so inclined.)

We’re back!

We’re delighted to say we’re back this year (2026) for another day of insights and networking. Contact us for more information. Panels, events and talks this year are planned on:

• DEI in a small press setting;

• Translation panel – chaired by Susan (Istros Books)

• Sustainability – chaired by Will Dady (Renard Press)

• Libraries panel – chaired by Séan Campbell (époque press)

• ‘Four Bodies’ talk – with Damien Mosley (Indie Novella)

• Print & Production – chaired by Will Dady (Renard Press)

• Publicity and Bookselling panel

• Rights panel

Followed by networking in a local pub