2-7 March – Leeds Lit Fest. Tickets here
With a packed line-up including authors Monique Roffey, Ian Dunt and Peter James, this year’s Leeds Lit Fest will feature book launches, literary salons and workshops. All of this year’s festival events are free to watch via Zoom. There is also an option to donate to support the running of the festival.
3 March, 7:00pm – In Conversation with Annabelle Williams. Tickets here
In this informative event, Annabelle Williams, author of Why Women Are Poorer Than Men, will explore how financial inequalities are gendered and empower with the knowledge to solve these inequalities in your own spaces. This event costs £5 and will be held via Zoom.
3-4 March – Andrea Levy. Find out more here
Celebrate Andrea Levy’s life and work with events run by the Royal Society of Literature. Join in with an online book club on 3 March discussing Small Island. On 4 March and what would have been Andrea Levy’s 65th birthday, attend an intimate evening with Andrea Levy’s family and friends as they reveal personal stories from her life and readings from never before published extracts. Book free tickets through the British Library.
4 March – World Book Day
It is World Book Day month and there are a whole host of fun events organised to help nurture a love of reading in children throughout the country. World Book Day have three events running between 3-5 March, including “Books that Make You Lol”. They have also organised online activities and events featuring famous authors such as Tom Fletcher and Katherine Rundell to make reading even more interactive. Publishers and literary festivals are also joining the fun. While HarperCollins have organised an online free event with David Walliams on the 2 March, Manchester Literary Festival are hosting a free event involving potatoes and bubbly.
If you are interested in children’s publishing, it is definitely worth checking out the range of online events World Book Day have organised maintain the excitement of this special in the face of school closures.
20 March – Platform: Black and Asian Writers’ Conference. Tickets here
This one-day conference for Black and Asian writers will include writing workshops to get your creative juices flowing, guidance for first time writers on the writing process from draft to publication, plus a session on the state of publishing in the UK and the role that agents, editors and publishers play. The conference will also showcase seven writers from The Middle Way Mentoring Project, a development programme supporting Black, Asian and racialised writers.
When speaking to the events team, conference organiser Farhana Shaikh said: “Platform is the chance to hear from some of the most exciting Black and Asian voices writing today. It’s more than a conference. It’s a safe space for us to be present together, to discuss craft and process. It’s a celebration of the work we’ve been doing on The Middle Way Mentoring project. You’ll leave feeling inspired and motivated to write.”
8 March, 7:30pm – Independent Women: Bluemoose Authors in Conversation for International Women’s Day. Tickets here
Independent publishers Bluemoose Books have partnered with The Leeds Big Bookend to host a free panel event. The panel will include Bluemoose authors Heidi James, Sharon Duggal and Anna Chilvers in conversation with editor Annie Warren to discuss writing and what the future holds.
8 March, 7:30pm – In Conversation with Peter Usborne. Tickets here
Interested in children’s publishing? Catch Peter Usborne, founder of Usborne Publishing, in conversation with Martha Halford-Fumagalli. While tickets are free, donations to Highgate society will be well received.
10 March – Orion on Tour: Demystifying Publishing Event. Register for a free place here
Another brilliant careers event, this time organised by Orion and Manchester Metropolitan University’s publishing department. The event will offer insights into the publishing industry with discussions regarding job roles, how to get into publishing and an opportunity to network with industry professionals.
11 March, 6-8pm – THRIVE Hachette's Grow Your Story, Showcase Event. Tickets here
Meet writers from the Grow Your Story development programme, a programme run by Hachette and aimed at unpublished and unagented writers from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. Listen to readings and learn from a panel focusing on these author’s experiences and key advice on being published.
15 March, 8.00pm – Race, Identity and Belonging: Three writers hare their personal stories. Tickets here
Join Nikesh Shukla, Georgina Lawton and Nadia Owusu, three writers who have published very different accounts of their experiences growing up, as they share their personal perspectives on what it means to belong in a political and social landscape in disarray. Tickets start at £5.72.