Small Press Day 2023
Events in-store and in venues across U.K and Ireland on Saturday 5th August.
Scotland
Forbidden Planet International Glasgow
Small Press Day is back again at Forbidden Planet Glasgow!
This year we have a whole crew of local creators in-store from 11am until 6pm! We are very proud to say that this year’s Small Press Day will feature:
Iain Jenkins (Creator of ‘The Hiptastic Hedgehog Boy’)
Matt Smith (Creator of ‘Milkshakes for Dinner’ and more)
Sidney Galloway (AKA HesitantDoodle, creator of GUTS and more)
Connor Tierney (Creator of Kid Eastwood)
Conner McGowan (AKA Conner Cottontail, creator of HoneyHair)
Davidt Dunlop (Creator of Baphometta and more)
The creators will be at tables throughout both floors of the shop so make sure you get around to everyone! All the exciting info here.
@ Forbidden Planet International, 122 – 126 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3DH
Forbidden Planet Edinburgh @ Edinburgh City Chambers
Yes it’s happening! After a couple years off we’re doing Small Press Day! Come on down to the Edinburgh City Chambers (just 5 minutes away from the store) on Saturday 5th of August and check out all the awesome local artists and writers! Comics, graphic novels, and zines galore!
We’ll be showcasing all of our favourite small press creators as well as some brand spanking new up and comers in the industry, and with totally free entry you won’t want to miss it! Keep up to date with all the latest here.
@ Edinburgh City Chambers, 253 High St, Edinburgh EH1 1YJ
Ireland
Forbidden Planet Dublin
Forbidden Planet Dublin is proud to announce our Small Press Day event on August 5th. To celebrate our local independent comic creators, we are converting our ground floor space into a pop-up market for Irish creators to sell their comics, zines and artwork like they would at a convention. All are welcome and encouraged to come by and chat to all of our wonderful exhibitors – a preview of them here!
More info about our SPD event here.
@ Forbidden Planet Dublin, 5-7 Crampton Quay, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 VX56
Wales
Workers Gallery
Small Press Day – Share and Social
A chance to socialise and find out more about small pressers, zine makers and fans of self publishing. Informal little event at our little gallery in the Welsh valleys.
From 10.30am – 4,30pm. More info here.
@ Workers Gallery, 99 Ynyshir Road, Ynyshir, RCT, Wales CF39 0EN
England
- North East
Travelling Man Newcastle
A day of local small press artists tables selling zines and comics! Come on down to the basement of Travelling Man Newcastle! Free entry – keep up to date here.
@ Travelling Man Newcastle, 43 Grainger Street, NE1 5JE
- North West
Travelling Man Manchester
We are extremely fortunate to have a few of our most amazing local small press creators join us for Small Press Day this year.
First up; Beck Kubrick. Beck returns to Travelling Man in Manchester for the second year in a row, bringing their unique blend of YA drama, comedy and horror to your eager fingertips in paper crack form via a brand new 64 page comic about how weird it is to be alive.
Secondly; the Anthony Kelly and Anthony Cook. The Anthonys are bringing the second printing of issue one of their existential crisis horror tale ‘Dark Cloud‘ to our door. The first printing sold out at store level for us (twice) before going out of print altogether, so don’t sleep on this one.
So come on down, buy some books, meet the creators, maybe even get a sketch commission or a sneak peak at forthcoming work from some of Manchester’s best comic creators before they become too famous for our little shop and start wearing sunglasses indoors. From 12pm – 5pm.
Keep up to date here.
@ Travelling Man Manchester, 4 Dale Street, Manchester, M1 1JW
- Yorkshire
Travelling Man York
In celebration of SPD 2023, Travelling Man York will be hosting a mini con with small press stalls in-store – highlighting the excellent publications in their small press department with special discounts! More info here.
@ Travelling Man York, 74 Goodramgate, York, YO1 7LF
Mr Inman’s
Our barman is an award winning comics artist and will be selling signed copies of all three of his self published graphic novels from the bar!
“Recovering our stories” a collection of true stories of addiction and recovery, produced with the help of project 6, a charity based in Keighley.
“Power, privilege and perversion” explores the complex and twisted backstories of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
“Get out of my head” is an anthology of comics from the career of hustlerbyname, annotated throughout.
More info here
@ Mr Inman’s, 1a Queen street, Morley, Leeds, LS27 8EG
Travelling Man Leeds
Travelling Man Leeds Art Market in our downstairs space!
12pm-4pm Saturday 5th August
Lots of Small Press creators holding stalls and selling awesome work from comics, prints, stickers, jewellery and more! Keep up to date here.
@ Travelling Man Leeds, 32 Central Road, Leeds, LS1 6DE
- East Midlands
Forbidden Planet International, Leicester
From 1pm – 4pm, a micro-con taking place on the ground floor of the store featuring some of Leicesters absolute best creatives and self publishers along with deals on comics and graphics throughout the day. More info here.
@ Forbidden Planet international, 23 Silver Street, Leicester, LE1 5EU
- London
Jam Bookshop
The Small Press Day JAMboree: a day of signings and workshops with a stellar guestlist of creators!
Dominique Duong – 12 – 2pm
An illustrator whose work has been published by SelfMadeHero, Discord Comics and Limit Break Comics, among others. Dominique’s one of Broken Frontier’s Six Small Press Creators to Watch of 2020 and her comic The Dog & The Cat was nominated for a prestigious Ignatz Award. She’s self-published zines since 2018 and has worked on editorial and book illustration, concept art, story-boarding and comics.
Anna Bowles – 12 – 2pm
A cartoonist and illustrator who grew up in the greater Detroit area. She graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2016 with a BFA in studio art. She has been creating and publishing comics since 2009. She illustrated the graphic novel ‘Graveneye’ written by Sloane Leong and published by TKO in October of 2021. She now lives in London, UK.
2pm – a 20-30 min making /advice workshop – come with your questions on how to make & sell your stuff. Pick the brains of those who are doing it.
Manon Wright – 2 – 4pm
An illustrator who graduated with a BA in Illustration and an MA in Publishing. Her work centres around empathy and understanding between people across cultures, classes and lived experiences. Manon is one of Broken Frontier’s Six Small Press Creators to Watch of 2022 and Winner of the 2021 Thought Bubble Comics Creator Prize.
Shane Melisse – 2 – 4pm
A London based comic artist and illustrator. Shane’s been self-publishing comics since 2014 and exhibiting at comic cons and fairs round the UK and parts of Europe. He has worked on storyboarding, character designs, CD and is one of Broken Frontier’s Six Small Press Creators to Watch of 2021. Currently working on a personal project called Road Knight.
Beatrice Mossman – 2 – 4pm
A comic-creator and illustrator whose work is often inspired by folklore and fairy tales; she is also a huge fan horror and coming-of-age stories. Beatrice is the editor/creator of Hell-hued, a horror zine where each issue is themed around a certain colour; she has also contributed to various other zines including Knock Knock zine and Nerve zine. She is one of Broken Frontier’s Six Small Press Creators to Watch of 2022.
4pm – a 20-30 min making /advice workshop – come with your questions on how to make & sell your stuff. Pick the brains of those who are doing it.
Sarah Gordon – 4 – 6pm
An artist and creepy story enthusiast. Sarah’s been making zines since 2010, and has been Extremely Serious™ about making comics since 2015. She’s contributed work to numerous anthologies, was short-listed for the Best comic of the Year at the British Comic Awards and has successfully kickstarted 2 books including her short story collection Vicious Creatures.
Joe Stone – 4 – 6pm
A designer and illustrator who has been self-publishing comics since 2017. His work was named Comic of the Festival at Thought Bubble 2018 and nominated for Best One-Shot of 2018 on Broken Frontier. Joe also organises WIP Comics, a meetup group where anyone is welcome to discuss their work, give and receive feedback and chat about the craft of creating comics. He has just successfully crowdfunding a new anthology featuring over 50 comic creators.
6pm-7pm – Jam session – come with your questions for Jam founder/ illustrator/ comic-maker David Ziggy Greene. He’ll be happy to use his experiences to run a more in-depth Q&A session on making books & getting them into shops.
7pm – 8pm – SMALL PRESS DAY AFTER-PARTY! Join for drinks and chats with fellow small pressers!
From August 4th – 20th
The Jam bookshop gallery hosts a big exhibition of small-press art. A selection of pages and art from comic creators as curated by Broken Frontier’s Andy Oliver
More info here
@ Jam Bookshop, 61a Hackney Road, Hoxton E2 7NX
Gosh! Comics
It’s time to get ready for the years most exciting day in comics! Small Press Day is here! We’ve pulled out all the stops at Gosh! for this annual event to make it the best one yet. So join us on Saturday 5th August 2023 for a Small Press Day to remember.
Since it’s inception back in 2016 (and thanks to Broken Frontier, Alternative Press and David Ziggy Greene), once a year, comic shops all across the country have been inviting independent and self-published comic creators to join them for a day of signings and festivities in celebration of the wonderful DIY comics scene. Small Press and self published comics have always been an integral part of the Gosh! Comics D.N.A and we’re proud to share the extraordinary work of our talented friends.
This year at Gosh, we’ll have several themed signings throughout the day with some of our favourite cartoonists! The rundown of the day is as follows:
From 11am-12pm, we have a special Avery Hill signing with Lord Hurk, Clio Isadora, Alex Potts and Shanti Rai.
Joining us from 12-1pm for a sci-fi themed signing will be Jonathan Adams, Gareth Brookes, Lando, Savage Pencil and Emix Regulus.
From 1-2pm, we welcome some of Broken Frontier’s current and former “6 to Watch” creators with Tal Brosh, Ed Firth, Kry García, J Webster Sharp and Rachel Tubb.
At 2-3pm, with us will be the phenomenal Babak Ganjei, Will Humberstone, Anna Readman, Molly Stocks and Olivia Sullivan.
To end the day, our last signing from 3-4pm will have Sean Azzopardi, Fraser Geesin, Paul Jon Milne, Douglas Noble, Mark Stafford and Dan White.
Phew! We hope you’re excited to celebrate Small Press Day 2023 with us! We absolutely cannot wait. Meet all the wonderful creators from 11am on Saturday 5th August. More info here.
@ Gosh! Comics, 1 Berwick St, London, W1F 0DR
Independent Label Market @ All My Friends
Independent Label Market is thrilled to announce its inaugural event at All My Friends on 5 August, bringing together a diverse array of independent publishers and electronic music enthusiasts for a day of celebration and discovery.
The market features an impressive lineup of stallholders (Velocity Press, Repeater Books, Four Corners Books, Disco Pogo, Dance Policy, 20k and a Dead Sheep, 140 zine, My First Book of Drum & Bass, the Museum of Youth Culture, Junior Tomlin, Music Mondays, Rendezvous Projects and Mixmag presents Destination Dancefloor), each offering a curated selection of books, zines, prints, art, records, ephemera and merchandise.
Independent Print Market serves as a platform for independent publishers, shops and artists to connect directly with fans and showcase their unparalleled passion for music and print. With an emphasis on fostering a sense of community, the event offers attendees the opportunity to engage with publishers, artists and industry professionals, gaining insight into the creative process behind their favourite books/zines and art.
Independent Print Market welcomes music lovers of all ages and backgrounds, fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can discover new sounds, connect with fellow enthusiasts, and support independent artists, publishers, shops and cultural institutions. All the exciting info here.
Join The Cartoon Museum on Small Press Day and meet some of the cartoonists, and small press-creators we work with in person!
We will be hosting:
Lana Le
Rose Mac
Siberian Lizard / Liza Nechaeva
Stefan Alexander
The Spatula Comic team
Check our website for further info on schedules so you don’t miss your favourite artist!
- South East
Wilderness Festival, Tootles & Nibs Stage
Megaphone Comics ZineMob 4 #smallpressday @Wilderness’23!
Sat 5 August, 2-3pm, Tootles & Nibs Stage.
All ages welcome.
Megaphone Comics invite YOU the public to draw out loud! Come along to the Zine Mob and make a mess, hear some stories, have some fun, clelebrate small press and make a zine for SPD23. Plus our esteemed panel of comic creators share top tips for aspiring artists; Rebecca K Jones (winner Observer Prize 2022, Co-producer SLCZF), Peter Morey (creator of Endswell, Co-producer SLCZF), Josh Knowles (Megaphone Comics, Stories from BubbleTown), Sofie Dodgson (Eisner Award winning Colourist for Bitter Root, Golden Rage, Tank Girl) and Chris Shipton (live illustrator extraordinaire).
Keep up to date here.
@ Wilderness Festival, Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire, OX7 3HL
- South West
If you create characters we would love to see you in this brand new devised workshop. The aim of the workshop is to quickly generate an idea of a character and run through a few exercises that will help you add some depth. No matter if you create characters for stories, comics, TTRPGs, theatre, sketch or any other form of medium.
Where: Hamilton House – Art Room
Date: Sat 5th August 2023
Time: 16:30 – 19:00
Price: £8
Low Income: £4
All profits from the workshop will go to help fund Pride Comic Arts Festival. More info here.