The North East Indie Book Fest will return on Saturday 3rd October 2026, bringing together independent authors for a day dedicated to books and reading in Durham. Organised by husband and wife team Karen and Ryan Crear, founders of Crear Publishing, the event follows the success of last year's festival and aims to champion local authors and help get the region reading again.
Festival details and lineup
The adult-only event will take place from 12pm-5pm at Field & Fodder, Bearpark, Durham. It will feature ten guest authors giving inspirational talks, alongside another ten carefully selected authors who will be available for visitors to purchase their books. Organisers were inundated with applications from authors wanting to take part, making the selection difficult.
Karen Crear, author, cofounder of Crear Publishing and one of the organisers, said: “We’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by the number of authors who wanted to be involved. We simply couldn’t accommodate everyone, which made choosing incredibly difficult. We’ve selected some amazing writers across lots of different genres because we want readers to walk through the doors and discover books and authors they might never have found otherwise.”
Championing Northern writers
At the heart of the festival is a determination to champion independent authors and challenge the idea that the publishing world begins and ends in London. Karen said: “There is so much talent in the North East and we don’t shout about it nearly enough. We want to put Northern writers in the spotlight, celebrate what we have here and encourage people to support local authors in exactly the same way we’d encourage them to support any local business.”
This passion for championing the voices of authors in the North East started Ryan and Karen in creating Crear Publishing, with the festival another extension of their goal to spread the word far and wide. Karen said: “We have incredible writers creating crime, romance, fantasy, memoirs, historical fiction, comedy and so much more, right here on our doorstep.”
Addressing literacy needs
A more serious reason behind the festival is the clear need for literature in the region. Research published by the National Literacy Trust has highlighted the scale of this need, with around 17% of adults in the North East experiencing very poor literacy skills and 60% of wards in the region having significant literacy need.
Karen said: “Those statistics should matter to all of us. Reading isn’t just about sitting down with a novel. Literacy affects confidence, education, employment and opportunity.” She added: “We can’t solve something that big with a book festival but we can do our little bit. We can make books exciting. We can introduce people to writers they can relate to. We can encourage someone who hasn’t picked up a book for years to give one a try. And we can celebrate reading rather than making it feel like something people have to do.”
Tickets and what to expect
Tickets cost £10 and include a welcome glass of fizz or soft drink alternative, a spread of charcuterie and cake, a raffle, fun, surprises, inspirational author talks and the opportunity to browse books and merchandise while speaking to the authors. Karen said: “We wanted it to feel welcoming and fun rather than stuffy or intimidating.”
The North East Indie Book Fest isn't a convention, it’s a celebration of the wonderful voices that make up the region’s literature and publishing sector. Karen said: “You don’t need to know anything about publishing and you certainly don’t need to have read a hundred books this year. If you love reading, want to get back into reading, fancy discovering something completely new or simply want a brilliant day out with lovely people, come along.”
The festival takes place on Saturday 3rd October 2026 from 1pm until 5pm at Field & Fodder, Bearpark, Durham, with tickets available for £10 through Eventbrite. Karen said: “This is about books, but it’s also about community. It’s about championing our own, supporting independent talent and celebrating just how much there is in the North East. If somebody comes along for the fizz and cake and goes home having discovered a new favourite author, we’ll take that as a win. And there’ll be cake. Everything is better with cake.”
