States of Independence Festival 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 our website).

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 going live soon here !

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Host or Publisher Leicester Centre for Creative Writing