TBR BOOK FESTIVAL
About this Event
TBR BOOK FESTIVAL 2026
MANCHESTER'S NEW CELEBRATION OF INDIE BOOKS, AUTHORS & EVERYTHING BOOKISH
Love books? Your TBR is about to get considerably bigger.
On Saturday 12th September 2026, we're taking over Band on the Wall in Manchester's Northern Quarter for four hours of books, authors, games, prizes, challenges, indie shopping, giveaways and absolute bookish chaos.
But here's the important bit:
THIS ISN'T JUST A BOOK FAIR.
TBR Book Festival has been created to be an experience.
You won't just walk around tables looking at books.
You'll meet the people who wrote them. Discover authors you've never heard of. Hunt for Golden Tickets. Collect stickers in your TBR Passport. Vote in the Indie Awards. Spin the TBR Wheel. Test your BookTok knowledge. Win prizes. Discover independent businesses. And yes… probably leave with considerably more books than you intended.
Whether you're a BookTok regular, an occasional reader, a romance addict, fantasy fanatic, horror lover, thriller reader, parent looking for something different to do with the family — or you simply fancy a brilliant afternoon in Manchester…
TBR is for you.
MEET THE INDIES
TBR is bringing together an incredible mix of independent authors, illustrators, bookish creators and businesses from across the UK.
And the genres are just as varied.
❤️ Romance
🌶️ Dark Romance
🐉 Fantasy & Romantasy
🩸 Horror
🔎 Mystery & Thriller
👻 Gothic & Supernatural
🧠 Psychological Fiction
🌈 LGBTQ+ Fiction
🧸 Children's Literature
✍️ Poetry
🎨 Illustration
🛍️ Bookish Gifts & Merchandise
This is your chance to meet authors face-to-face, talk to them about their stories, discover books outside the bestseller lists and buy directly from independent creatives.
You might arrive looking for one particular genre.
You might leave obsessed with something completely different.
LINE UP SO FAR...
JOHN TOGHER - FOLK HORROR
SAGE FROST - CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
TOPHER KNOWLES - EPIC FANTASY
MICHELLE JAMESON - DARK FANTASY
MEGAN TURNER - ROMANTASY
MJ ROBERTS - CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
JESSICA BELL - LITERACY FICTION/PSYCHOLOGICAL FICTION
BILLIEJO PRIESTLEY - ROMANCE/DARK ROMANCE/FANTASY
PENNY MAPPOURA-SALMON - DARK ROMANCE
C.L MONAGHAN - GOTHIC MYSTERY
LUCY BUCKLES - DARK ROMANCE/FANTASY
G.R WILLIAMS - HORROR/SCI-FI/WESTERN
JJ CROSS - COSY ROMANCE
K.D LAVENDER - DARK ROMANCE
T.F "TREV" LINCE - MYSTERY THRILLER/SUPERNATURAL SUSPENSE
RANDELETTA HOWSON - POETRY/FANTASY
SIMON GRAY - PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR
ELVIE GRACE - URBAN FANTASY/ROMANTASY
SASKIA VAN DER ZEE - CRIME/MYSTERY
STEPHEN BARNARD - HORROR/SUSPENSE/FOLK HORROR
JOSH A MURPHY - HORROR/WEIRD FICTION
CALLUM M BROOKS - FANTASY/SCI-FI
LIBRARY OF JAMES - (PARTNER) BOOKSELLER/MERCHANDISE
GOOD GAMES - (PARTNERS) BOARD GAMES
BUGBEAR BOOKS -(PARTNERS) INDEPENDENT BOOK STORE
AFFLECKS -
HATTIE'S CREATIONS - EMBROIDERED CLOTHING
NOSHEEN DESIGNS - HAND DRAWN BOOK ILLUSTRATOR
BUNNYKINS BOOKISH GIFTS - BOOKISH GIFTS/ACCESSORIES
YOUR TBR PASSPORT
Every guest will receive their very own TBR Book Passport when they arrive.
Inside, participating authors, creators and stalls will have their own dedicated space — and their own exclusive sticker.
There are three ways to collect them:
💚 VISITED — stop by, say hello and discover their work.
🧡 SUPPORTED INDIE — purchase a book, artwork, merchandise or product directly from their stall.
🩷 SHARED THE LOVE — follow their socials, share/tag their work or add their book to your TBR.
Each completed challenge = another sticker.
And those stickers matter…
Because the guests who collect the most could win some seriously good prizes.
🥇 Most stickers — Grand Prize
🥈 Second Place — Prize
🥉 Third Place — Prize
Passports must be returned to Team TBR by 2:30pm for counting.
So explore. Discover. Support. Collect.
THE TBR INDIE AWARDS
Forget bestseller lists.
Forget follower counts.
Forget sales figures.
The TBR Indie Awards are about the books, people and wonderfully chaotic things you discover on the day.
Your TBR Passport will contain your voting section, where YOU decide the winners.
Categories include:
The 5 Star Award
"Bought it. Haven't read it yet. Already five stars. No notes."
The Emotional Damage Award
For the book that will undoubtedly destroy our souls.
The Main Character Energy Award
For the author or creator who brought THE energy.
The Slay Queen Award
The assignment was understood. Looks, mood, author, character — extra and iconic.
The Hidden Gem Award
For the author or book you're particularly glad you discovered at TBR.
📱 The BookTok Made Me Buy It Award
"I didn't come here to buy this… but FINE. Add it to my TBR."
The TBR Book Festival Favourite
The overall guest-voted favourite.
Voting closes at 2:30pm SHARP.
Winners announced at 2:45pm on the Main Stage.
SPIN THE TBR WHEEL
Feeling lucky?
Step up, spin the wheel and discover your bookish fate.
You could land on…
RED FLAG OR GREEN FLAG?
We'll give you a questionable fictional-character scenario. You decide.
GUESS THE BOOK
We'll give you a hilariously terrible description of a famous book. Can you figure it out?
GUESS THE TROPE
Enemies to lovers? One bed? Found family? Morally grey?
Think you know your BookTok tropes?
Prove it.
BOOK TRIVIA
From ridiculously easy to "WHO WOULD KNOW THAT?!"
FINISH THE BOOK TITLE
We give you half. You give us the rest.
And depending on where that wheel lands, there could also be…
Mystery prizes
Blind Dates with a Book
Bookish goodies
Lucky dips
And the dreaded PLOT TWIST… SPIN AGAIN!
SPIN IT. PLAY IT. WIN IT.
BUT THEN THERE ARE THE GOLDEN TICKETS…
Three tickets.
Three HUGE prizes.
One rule.
FIND. THAT. TICKET.
Hidden somewhere inside TBR will be THREE GOLDEN TICKETS.
But there's a catch.
Only ONE Golden Ticket will ever be hidden at a time.
At different points during the festival, we'll make an announcement:
"THE GOLDEN TICKET IS NOW IN PLAY!"
That's your cue.
Start looking.
It could be somewhere unexpected. Somewhere obscure. Or somewhere you've already walked past five times…
When somebody finds it, that round is over.
And when you find one?
FIND THE TICKET → RING THE TBR BELL → CLAIM YOUR PRIZE.
These aren't ordinary giveaway prizes either.
Think…
Gift cards
Experience days
Brand-new books
Bookish merchandise
Partner prizes
And other surprises we're keeping secret.
Golden Tickets are for festival guests only.
Sorry authors and creators…
You have the Indie Awards. Let them have this one.
MEET OUR OFFICIAL PARTNERS
TBR has grown beyond simply bringing authors together.
We're building relationships with independent businesses that share the same values: creativity, individuality, community and supporting independents.
And we're incredibly proud of the businesses joining us.
LIBRARY OF JAMES
An independent online bookshop bringing even more books into the TBR universe, with titles spanning romance, romantasy, fantasy, crime, thrillers and more.
GOODTIME GAMES
Our Manchester-based board-game partners are bringing the gaming element to TBR, helping us make the festival as much about playing and connecting as shopping.
BUGBEAR BOOKS
We're delighted to welcome Bugbear Books as an official TBR partner — an independent bookshop celebrating fantasy, folklore and wonderfully imaginative storytelling.
And if you've visited them before, you might recognise where they're based…
Which brings us to something we're VERY excited about.
🐝 TBR x AFFLECKS
YES. THAT AFFLECKS.
We are ridiculously excited to welcome one of Manchester's most recognisable independent institutions as an official partner of the TBR Book Festival.
Afflecks has been part of Manchester since 1982 and has become an icon of the Northern Quarter, with more than 60 independent traders under one roof. It's a place built around people doing things differently — artists, makers, designers, entrepreneurs and independent businesses creating something entirely their own.
And that's exactly why this partnership means so much to TBR.
TBR was created to give independent authors, artists, creators and businesses a platform.
Afflecks has been championing that same independent spirit in Manchester for more than four decades.
Individual.
Creative.
A little unconventional.
Proudly independent.
Very Manchester.
And now part of TBR. 🐝📚
TBR IS HITTING THE AIRWAVES
You may have already heard us talking about TBR on Oldham Community Radio 99.7FM, where we were invited to discuss how the festival began, why supporting independent authors matters and what we're trying to create for Greater Manchester's book community.
But apparently one radio appearance wasn't enough…
🎙️ NEXT STOP: THE STUDIO.
We've now been invited into Roch Valley Radio for an in-person interview as reading takes centre stage during the National Year of Reading 2026.
Roch Valley Radio broadcasts across Rochdale, Oldham and Tameside as well as Bury and Bolton, and has itself been covering National Year of Reading activity across the region.
To see this little first-time indie festival being welcomed by local media, businesses and Manchester institutions before we've even opened the doors is something we're incredibly proud of.
And we haven't even had festival day yet.
NEED A BREAK FROM THE CHAOS?
Absolutely.
TBR isn't an event where you need to race around trying to do everything.
Band on the Wall has a bar adjacent to the main festival space, so grab a drink, sit down, take a break and jump back into the madness when you're ready.
Come with friends.
Come with your family.
Come alone and meet fellow book lovers.
Stay for four hours or explore at your own pace.
You can arrive anytime after 11am, with last entry at 2:30pm. Just remember that some games, giveaways, activities and prizes are limited — so arriving earlier gives you the best chance to experience everything.
THE IMPORTANT STUFF
📅 Saturday 12th September 2026
⏰ 11:00am – 3:00pm
📍 Band on the Wall, Manchester – Northern Quarter
🎟️ £10 per person
👧 Children under 12 attend FREE
🎫 Advance tickets available through Eventbrite
🚪 Tickets also available on the door
🏆 Indie Award voting closes — 2:30pm
🛂 TBR Passports returned — 2:30pm
🏆 Indie Awards — 2:45pm, Main Stage
SUPPORT INDIE. DISCOVER SOMETHING NEW.
Come and meet an author you've never heard of.
Buy a signed book directly from the person who wrote it.
Find your new favourite genre.
Support an illustrator.
Discover an independent business.
Spin a wheel.
Hunt for a Golden Ticket.
Collect your Passport stickers.
Vote for your favourites.
Win something ridiculous.
Talk books with complete strangers.
And leave with a bag considerably heavier than when you arrived.
COME FOR THE BOOKS.
STAY FOR THE EXPERIENCE.
LEAVE WITH A MUCH BIGGER TBR.
https://youtube.com/shorts/ytXjxVev-a8?feature=share
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 11.55
