The inaugural Liverpool Book Festival has been announced for Sunday 7th September 2025 – and acclaimed novelist Ramsey Campbell, BEANO artist Nigel Parkinson and Marvel comic writers Alan Cowsill and Tim Quinn are on the guest list.
Taking place at Invisible Wind Factory and Make CIC, it will feature 60 authors, book signings, workshops, live music, street food, artisan stalls, workshops, Q&As, celebrity special guests and more.
The exciting new book festival will feature some of the region’s most talented and award winning authors, and will showcase a wide range of books for sale — including autobiographies, crime, thrillers, science fiction, romance, comedy, historical, children’s books and everything in between.
Special guests announced so far include broadcasting legend Billy Butler, acclaimed novelist Ramsey Campbell, Beano and Dandy artist Nigel Parkinson, Marvel writers Alan Cowsill and Tim Quinn, award-winning comedian Gary Skyner, celebrity chef Dave Critchley, and many other well known figures.
Multi-award winning life coach Alison Blackler will be in attendance, as will renowned life coach Linda Baldvinsdottir, who is flying in from Iceland.
Respected publishers will be attending, too, such as Estelle Maher from Tauk Publishing, Canelo, Northodox Press, Susan Westoby from Liverpool Books Online and Louisa Herridge. Bookshops such as Bob Stone’s Write Blend will also be at the event.
The festival will feature fascinating Q&As on stage, as well as live music from talented local acts such as punk legend Phil Jones and Primal Live winner Sam Leyden. Workshops will be taking place throughout the day, including poetry from Zonked, children’s creative workshops from Helen Poole and Find Your flow with John Bullock.
There will also be street food and artisan stalls selling quirky and artsy products.
Liverpool Book Festival is being hosted by local magazine, marketing and PR company, La Vida Liverpool. The aim is to provide a platform for local authors connecting them with fellow authors, publishers and industry experts and a great opportunity to sell their books to enthusiasts.
For avid readers, it’s a chance to meet the authors directly, ask them questions and get their purchased books signed in person.
“I’ve owned La Vida Liverpool for seven years now and have promoted many different people, businesses, charities and events,” said La Vida Liverpool’s Justin Hopper earlier this year. “Every time I do marketing and PR for authors, it always strikes me how difficult it is for them to get their books out there and sell direct to readers without having to go through big online platforms that charge huge commissions.”
He continued: “As a writer myself, I am passionate about supporting creatives and I’m proud to have done that really well through La Vida these past seven years. With Liverpool Book Festival, I’m aiming to take that one step further for writers — connecting them with book lovers in a fun event with loads going on! I’m making it really affordable for all too — that’s very important to me.
“There are so many talented authors in our region and so many people love reading so I’m excited about providing this platform to bring them together. It’s tough for authors to get noticed and you can’t beat a good physical copy, so it’s a win win situation — in a digital world with artificial intelligence we must fight to keep our creativity alive and I’m hoping this festival will help in some small way.”
• Liverpool Book Festival 2025 12 noon – 5.00pm Saturday 7th September 2025, Invisible Wind Factory, 3 Regent Road, Liverpool L3 7DS | Tickets £10 | Book Here on EventBrite
To apply as an author email lavidaliverpool@gmail.com
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events
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