Join The Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses for an free event celebrating the independent publishing scene of Yorkshire. There’ll be readings from three extremely talented writers, and a presentation of the work and methods of three of the most exciting small publishers in the country today - plus the chance to buy books, drink drinks and hang out with excellent people.

Hosted by Kimberly Campanello, writer and lecturer of Creative Writing at University of Leeds, and featuring:

Hamid Ismailov will be reading from his latest novel Of Strangers and Bees, translated by Shelley Fairweather-Vega, and published by Tilted Axis. Hamid is a multi-award winning author who writes, and has been published, in several languages, including Russian, Uzbek and English. He worked for the BBC World Service for 25 years.

Ian McPherson will read from his soon-to-be-published novel Sloot, coming out from Bluemoose Books in October 2019. Ian is a writer and performer who has been called “Comedy’s answer to James Joyce” by Arthur Smith, and “Newgrange Megalithic Passage Tomb of stand-up comedy” by Stewart Lee. Come and see for yourself.

Seni Seneviratne will read poetry from (but not limited to) her collection Unknown Soldier, published by Peepal Tree Press. Seni is a writer, poet, singer and performer; her performances have been praised for the way they engage with the audience. She is currently one of the commissioned writers on the Colonial Countryside Project with the University of Leicester and Peepal Tree Press.

Plus discussions with the publishers of these three books about who they are, and what they do, and why they do it (maybe how, and when, too).