Book Fairs and Festivals

Over the last weekend of September, the King’s Lynn Literature Festival took place. ‘The small festival with a big heart’, as they describe themselves. This year was the 40th anniversary of the Festival – and Lisa St Aubin de Terán was involved in its founding in 1985. At the time she was living in Norfolk, her first three books (Keepers of the House, The Slow Train to Milan and The Tiger) were in the best-seller lists while her fourth book (The Bay of Silence) was about to be published, and Lisa herself was a frequent presence in the press – fascinated as they were with the exciting and exotic character of her life.

Now forty years on, and following twenty years in Mozambique, Lisa has made a return to the literary scene, with her memoir Better Broken Than New and a novel The Hobby. She also returned to the King’s Lynn Festival. On Sunday, 28th September, she shared a platform with Alex Macbeth and Iseult Terán, two of her children, and also writers (although her third child, Florence Duff-Scott was not there, her work has also been published – a poetry collection, Eating Yellow). In the session ‘Biography and a Family of Writers’, Lisa, Alex and Iseult were in conversation with the critic, novelist and biographer D. J. Taylor.

As well as publishing her new work, Amaurea Press is gradually returning her earlier work to print. New editions of Keepers of the House, The Slow Train to Milan, The Tiger and The Bay of Silence have already been released. In 2026/27, we will continue bringing out her previous titles, starting with The Hacienda – with which we will be unveiling a new cover concept, designed by Myrna MacLeod, that we will eventually be adapting across the full range of Lisa’s extensive catalogue.

This autumn, Amaurea will also be taking part in some independent book fairs. These are great opportunities for small presses to reach new readers, become acquainted with other independent publishers, and to make their presence felt. On Saturday, 4th October, we will be at the London Spanish Book & Zine Fair, in the Conway Hall, London (Table 40). This will be a chance for us to give focus to our range of Cuba-related literature (both in Spanish, and in translation). We will be giving particular prominence to Anna Lidia Vega Serova, having published an English translation of her Anima Fatua (translated by Robin Munby, and recipient of an English PEN Translates Award) earlier this year; and have just released a new Spanish-language edition of her short story collection, Imperio doméstico. These will be joined by Sideways Glance (our English translation of her Mirada de reojo), and her bilingual poetry collection (with photos by Gonzalo Vidal), Jardín en miniature/A Miniature Garden.

But we have other Cuba-related titles on offer. The tobacco histories of Jean Stubbs. The book we published on Cuba: Living Between Hurricanes. And the photographic collection, Jazz Habana: Siete Miradas/Seven Views. Lisa will also be an important feature on our table, particularly her work that comes from her experiences in Venezuela.

The theme of this year’s London Spanish Book Fair is ‘FUTURA’, and all participants were asked to share what this means to them. This is what Amaurea said:

For us, FUTURA means keeping storytelling open—across languages, landscapes, forms, and generations. As an independent, small-scale press and creative production company, we believe the future takes shape through the stories we choose to tell and how we choose to tell them. Books, films, and designs that cross borders help us imagine new ways of living, thinking, and relating. At Amaurea, we work closely with writers, translators, and artists to bring singular visions into the world—carefully, collaboratively, and with belief in the power of creative expression to shape what comes next.

While at the London Spanish fair the focus will be on our Cuba-related and Spanish-language and translated titles, on Sunday 23rd November we will be taking part in the Oxford Indie Book Fair (Table N09). Our full list will of course be on display there. But this will also be an occasion for us to give a particular focus to another of our authors: Richard Walker. Richard, who is himself based in Oxford, published his memoir Highlife, & my other lives with us earlier this year. And now we are bringing out a new edition of his first novel, originally published in 1989: A Curious Child. At the time, this was innovative for being written from the perspective of a transgender person and her family. Richard will be at our table at the Fair, signing copies of his two books, and chatting with anybody who would like to discuss them further.

In the end, what matters most to us about these festivals and fairs is the chance they give to share our books directly, to meet readers face to face, and to connect with others who care about stories as much as we do. They’re occasions to talk, to listen and to learn, and we value those conversations as much as the books themselves. We look forward to the meetings and exchanges still to come.