Inaugural SE London BookFest shifts 2,000 tickets

The inaugural SE London BookFest has sold 2,000 tickets and announced newly confirmed speakers, but is appealing for a new sponsor following a last-minute cancellation.

The non-profit event will take place throughout November across Peckham, Dulwich and Camberwell. Headliners include Emma Barnett, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Freya Bromley, Laura Dockrill, Caleb Femi and Jimi Famurewa across 37 events. 

Co-founder Mark McGinlay told The Bookseller: "Twenty-five events have now sold out but we still have limited free tickets available for 12 events. We’ve already sold 2,000 tickets so we’re really pleased. We’ve also raised around £1,200 for Southwark Foodbank in donations.”  

“We did lose a sponsor at the last minute, so we’re still looking for a bit of backing to break even.” 

Extra tickets have just been released for the three events at St Giles’ Church in Camberwell—[Peckham chefs] The Flygerians, Mark Baxter, Emma Barnett—and two new events are planned for 1st December with authors Susan Allott and Helen Lederer, both taking place at Canada Water Library. Other venues include bookshops such as Review in Peckham and Rye Books in East Dulwich, as well as Morocco Bound in London Bridge.

Organised by the team behind Peculiar Publications, which publishes several newspapers in the local area, it is hoped SE London BookFest will become an annual event. 

For more information, email selbookfest@gmail.com or book tickets here.