Well she wasn’t at the Alternative Book Fair hosted by Islington Central Library last weekend.
Sally Rooney is a pressing matter at this year’s Alternative Book Fair, held at Islington’s Central Library, as indie publishers criticised big companies for putting bottom lines over quality books.
“These days everyone wants to write like Sally Rooney” says Neil Griffiths, the founder of Weatherglass books, as he explains how big publishing companies prefer to simply follow trends rather than seek out original voices.
More than ever, the lure of having the next big hit attracts commercial publishers because they are data driven, says Tom Conaghan publisher at Scratch Books.
The publishing big four, Penguin, Harper Collins, Hachette and Macmillan, are: “trying to throw ten books out on a trend and hope one book sticks”, says Damien Mosley, the organiser of the book fair.
According to Mr Conaghan the bigger companies “triangulate from what a lot of people read already”, but independent publishers have a simple philosophy: “I want to see this in the world,” so they make it happen.
“It is very obvious what the mainstream is,” says Mr Griffiths. By contrast, “Alternative writing prioritises beautiful writing rather than the fashionable themes.” It champions marginalised voices and works that are more formally challenging, he adds.
Mr Mosley, who has his own publishers, Indie Novella, agrees that independent publishing takes real care, and is instead “driven by desire to get this one book out there and do the best it can.”
Bella Pearson, of Guppy Books, said she publishes “what bigger publishers wouldn’t take on”. Her company published the award-winning graphic novel Mexikid, which Waterstones turned down for being too American. Bella says “risky” books like Mexikid would struggle without independent publishers.
She adds that alternative publishing reflects how we are all so different. Just as “we want a burger one night and a roast the next” children should have the same choice when it comes to books, she explains
Dubbed a “publishing support sensation” by another publisher, Mr Mosley started the fair in 2024 in order “to show that there is a world of publishing that is thriving outside the big four.”
The fair is a space for writers and the public to meet and interact with the publishing industry in contrast to the trade-focused London Book Fair.
The demand for these fairs is strong, with recent events filling up quickly. Jess Chandler from Prototype Publishers says she was so busy she barely sat down all day.
The publishers hope the popularity of independent books will translate to spaces in book shops. Independent shops such as Ink@84 in Islington have designated spaces for indie press books.
Jeff Tall, from Ink@84, says he likes how alternative writing “brings character”, no pun intended, to his store. But as a shop they still have to respond to customer demand.
Separate indie press sections are a good way to raise awareness, says Mr Mosley, but “it can make an audience think that independent books are like foreign films in a way, that they’re totally different.”
Looking to the future Mr Mosley says: “what I would like is bookshops to say we will give 10 per cent of our table space to independent publishers” because there is no difference in quality between mainstream and indie.
As a final word, Mr Mosley says he has just finished the audiobook of “Intermezzo” by Sally Rooney. It seems ironic – but then, a good book is a good book no matter what.
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Araminta Plumptre is a student journalist at City University with a specific focus on her reporting beat, Finsbury Park. Araminta has by-lines at ELLE magazine and experience at The Daily Telegraph she is interested in arts and culture writing alongside international journalism.