Tickets for talks and panels are only available to Indie Press Fair ticket holders. BOOK HERE

You'll be emailed an access code to book them for free. 

Translation and Creative Practice, chaired by Erica Hesketh

Poet and former director of the Poetry Translation Centre Erica Hesketh will lead an engaging conversation about the practice of translation and how it impacts English-language writing. She will be joined by Livia Franchini, Kotryna Garanasvili, and Nasim Luczaj.

Erica Hesketh is a poet and editor, originally from Japan and Denmark. Her poetry has been commissioned by the Royal Festival Hall, Spread the Word, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Exeter University. She is the author of In the Lily Room (Nine Arches Press) and To an Unknown Receiver: Sonnets & Cascades (Guillemot Press), and co-author with Laura Sampson of Moon, Snow, Blossom: Wintry Folk Tales from Across Japan (Elliott & Thompson). From 2016 to 2024 she was director of the Poetry Translation Centre; she is currently artistic director of Winchester Poetry Festival.

Livia Franchini is a writer and translator from Tuscany, Italy. She is the author of two novels, Shelf Life and High Tide, and the co-editor of Too Little, Too Hard, a collection of essays on writing, work and value. Her most recent English-language translation is Lorenza Mazzetti's The Sky is Falling. Livia is Lecturer in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, where she also coordinates the Goldsmiths Prize. She lives in south east London with her family. 

Kotryna Garanasvili is a writer, translator and interpreter working with English, Lithuanian, French, German, Russian, and Georgian. She is an Assistant Professor of literature and translation, teaching at Vilnius University and University of East Anglia, where she has received a PhD in literary translation and serves as a member of the BCLT Research Group. She is a mentor as well as a previous mentee of the Emerging Translator Mentorship at the National Centre for Writing and has been awarded traineeships at the EU Council and the European Parliament. You can find her on Instagram at @kotrynagaranasvili

Nasim Luczaj is a prize-winning poet, Polish–English translator and editor. She is the author of Hind Mouth (Earthbound Press) and Ultraviolet with Landing Marks (Oblique House). Her debut collection, Tang, is forthcoming from Faber & Faber in 2027. Raised in Subcarpathia, she divides her time between London and Glasgow.

The Indie Press Fair is a one-day celebration of independent publishing, hosted by Calico Projects at Manor House Library.

Independent presses will be exhibiting on the day, with books and other publications available to buy directly from them.

Running alongside the fair are four free talks and panels featuring authors, editors and publishers discussing their work and the world of small press publishing. These are bookable separately using an access code sent to Entry Ticket holders by email, so buy your ticket early to guarantee a place.

Entry includes a free drink on arrival (before 2:15pm) and buffet food during the day. A pay bar will be on site.

Talks and Panels

Talks and panels are free, but only bookable with an access code. You'll be emailed the code after buying an Entry Ticket, then use it to reserve your place at each session, spaces are limited.

Panel: Translation and Creative Practice, chaired by Erica Hesketh
1:45 PM–2:30 PM
Poet and translator Erica Hesketh leads a conversation on the craft of literary translation and its relationship to creative practice.

Koushik Banerjea (Animal Nightlife) in conversation with Andi Thomas
2:50 PM–3:35 PM
Koushik Banerjea talks about Animal Nightlife, a kaleidoscopic novel of hybrid human-animal lives navigating a dangerous, divided Britain.

Nell Osborne (Ghost Driver) in conversation with Neil Griffiths
3:50 PM–4:35 PM
Poet and novelist Nell Osborne discusses Ghost Driver, joint winner of the 2026 Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize, a shape-shifting tale of paranoia, disappearance and self-recognition.

Panel: Success in Small Press Publishing, chaired by Neil Griffiths
5:30 PM–6:30 PM
Neil Griffiths chairs a panel of independent publishers on the experience of small press publishing and what success looks like in the industry.