What is OXIB?
The National Independent Publishing Event
Established 2020
There are 2 OXiB events for 2026 and they’re both FREE to visitors.
- Summer Book Fair
Sunday 12th – July 11am-4pm
Magdalen College School OX4 1DZ - Autumn Book Fair
Sunday 22nd November – 11am-4.30pm
Oxford Exams Schools OX1 4BG
Both fairs bring together the book-buying public and the burgeoning independent creative community of small publishers & presses, established and un-agented authors, poets, writing groups, and self-published writers. A meeting place as much as a marketplace, OXIB offers a superb space for conversation, collaboration, and inspiration. Visitors can meet authors face-to-face, attend talks and readings, and hear the stories behind the stories – all FOR FREE.
OXIB offers a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere where independent and alternative voices take centre stage.
Join us and discover your next favourite book.
Table 49

Roxy Eloise
Author, Fantasy & Sci-Fi, Romance
Roxy Eloise always dreamed of becoming an author, but writing a full book felt impossible, until a birthday gift, You Are a Badass, gave her the confidence to try. At twenty-eight, she finished her first manuscript and secured a traditional publishing deal through PitMad.
Her debut, The Guidal: Discovering Puracordis, is a dystopian romantasy set in a near-future UK where time determines worth. It follows a sixteen-year-old girl raised in a strict institute, grappling with oppression, mystery, and a secret that threatens everything. Inspired by a dream, the series blends rebellion, identity, and forbidden magic.
Originally a trilogy, The Guidal series has expanded to four books, concluding in 2026. Roxy writes for readers who love flawed yet determined heroines, dystopian lies, and worlds where humanity is deliberately disconnected from its true power.
Table 57

Steve Sheppard
Author
Steve has spent his life trying to discover the secret of how to become a fully-functioning adult. He has so far failed. One thing he has learnt is that he ought to have tried writing a book forty years earlier than he did, although he also now realises that he should have become a celebrity first, as this would have made selling it much easier.
He currently has three comedy spy thrillers to his name, all published by Claret Press: A Very Important Teapot, set in Australia; Bored to Death in the Baltics, not set in Australia; and Poor Table Manners, which takes place in Cape Town. These feature an initially fairly hapless hero, Dawson, and a considerably less hapless heroine, Lucy, together with varied supporting casts, most of whom are not who they claim to be.
In 2025, Steve also released into the world a comedy-murder-mystery, Lazytown, set in an eccentric Oxfordshire village. And, in a departure from comedy, a UK based thriller, False Connections, featuring ex-MI5 agent, Mel Milano, may well be out before the summer book fair. This could be the first of a new series, although Dawson and Lucy are also planning another outing at some point.
Table 58

WarmPorch Publishing
Publisher
WarmPorch Publishing is a very small, independent, labour of love.
In one form or another, I have been involved in publishing for almost twenty-five years, from setting up an independent music magazine (Sandman Magazine) in Sheffield to my current work at Oxford University Press.
WarmPorch was initially created to publish some extracts from my grandmother’s journals, The Search for Freeland Gardens [2009]. This small book (also now our first ebook) covered the arrival of my family, 50 years previously, to open a nursery garden in a small West Oxfordshire village.
In recent years I have been working with the sculptor Steve Hurst, using his diaries and sketchbooks to tell the story of the young artist. In 2022, Drawn From Life: The Ruskin Diaries 1949-53, was the first full length WarmPorch book and this year we published the follow-up, Bluff Road: The Malaya Diaries 1953-1955, covering Steve’s experiences as a national serviceman during the Malayan Emergency.
Looking further ahead, my grandmother wrote her journals between 1931 and 1974, and they track the author’s life from a shy teenager about to embark on her nursing training during the early years of the Depression, to the older, hardy, market gardener contemplating retirement. Ideally I’d like to publish three volumes of these journals. The entire text has been transcribed (about 1.3 million words); the next task is to edit them down.
Watch this space.
Table 24

Chris Burleigh
Author
‘Life is serious, but is not to be lived too seriously’. Serious or humorous, my poems are always good-natured.
I write when I have something to say, and I feel I have found the right way to say it. It’s about having fun with words and meaning, using words skilfully to say things differently, and saying the familiar in unfamiliar ways.
In 2017 I self-published a collection of poetry and wit as Particles of Light, with a 2nd edition in 2025. The book has been well received and has sold well in my local bookshops.
Intersecting Lines, my second collection, was traditionally published by indie publisher Beercott Books in 2021. In 2025 Beercott Books published my third collection, titled Reflections. These two collections continue to reflect my interest in people, love, the natural world, and the human condition.
In 2025 I also compiled together the sections of wit from my 3 collections and published it as Wit ‘n Word. There are poems to move you, to surprise you, and to make you laugh. The humorous poems and one-liners are there for entertainment, to be enjoyed, though they often contain a ‘sting in the tail’. I hope readers will enjoy reading my poems and will feel I am putting their own experiences and emotions into words.
I read regularly at poetry ‘open mics’ and at local literary events, and I give talks about my poetry to community groups.
Table 15

Diana Bell
Artist
Diana is a multi media artist using installation, sculpture and painting. She has been commissioned for six public sculptures in Oxford and has won awards for her sculpture and her work in hospital. She has exhibited widely in the UK and Europe including Grenoble, Bonn, Leiden, Padua, Greece and Romania, also Perm and Sydney. Diana has published four books of paintings and poetry the most recent titled ‘That’s Life, Let’s Face It’.
Table 1

Ray & Caroline Foulk
Author, Event Organiser
Father and daughter have written plays, film scripts, and books together, including memoirs documenting Ray Foulk’s life as creator of the original Isle of Wight Rock Festivals: Stealing Dylan from Woodstock and The Last Great Event. They have recently published their long-awaited novel, Picasso’s Revenge, and Caroline has published her illustrated collection of humorous canine poetry.

What's happening on the day?
Event Schedule
Throughout the day we have a packed schedule full of exciting and informative sessions for all attendees.
Join us on Sunday July 12, thanks to The Oxford Festival of the Arts, and discover your next favourite book in the ‘Big School – the main hall of Magdalen College School: entrance Cowley Place just off The Plain.
But that isn’t all. Off the High Street approaching Magdalen Bridge is an entrance to the Rose Garden Gazebo/Bar where you can listen to poetry organised by The Oxford Poetry Circle.
In the Junior School Hall, to the left of the Gazebo, there will be speaker events. In the case of bad weather some of the poetry will take place there too.
Where to find us
The Venue
Contact
Magdalen College School
Cowley Place, Oxford, OX4 1DZ
Directions
By Car: The M40, M4 and A34 provide easy access to Oxford from London and the south. The M40 links Birmingham to Oxford from the north. The A420 and A40 approach Oxford from the west.
Parking: We are unable to offer parking for Festival events. Parking in Oxford city centre is limited. Visitors are advised to use one of the five Park & Ride systems, which are all clearly signposted from the Oxford Ring Road. The nearest car park to MCS is at St Clement’s Street, OX4 1AB.
By Bus: Oxford has an extensive network of local buses, making it easy to visit the town centre from every direction. The main Festival site is a short 5-10 minute walk from central bus stops. The closest bus stops are The Plain (Cowley Road) and St Clement’s. There are also fast and frequent bus services from central London (closest stop St Clement’s).
By Train: Oxford has a centrally located train station with frequent and direct train services from London and Reading, as well as from Birmingham via Banbury and Coventry. Oxford Parkway station, north of the city, serves London Marylebone. The main Festival site is a 25-minute walk from the station.
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