Readers, Rejoice!
We are so excited to be hosting this wonderful day of all things books...Join us at Victoria and The Mowbray on the 26th April '26 to celebrate the best of Sheffield's independent bookshops and the joy they bring...
Curated by Sheffield indie bookshops - we're proud to host a festival made by booksellers, for book lovers. Let’s celebrate stories, and the wonderful shops and publishers who keep them alive...
What’s Happening
Saturday 25th April will be a fringe day with each individual bookshops running their own events in their spaces and a bookshop crawl to visit Sheffield's bookshops - pick up a Crawl Map from any of the participating venues!
The main event will be on Sunday 26th across two of our venues, Victoria and The Mowbray.
You will find a market-place for local bookshops and indie makers in The Mowbray, with Victoria hosting a brilliant line-up of author talks, workshops and signings...
Eat, Drink, Read and Spend The Day With Us!
Have the most beautiful day with us...Wander between The Mowbray and Victoria punctuating your day with delicious things!
Clubhouse Social
At Victoria's Clubhouse Social - we'll have a heavenly day of breakfast, brunch, lunch, cocktails and coffee... Grab a seat in our cosy Clubhouse or a sunny spot alfresco in The Courtyard! There'll be special festival cocktails at our outdoor bar and tasty things from the grill!
Pre-Order Festival Butties
We have two delicious butties available to preorder and collect at The Mowbray on the day!
We'll have coffee, cocktails and all of the lovely things to be enjoyed inside The Mowbray or Up on The Roof - our first floor roof bar.
Pork Butty - Roast pork collar, with salsa verde, celeriac & app slaw (g) £9
Burrata Butty - Grilled & marinated aubergine & peppers with burrata & house-made pesto (v, g, contains nuts) £9
(v) vegetarian (g) contains gluten
Preorder Your Festival Butty Here!
The Festival Lineup
Just like the bookshops, the speakers showcase the best of contemporary fiction, non-fiction, children’s fiction and graphic novels from publishers large and small
The Graphic Novel Reading Room, a space for relaxing with a good graphic novel during the festival, will have its own gorgeous reading space upstairs at the Lodge at the Victoria.
Speakers include...
Juno Dawson (This Book Is Gay, Clean and Her Majesty's Royal Coven)
Bethan Woollvin (These Are My Rocks, Robin Hood, Little Red, I Can Catch a Monster)
Steve Webb (Peng and Spanners, Spangles McNasty, Cow's Go Boo, Tanka Tanka Skunk)
Luke Barley (Ancient)
Hazel Sheffield (Frontierland)
Manya Wilkinson (Lublin, & Other Stories)
Michelle Tea (Valencia, Black Wave, Against Memoir, Little F with Cipher Press)!
Kavitha Rao (Lady Doctors, Jacaranda Press)
Witches and Folklore author panel with Anna Caig (The Wise Witch of Orkney), Molly Aitken (The Island Child and Bright, I Burn) and Sally O’Reilly (Hagtale)
SIB Fest is presented by...
Hillsborough Bookshop – A neighbourhood children's bookshop known for its welcoming atmosphere, wide selection and strong support for local readers and writers.
Juno Books – Sheffield’s feminist and queer independent bookshop, championing radical writing, marginalised voices and vibrant community events.
La Biblioteka – A beautifully curated city-centre bookshop specialising in good books, independent magazines and creative publishing.
Novel – An independent bookshop, café and bar offering thoughtfully chosen books alongside great coffee, food and literary events.
Read All About It!
