Free Books Festival returns for another year and we’re celebrating our 5th Birthday!

Join us on Sunday 17th August at Big Penny Social for one jam-packed day of activities, workshops, panels and demonstrations - as well as loads of freebies including food, drinks and of course, books! 

We’ve curated three event spaces for you to immerse yourself in the world of storytelling, from literature to gaming, audiobooks to journalism, directing to photography and everything in between!

Thank you to our sponsors and partners.

The studio space has been specially curated to bring together storytellers from across the world of literature, food, fashion, visual arts, journalism, music and more.

Come through for talks and panels set across the day.

Journey through the Playground exploring storytelling through immerse activations, exhibitions, gaming stations, workshops and our iconic ‘Free Book Store’ which returns again this year.

Stay for our afterparty, celebrating 5 years of Free Books Campaign!

Relax in the garden with immaculate vibes and delicious food brought to you by Black Eats LDN!

Join us outside for workshops, link-ups, dominoes and book signings.

11AM
Sweet Heat with Bolu Babalola

12:05PM
Heritage & Innovation: Contemporary South Asian Creative Cultures
raidaa mirza, abbey monteiro

1:10PM
Them Ones Presents Real Talk:
kosar ali & tamara lawrance

2:15PM
Black Eats LDN Presents Storytelling Through Food & Culture
rachel ama, the flygerians

3:20PM
First Five Live
yomi sode & foday dumbuya

4:25PM
Writing Romance, Love & Desire
taylor-dior rumble & celine saintclaire, hosted by fee mak

5:30PM
HEADLINE EVENT
‘Do the mandem tell stories?’
caleb femi, yomi sode, femi oyeniran, dapo adeola, hosted by symeon brown

Our iconic ‘Free Books Store’ returns this year, full of hundreds of brand new books for you to choose and take home courtesy of our publishing partners.

Enjoy our exhibition TERANGA, a visual journey through Senegal shot by our founder Sofia Akel.

Pick up some exclusive bookish merch to take home with you!

Immerse yourself in audiobooks in our Spotify Audiobooks Home. Discover new characters, uncover incredible tales and get inspired.

Explore the world of gaming with Warner Bros. and meet people from across the organisation from acquisitions to recruitment.

Bring your pre-loved books which will be donated to OBODO Library & Resource Centre in Nigeria.

11:30AM
Them Ones Presents Crafting Stories With Purpose
workshop with jedidah m.

12:00PM
The Griots Paintbrush *for kids*
arts and crafts with rob lawrence

12:30PM
The Art of Storytelling in Animation
emily owusu and seraphina Bewick

1PM
The Awakening Lab
tarot readings & activations with kelechi okafor

4PM
Milk Honey Bees *YA / teen*
girlhood unfiltered

4:20PM
Archiving our Stories with An Việt Archives
workshop with trà my & phuong anh

6:30PM
THE AFTERPARTY
DJ sets from StayWavey, Talia A. Darling, Kash Jones

11:AM
Flower Block *for kids*
reading & activities with lanisha butterfield

12:30PM - 4PM
Food Market: Black Eats LDN Takeover

1:15PM
Book Signing: When We Ruled by Paula Akpan

1:45PM
Book Signing:
Unheard: The Medical Practice of Silencing by Rageshri Dhairyawan

2PM
Cyanotypes
workshop with bernice mulenga

2PM
Art Beyond the Shell
a turtles field-trip

3PM
Home Radio: Ludi & Dominoes

4PM
Confetti *for kids*
reading & fun with dean atta

How to get here

 

  • Big Penny Social is part of the ‘Blackhorse Beer Mile’ in Walthamstow, E17. The closest London Underground station (Blackhorse Road on the Victoria Line) is 7 minutes walk away. The nearest bus stop (Priestley Way, on London Bus Route 158) is just around the corner and there is plenty of space to lock up bikes on our forecourt if you fancy cycling here from Walthamstow Village, Leyton, Clapton or Stratford.

    Full address is: Big Penny Social, 1 Priestley Way, London, E17 6AL

  • There’s a public pay-and-display car park just around the corner, which can be booked via the RingGo app. It’s the Crowbond Car Park (location code 48131), located at 12 Priestley Way, London, E17 6AL.

Festival FAQ’s

  • Doors open at 10:00, we recommend coming on time to enjoy the full day of events and workshops. Festival closes it doors at 9pm.

    P.s. we have some extra goodies for the first group of attendees through the doors!

  • Our events are family-friendly and open to all ages before 6pm.

    At 6pm, our event turns into an 18+ space for the afterparty.

  • For 5 years we’ve worked with publishers, community organisations, authors, schools, brands, you name it, to get books to people who can’t afford them for free across the UK & Ireland. That’s over 11,500 brand new books in new homes! As we turn 5, we’re taking our work to Dakar, Senegal.

    In Senegal, just 58% of adults are literate, many children and families still have little or no access to books. We’re raising funds to build a free, community library that will offer more than just books — it will be a vibrant third space with free internet access, technology, and opportunities for learning, skill sharing and global knowledge exchange. 

    Therefore, this year we’re remixing how we ticket the Free Books Festival. We have created a donation-based ticketing system, where the cost of your ticket goes directly to the Free Books Library, Senegal. These costs include research, building, legal fees, resources and much much more! By supporting the festival, you’ll help increase literacy rates, open doors to education, and empower a new generation through free and equal access to information.

    Tickets this year have a suggested min-max, so you can choose how much to donate in exchange for a ticket!

  • Due to licensing at the venue, there will no longer be alcohol served at the afterparty. Meaning all ages can join!

  • Free tickets are allocated for those who can’t afford them, please contact us at info@freebookscampaign.co.uk to claim your free ticket.

  • If you’re a publisher or author and would like to donate brand new books to the festival, please contact us at fatima@freebookscampaign.co.uk.

  • Yes, please alert a member of staff if you need assistance. We’re more than happy to help!

  • Each attendee will be gifted one brand new, free book for them to choose inside our Free Books Store.

    If you are in attendance with someone under the age of 16, you may collect a book on their behalf.

  • Unfortunately we do not offer refunds as all proceeds will be used toward our goals of building a library in Senegal.