What a delight it was to be back at DMU’s wonderful indie publishing fair, States of Independence, last Saturday. States 23 is co-hosted annually by Dahlia Books and DMU’s Leicester Centre for Creative Writing. And for the first time, we were able to bring a Space Cat Press bookstall to showcase our first four titles. Here they are, alongside a bowl of space-themed sweets. How we spoil you! The Clephan Building was humming with hundreds of publishers, writers and book lovers, browsing bookstalls and sampling a packed programme, including Space Cat’s workshop on our new submission theme, Into the Forest.

States is always a joyous gathering for the regional literature community, plus an opportunity for readers to find hidden treasures from indie presses. I enjoyed chatting to other publishers, admiring their wares. And we shared our relief at the opportunity to meet readers face to face, after years of lockdown and cautious recovery. Lovely too to see my former DMU students selling their own publications at States 23. Here are some of their lovingly curated books, amongst my personal book haul.

Local poet Lydia Towsey’s keynote speech captured the warm States vibe perfectly with a ukelele rendition of ‘I Will Survive’. She shared wise words about resilience and self-care as ‘an act of creativity … holding a space within yourself for healing…’. Towsey identified creativity as a ‘way of travelling through difficulty, never being alone with that experience’. Above all, she celebrated the creative networks we form, our literature community. We joined her in a rousing chorus of ‘De Caribbean Woman’ in remembrance of phenomenal dub poet & Leicester legend, Jean Binta Breeze.

In the afternoon, I led a free Space Cat writing workshop, around our new submission theme, Into the Forest. We had already kicked off the weekend with a guest blog from one of our Space Cat Stars, Teika Marija Smits, on this theme. Teika reflects on how the forest’s mystery and its miracle of teeming life inspires both children and storytellers. In my workshop, I invited writers to immerse themselves in the woods, drawing on their senses to conjure its atmosphere. We explored the symbolism of forests in our oldest stories and in groups, they devised some canny ideas for ‘Updating the Fairytales’. Finally, there was time for Free Writing, drawing on Space Cat’s Writing Prompts.

I’m pleased to say that we’ve been getting a steady stream of submissions since our window opened. If you’re interested in submitting something for our Into the Forest anthology, do check out our full Submission Guidelines page. We are looking for a real mix of genres and accept short fiction, poems, flash fiction and creative non-fiction. Authors selected will get a publication fee, free e-book and a discounted paperback copy. And you still have SEVEN WEEKS left to create your piece and submit. So pack your knapsack and lay a trail of crumbs as you head into the woods!