Are you a writer in the South East considering or exploring self-publishing?
This April, Self Publishing Industry Day brings together some of the most influential and knowledgeable organisations and individuals in the business for an afternoon of panel discussions, talks and networking.
New Writing South is delighted to be welcoming Orna Ross, co-founder and director of the Alliance of Independent Authors to open the afternoon with an informative address about the current landscape and trends of self-publishing.
Connecting you with the people at the heart of the industry, we’re thrilled to welcome members of the team from top self-publishing platforms Kindle Direct Publishing, IngramSpark and Bookvault who will offer their expertise and talk through the full process from idea to publication.
We’ll also be joined by established self-published authors Suzy K Quinn, D E White, Ebony Ali, James Blatch and Anna Lucia, who will talk through their experiences, as we explore marketing, promotion and mindset – the skills and determination you need to get your books out into the world.
This year’s event will be a more intimate industry day, with opportunities to talk with industry experts and writers alike, therefore tickets are limited, so book now to make sure you get yours!
Date: Saturday 18 April Location: The Old Courtroom
Timing: Doors 12.30pm for a 1pm start. Finish 5.30pm
Organisations at the heart of successful self publishing:
ORNA ROSS is an Irish author and poet and co-founder and director of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). She is a passionate advocate for self-publishing and author empowerment. An international bestseller, her books have won many awards, including the Goethe Grand Prize for Historical Fiction, a Gold Literary Titan Award for poetry, and her work for ALLi has seen her named one of the Top 100 people in publishing (The Bookseller).
She was born and raised in Wexford, in the south-east of Ireland, and now lives in St Leonard’s on Sea, in the south-east of England, within working reach of London. Her motto is: “When in doubt, be braver.” Find out more.
ROSS LYNCH is Global Community Lead at the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), where he leads initiatives to support, develop and grow ALLi’s worldwide author community. Before joining ALLi Ross built 15 years’ experience across literary agencies, film and television production, and international media markets, where the common thread was the intersection of storytelling and audience-building. He has worked with award-winning authors and screenwriters in developing, positioning, and bringing their work to market, with strong focus on visibility, authenticity and impact. In development and story-led roles, he worked with writers to refine ideas, strengthen narratives, and position work for competitive markets including major broadcasters and platforms with the BBC, Sky, Netflix, and Disney. At ALLi, Ross combines storytelling insight with marketing and community-building to help writers build sustainable, reader-focused careers.
Kindle Direct Kindle Direct (KDP) provides you with free and simple tools to self-publish your book in print and digital formats in more than 10 countries in over 45 languages. They have been helping writers publish their work for over 20 years.
DARREN HARDY
With over 30 years of book industry experience, Darren has worked in a variety of roles including retail, marketing and publishing. He has worked at Amazon for 20 years and his current role includes managing author community relationships for Kindle Direct Publishing across UK and Europe. Darren’s team also work with literary agents and help manage the Amazon Literary Partnership, which provides grants to non-profits fostering a love of writing across communities in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
JEN BARNETT
Jen is the UK Lead for Kindle Direct Publishing at Amazon, supporting self-published authors and driving awareness of the service in the UK and Ireland. Jen also runs other programmes including literary agent relationships for Amazon Books, and hand-selected collections of Editors’ Picks book recommendations, of which the annual highlight is our ‘Best Books of the Year’ campaign. Jen has worked with books and audiobooks at Amazon for 9 years.
IngramSpark offer everything you need to publish, print, promote and sell your book to millions of readers. They offer print on demand alongside book promotion services to help get your book discovered by booksellers, librarians, and readers around the world.
RACHAEL JONES is a publishing manager at Ingram Spark, where she collaborates with new authors to support them on their publishing journeys. She can guide authors on publishing best practices from metadata and pricing to campaign planning. Prior to Ingram she has held several positions in the publishing industry; most recently as a senior executive of digital & online sales at Hachette UK.
On Bookvault you can self-publish and print books on demand and sell them internationally through their retail network or retain maximum profit through your direct sales.
ALEX SMITH, brand manager of Bookvault, has been with Printondemand-worldwide for over 8 years during which time he has gained an in-depth knowledge of the publishing industry. This placed him in the perfect position to take a leading role of the redevelopment of the Bookvault platform. He has been able to work very closely with some of the leading indie-publishing entrepreneurs to ensure that Bookvault continues to deliver the latest and greatest features that they need for their businesses.
Self-published authors:
ANNA HAYWARD writes historical fiction under the pen name Anna Lucia, drawing on her Italian heritage. Her self-published debut, Broken Madonna, set in 1940s Italy and 1990s England, is a 2025 Page Turner Award Winner and Amazon Hot New Release and Bestseller in her category.
Passionate about supporting writers, Anna is a writer mentor, editor, course and retreat leader. Combining her experience as a workplace strategist and facilitator, with a specialism in wellbeing, she brings lots of experience of the support self-published writers need to realise their goals.
Anna is Chair of Trustees of New Writing South.
D E WHITE writes bestselling commercial crime fiction. She started self-publishing in 2013 with YA suspense, before writing adult crime fiction for Joffe Books, HQ Digital (HarperCollins), Storm, and Boldwood Books. She is best known for her Detective Dove Milson series (Joffe Books), and after a return to self publishing, she now juggles traditional deadlines for Boldwood Books with her latest self published cozy mystery series, which is co-written with award-winning historical fiction author, L.H. Brace. Her next book, The Girl on Floor 29 (Boldwood Books) is out on 26/06/26 and is book 26!
D.E. White is rep’d by Hannah Weatherill (Watson & Little).
EBONY ALI is an entrepreneur, self-published author, speaker, coach, and workshop facilitator based in London. She is the author of three books and is passionate about using writing and storytelling as tools for reflection, healing, and social change.
Ebony is a dedicated advocate for mental wellbeing, emotional healing, and women’s empowerment. She works in safeguarding as a children’s social worker, supporting vulnerable children and families and promoting trauma-informed practice.
She is the founding director of the Bloom Circle CIC, which creates safe spaces for dialogue, self-expression, and mental health awareness through literary arts, via workshops, creative writing sessions, and community events.
Ebony also created and facilitates the Writers to Authors programme, an annual course designed to guide aspiring writers through turning their ideas into self-published books.
JAMES BLATCH is the host of The Self Publishing Show Podcast and annual live show in London. He is also the founder of Learn Self Publishing, home to online courses for indie authors and he is a founder of Vinci Books, an independent publishing company. James writes Cold War thrillers. He was a BBC News reporter and presenter in the 90s and 2000s before moving into publishing.
SUZY K QUINN writes romantic comedy / cozy mystery and has sold over 1 million books worldwide.
Suzy lives in Wivenhoe, Essex, with her husband Demi and two daughters. She is a twin, an incompetent parent of two and now fully decaffeinated. Her twin sister, Cate Quinn, is also a bestseller author. When she’s not writing, she is reading rom coms and cozy mysteries.
Suzy loves her readers and is ALWAYS happy to chat on social media – she’s @suzykquinn on all the socials. You can also get a free book at her website.