Spotlight Indie hosts events designed specifically for indie authors and indie book fans, as well as writers looking to learn more about self-publishing or working with small and independent presses. We run a combination of online and IRL events to ensure the advice and support on offer is easily accessible to new writers and creatives.
SPOTLIGHT INDIE LIVE
We are thrilled to announce that our in-person event will be back for 2026.
Spotlight Indie Live will be taking place on 23rd May 2026 at Flaxmill Maltings, Shrewsbury (the world’s first iron framed building!). Hosted once again by the incomparable Joel aka The Shropshire DM, 2026 will be a scale up from our first event, with a bigger venue, more trading space and new activities – including facilitated Q&A sessions and table talks. Plus, we will be welcoming Spellbound Immersive events to provide our event wrap-up entertainment.
ONLINE EVENTS
Big Indie Weekend: Our 3-day online celebration of indie writing includes multiple live and pre-recorded panel discussions, alongside author interviews and giveaways. The next Big Indie Weekend takes place from 20th to 22nd February 2026.
Live Write-a-Long Sessions: Hosted by the Spotlight team, our live writing sessions take place on YouTube regularly. Come along and join the chat – we work on writing projects together, troubleshoot and celebrate each other’s successes. It’s a very relaxed and fun way to spend a bit of time writing as a group. Dates and times are announced on our social media.
Our Patreon Community
One of our aims at Spotlight Indie is making sure our events are accessible. Where possible, we try to cover as many of our event costs through sponsorship and other funding. This is so we can keep our ticket prices as low as we can, making attending author events more affordable for people who might otherwise struggle. All our events are non-profit making, meaning everything we generate is put directly back into the events.
One of the easiest ways to support us is by becoming part of our Patreon Community. Joining up gives you access to additional content, videos, giveaways and online events. You will also be invited to join us on our Patreon exclusive Discord.
Introducing: The Bite-Sized Book Club
A book club dedicated to incredible indie novellas!
Join Frasier Armitage and Ren Hutchings as they geek out over indie works that are big on imagination but small in size – it’s snack-sized storytelling!
Patreon members can join the book club for free on Discord, where you’ll get the chance to chat about each book of the month and vote for what we’ll be reading next. And if you’re a subscriber, you’ll have even more of a say over what titles we’ll all be voting for!
At the end of each month, Frasier and Ren will chat together on the Spotlight Indie YouTube Channel to review the book in person. Make sure you’re subscribed to the YouTube Channel so you don’t miss an episode (hyperlink the YouTube).
About your co-hosts:
Frasier Armitage is the author of Cage of Stars and A Stitch Between Worlds, co-host of the FanFiAddict Book Club, and reviewer for the BSFA. Part-time robot. Full-time nerd. He’s always in need of more bookshelves. (Include picture)
Ren Hutchings is a speculative fiction writer, writing mentor, editor, and lifelong SFF fan. She loves pop science, unexplained mysteries, 90s music, collecting outdated electronics, and pondering about alternate universes. Ren is the author of Under Fortunate Stars, An Unbreakable World, and The Legend Liminal.
THE GALLERY OF LEGENDS AND HEROES
THE BIG INDIE WEEKEND: SUMMER 2025
Our last Big Indie Weekend online event saw us host 40+ indie authors over 3 days of online panels, workshops and talks. The entire playlist is available to watch, covering everything from writing for audio, budgeting for your book, building a reader platform and finding editors and beta readers. There’s also book recommendations, indie author book launches and author Q&As.
To find out about what we’ve got coming up, our events and new content, you can subscribe to our monthly newsletter. We promise not to spam you – only to send you cool book and writing related stuff!
If you’d like lots of extra indie goodness, check out our members only content on Patreon! Not only does membership offer great behind-the-scenes bonus indie stuff, it will also help keep our author events affordable and accessible!
Spotlight Indie 