Feel Good Fiction Fair

We're hosting our very first Feel Good Fiction Fair: a cosy, community event, focused on celebrating diverse stories and feel-good fiction. With guest authors: Dhonielle Clayton, Talia Hibbert, Elle Machray, Jasmine Burke, Tasneem Abdur-Rashid, Isabella Galbraith, Charlotte Stein, and Rufaro Faith Mazarura. All proceeds donated to North London Samaritans. Ticket options: • Entry: Grants you admission to all parts of the event, including author signings. • + Goodie Bag: Includes a goodie bag on arrival - all goodie bags include a surprise book. • + Book Token (Early Bird Price): Includes one book of your choice from The Leading Lady Bookshop. Your token acts as a pre‑purchase and can be redeemed for any book at their stall on the day. Books will also be available to buy at full price (£10) during the event. Please note: the token is only valid at this event and cannot be used online. What you can expect: • Author Panels & Signings • Feel-Good Activities, Games & Prizes • Book Swap (bring a pre-owned book, take a pre-owned book) • The Leading Lady Bookshop • A Quiet Zone • On-site Samaritans Listening Volunteers • and more! Meet the authors: Dhonielle Clayton is a New York Times bestselling author, hailing from the Washington, D.C. suburbs. She has authored and co-authored many novels, including The Belles series, Blackout, and the Tiny Pretty Things duology, a Netflix original series. She is the President and founder of IP story companies Cake Creative and Electric Postcard Entertainment, dedicated to creating diverse books for all ages. She is also COO of the non-profit We Need Diverse Books, an avid traveler, and always on the hunt for magic and mischief. Talia Hibbert is an award-winning, New York Times and internationally bestselling author of several novels, including Get a Life, Chloe Brown, The Princess Trap, and A Girl Like Her. She writes witty romances, with delicious tension, authentic emotions and relatable leads, including chronically ill, neurodivergent, and Black characters. Talia lives in a small English town in Nottinghamshire, reluctantly sharing bookshelf space with her childhood sweetheart and their dog, Pebbles, who is an avid reader. Elle Machray grew up in Birmingham to Caribbean and Scottish parents. She is an Observer Top 10 Debut Novelist, winner of the Somewhere: For Us Culture Award, featured on The List's Top 100 influential people of 2024, and their debut novel Remember, Remember was shortlisted for Scotland's National Book Award. Known for writing overlooked voices back into historical fiction, Elle's latest novel Havisham is a queer feminist reimagining, in which Dickens' most infamous female character tells her side of the story at last. Jasmine Burke is a Caribbean-British bestselling author of Quarter-Love Crisis and Around the World in 80 Dates, spotlighted by ESSENCE magazine as a summer read to watch. Alongside her writing career, Jasmine works full-time in PR and marketing and is a passionate advocate for making publishing more accessible. She is the Festival Marketing Director for the Free Books Festival and is involved in mentoring initiatives supporting aspiring writers. Tasneem Abdur‑Rashid is a British Bengali author of several novels, including Finding Mr Perfectly Fine, and Carnegie nominated Odd Girl Out. Growing up as a visibly Muslim woman in north London, Tasneem rarely saw herself reflected in the books she read - an absence that continues to shape her writing. Her stories celebrate underrepresented cultures with nuance and heart. She also co‑hosts the award‑winning 'Not Another Mum Pod', and received the 2023 SHE Award for Arts and Culture for her work championing underrepresented communities. Isabella Galbraith is a Canadian author whose books often feature sarcastic protagonists (although she would argue that they’re just severely misunderstood). Her heart-pounding debut, The One, published earlier this year. This unputdownable romantic thriller "blends high-stakes survival with the deliciously messy drama of reality TV in a way that hooks you from the very first page". Now based in London, Isabella spends her summers in her hometown of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada. Charlotte Stein is a Romantic Times nominated, bestselling author of over fifty short stories, novellas and novels, including An Education in Longing and When Grumpy Met Sunshine, named “a triumph” by The New York Times. She writes fat-positive romance, with plus-size main characters who are thoughtfully celebrated and desired. When not writing hilarious, deeply emotional, sexy books, she can be found up north, eating jelly turtles, getting way too excited over a million movies and TV shows, and occasionally lusting after moustaches. Rufaro Faith Mazarura is a British Zimbabwean author living in London. She writes vivid, feel-good rom-coms, set within the high-stakes backdrop of the Olympics games, including Let the Games Begin and Skate It Till You Make It, A Most Anticipated Romance Novel: People, Goodreads, ELLE, The Seattle Times and more. By day, she works as a podcast producer, bringing stories to life through audio, having written and produced podcasts for the BBC, iHeartRadio and Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children’s Books. Accessibility: The Southgate Club is not a step-free venue. We will be using the step-free entrance (via Crown Lane) and ramps will be in place inside for access to all parts of the event. There is an accessible toilet. Designated quiet zones will also be available. Please reach out to us at [email protected] with any accessibility questions or concerns, we're more than happy to accommodate.