The only Artists' Book Fair in Wales! This will be the 4th annual artists' book event in Newtown for book artists to sell their work. It will run over the weekend of September 5/6 2026 alongside the Newtown Food Festival in the park. This year the venue will be at Oriel Davies Gallery in Newtown, Powys, near the beautiful River Severn, and will include some demonstrations and workshops as well as an exhibition. The fair has grown in stature since the first year and we are looking forward to welcoming some fantastic new artists!

We are looking for artists making book forms. Books using text, image, stitch, fold, print, small press and zines are some of the wonderful work that we want on show at the 4th annual Wales Artists' Book Fair.

Wales has many book artists and we want to showcase their work, as well as artists from further afield.

We want to encourage more visitors to this idyllic rural area to find out what artists' books can be and encourage them to get involved and learn about the different creative processes that make a great artist's book.

The event will again coincide with the Newtown Food Festival, so there will be a lot going on!

About the venue

The Wales Artists' Book fFair Llyfr Artistiad Cymru will be held for the first time in the main gallery area of Oriel Davies Gallery. The gallery is on the edge of the park, near the back lane car park.

The room is spacious and fully accessible on the ground floor. There is a small shop and cafe' in the foyer.

Oriel Davies Gallery is a key public art gallery of Wales, based in Newtown, in rural Powys, presenting world-class, thought-provoking and challenging art by national and international artists in an environment that is welcoming, engaging, informative and free.

https://orieldavies.org/about

This year the event will again coincide with the Newtown Food Festival which will take place around the taown hall grounds next to the gallery venue. This should ensure a good crowd for the fair!

https://newtownfoodfestival.org.uk/home

Criteria

The Artists' Book Fair will be open to individual artists, groups and small publishers who create high-quality artists' books or zines using print, textile, stitch, fold, or other paper-based techniques.

We will not accept mass-produced published works as we want to champion the art of the handmade book.

Please fill out the online form with as many details as possible with social media or website links.

Please include jpegs that are clear and of high standard with a white background if possible so we can use them for publicity purposes if you are accepted.

Successful applicants will sell their work directly to the public with no commission fees.

There will be workshops and demonstration opportunities, so please let me know if you would like to take part in these. Details will follow for successful applicants.

Stand prices and plan 

There will be around 18 tables available. There is no wall space available at this venue. 

The tables are 182 x 68 cm so keep this in mind when thinking about the display. Please bring your own table coverings.

Tables are £40 per pitch for the 2 days.

Publicity 

We will be printing leaflets, which I will send out to you and distribute locally, as well as banners and posters for the local area. I will try to contact as many local press/publicity organisations as I can.

I will advertise in Artists' Book Newsletter and other arts publications and inundating social media.

Oriel Davies will also include information about the fair in their publicity as well as spreading the word to their groups.

Please follow @ffairllyfrcelf on Instagram to follow events of the fair!

I will make a small catalogue about all the exhibitors, which will be given to visitors when they arrive.

Application process 

Please fill out the application form and read all the details. Successful applicants will be notified shortly after the deadline and they will be instucted to pay by BACS or Paypal.

An invoice will be sent with the bank details. You may cancel up to 4 weeks up to the event, but after that date you cannot receive a refund for the table.

4 weeks before the event, we will send out any other information you need about directions, access needs and any other details.

On arrival, you will also receive an info pack with exhibitor badges, local event info and free coffee or tea. 

Fair dates and times 

Saturday and Sunday, 5th and 6th of September 2026.

Artist arrival:  9 - 9:30am to set up.

Fair open to the public 10am to 4pm. Sunday take down 4 to 5pm.

For any other questions, contact the curator Amy Sterly via Curatorspace.