The Book Market
Since 2021, Exeter City of Literature has hosted a yearly Book Market, working with independent bookshops across Devon to bring Exeter an exciting afternoon of bookish activities.
The Book Market has previously taken place at Powderham Castle, Positive Light Projects, and Exeter Cathedral.
For 2026, The Book Market took place on Sunday 7th June on Exeter Quay from 11am - 4pm.
The Book Market 2026
The sixth annual Book Market - Exeter City of Literature’s celebration of Devon’s thriving literary scene - took place on Sunday 7th June 2026!
Indie Bookshops & Vendors
Bookbag (Exeter) | bookonahook (Exeter) | Book Relief (Bideford) | Celandine Books (Wiveliscombe) | Design For Today (Topsham)
First Draft Books (Bovey Tracey) | Graham York Rare Books (Honiton) | Gumshoe Books (Totnes) | Lavender Menace Books (Exeter) | Mint Press (Exeter) | Seven Fables (Dulverton)
The Bookery (Crediton) | The Cakery (Exeter) | The Dawlish Bookshop (Dawlish) | The Ivybridge Bookshop (Ivybridge) | The Old Queeriosity Shop (Plymouth)
Community Table
Dartmoor Preservation Association (Yelverton) | Devon & Exeter Institution (Exeter) | The Folklore Library and Archive (Crediton)
Author Talks
Ayanna Lloyd Banwo | Ashley Hickson-Lovence | Casey Garfield | Erica Hesketh | Fiona Benson | Fiona Williams | Kev Payne | Rio Johan
Join these 8 amazing writers in our Author Tent!
11am – 11:45am: Rio Johan and Casey Garfield
12pm - 12:45pm: Ashley Hickson-Lovence and Kev Payne
1pm - 1:45pm: Erica Hesketh and Fiona Benson
2pm – 2:45pm: Ayanna Lloyd Banwo and Fiona Williams
What does Exeter look like through the eyes of newcomers, especially writers arriving from other UNESCO Cities of Literature? One a temporary visitor, the other a recent permanent transplant, both bring perspectives shaped by their own literary cities: Jakarta and Norwich. Together, they will reflect on how cities shape writers, what it means to arrive from elsewhere, and how Exeter reveals itself through literature, memory, and everyday encounters.
Writer and educator Ashley Hickson-Lovence joins Exeter’s own Kev Payne for a conversation about football, poetry, teaching, and the pressures facing young men today. Together they will explore how sport, literature, and education intersect, and how writing can open up conversations around masculinity, identity, class, and belonging.
Poets Fiona Benson and Erica Hesketh explore motherhood, ecology, and writing in a time of environmental change. Together they will discuss Almanack, their collaborative project published with Guillemot Press, and reflect on how poetry can respond to the natural world, family life, and the urgencies of the climate crisis.
Ayanna Lloyd Banwo, in conversation with Fiona Williams, explores family, folklore, belonging, and the pull of home portrayed in her unforgettable novel rooted in place and memory. This will be a rich conversation about the stories that continue to shape us long after we leave.
Free Activities
At the Piazza Terracina
Show off your vibrant love of literature with Face and Body Painting by Cara
Experience a unique bookish puzzle on the Quay with Prodigy Escapes
Suggest a book for our Penguin Books Vending Machine
Discover local folk tales with The Old Wyvern
Get crafty with local arts group Inky Fingers
Outside of Exeter Custom House
Bring out your inner writer with taster memoir sessions from Raw Writing
Receive tiny words of wisdom from our Literary Dream Machine
Try out a typewriter with Francis Kay Vintage
Inside Exeter Custom House
Spend a moment of calm at our dedicated space for Silent Book Club
Browse our GWR Literary Artwork in a dedicated gallery space
Find your next read with a unique to you Bibliotherapy session
Accessibility and Transport
Step-free access is available across all three spaces (Piazza, Custom House, Transit Shed) for The Book Market.
Exeter Custom House has step-free access to ground floor, a lift to the first floor (ask at reception for access), an accessible ground floor toilet, and they welcome assistance dogs anywhere on site.
The Author Tent at the Transit Shed will have chairs for those who need them and space for wheelchairs.
The nearest public toilets for The Book Market attendees can be found next to On The Waterfront. The nearest accessible toilet is at Exeter Custom House on the ground floor.
We encourage attendees to use public transport and bikes or arrive on foot wherever possible. Exeter St Thomas station is only a six minute walk away, whilst visitors arriving from further afield via Exeter Central can reach the Quay in 15 minutes.
Stagecoach provides local services to and from Exeter, making your visit easy and affordable. For more information on ticket prices and services nearby, visit their Discover Exeter by Bus page.
Exeter Quay is easily reached by car from either side of the River Exe. The nearest car parks both provide step-free access to the quay.
City Centre side: Cathedral & Quay Carpark
St Thomas side (recommended if accessing from M5 and A30): the Haven Banks Carparks
The Butts Ferry will be running for free all day to ferry Book Market attendees between The Piazza and The Quay!
Volunteers will be available during The Book Market to help you—look for the friendly folk wearing the branded Exeter City of Lit t-shirts!
The Book Market
Case Study
Discover what we’ve accomplished with The Book Market since we launched the yearly celebration of Devon’s local literary scene in 2021 with our brand new Case Study.
Learn about the importance of free events in the city, how many independent bookshops we’ve worked with, and some of the fantastic feedback we’ve received from bookshop owners and the public!