Indie Night: June
Toast to independent publishers in our new quarterly events, as we share readings from – and conversation about – books that defy the ordinary.
Known for taking creative risks and championing fresh perspectives, independent publishers bring vital, boundary-pushing books into the world – works that often wouldn’t find space in the mainstream.
Indie Night is our brand-new quarterly series celebrating these presses and the brilliant authors they publish.
Each event showcases a handpicked, eclectic mix of four writers – fiction and nonfiction, established names and emerging voices – united by the same independent spirit as their publishers. One by one, the authors read from their work and sit down for a conversation with our hosts, Okechukwu Nzelu and Eliza Clark.
This month’s edition features readings and discussion from Amelia Abraham (MACK), Speech Debelle (Watkins Publishing), M John Harrison (Serpent’s Tail) and Jackie Thomae (DAS Editions).
Need to know
*Please note change of date from originally advertised
Amelia Abraham (MACK), Sex, Clubs, Dissent
Sex, Clubs, Dissent charts an expansive visual history of queer nightlife through the lens of photographers, film-makers and artists. It asks what our decades-long quest to catalogue and understand nightlife spaces through photography and film can tell us about our various relationships with them, and how photography intersects with pleasure, politics, and protest.
Speech Debelle (Watkins Publishing), Black Fish
Using fishing as a metaphor for personal growth, healing and belonging, <em>Black Fish</em> is a captivating blend of practical fishing guide, intimate memoir and cultural reflection, written by multitalented musician Speech Debelle.
M John Harrison (Serpent’s Tail), The End of Everything
A slyly satirical and unsettling post-apocalyptic adventure into the limits of human understanding from the peerless master of contemporary fiction. Phillip Tennent makes his living at the tideline, collecting artefacts that wash up from the Channel. It’s been years since the crisis changed everything, but its exact nature remains obscure. Government barely functions, the seas are full of new creatures, Europe has been mislaid. It feels like the end.
Jackie Thomae (DAS Editions), Brothers
In Brothers, Jackie Thomae tells the story of Mick and Gabriel, two Afro-European half-brothers born in East Germany to different mothers and the same Senegalese father as their lives unfold in very different directions. Funny, intelligent and emotionally perceptive, Brothers is both an intimate family story and a sweeping portrait of contemporary society.
Line up
Times & tickets
Dates, times and prices
Dates & times
24 Jun 2026, 7.45pm
Run time
1 hour and 15 minutes (approx)
All timings are approximate and subject to change
Standard entry
from £15 + £4 booking fee
Ticket prices may be adjusted without notice to reflect demand.
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For your visit
This event is held at the Purcell Room Southbank Centre
The Purcell Room is located in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, which is open from 90 minutes before events start until they finish. It’s closed at all other times.
Plan your visit
The Purcell Room is an auditorium located within our Queen Elizabeth Hall.
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Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
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We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
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From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.