Seeking poster designer for the Edinburgh Radical Book Fair 2026!

Edinburgh’s Radical Book Fair is back in 2026!

Taking place at the Roxy Assembly 5th-8th November, the fair is a yearly meeting point for radical books and radical reading, thinking and feeling, as much as it is an opportunity for community-building and for making connections to facilitate crucial action and organising.

Now we’re embarking on a search for this year’s poster design! Is this where you - designer/illustrator - come in?

We'll be commissioning the creation of an A3 poster for this year's fair, with elements of the design to be used both online and in print.

The theme

“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” Arundhati Roy

At this year’s fair we want to shine a bright light on the many spaces, people and movements where the beginnings of a different world already exist, those pockets of reality where glorious alternatives to late capitalism and despair are carved out moment by moment. As we spend our days and lives longing for a world that isn’t framed by oppression, sometimes we’re lucky enough to get a whiff of something different: a campaign, an organising space, a community of support. In those glimpses, we recognise what might be possible on a larger scale. It’s vital that we direct energy and resources to the breathing, flawed and sprawling experiments in liberation we see around us - be they small or large .

These are seeds for the world we want. We must inject them with life.

The fee

We pay a fee of £150 for the design of the poster. As a designer you would still be free to use any images and poster elements elsewhere. The deadline for the finished design would be 3rd August 2026.

What we need from you

If you'd be interested in designing a poster for us, please send an email with the following to rbf@lighthousebookshop.com

• A few samples of your (existing) work
• A couple of lines about why you'd be a good fit to create the poster for 2026's Radical Book Fair
• Answers to the following question: If shortlisted, would you be happy for your work to be celebrated in a round-up on the Lighthouse IG and TikTok accounts?
• Please note that we're not asking for drafts or finished designs at this point - just a note of interest.

Please send us this email by June 1st 5pm

In the image on the left you can glimpse the RBF posters from the last four years, designed by NAME MISSING, Lindsay Grime, Celeste John-Wood, Candice Purwin and Kate Louise Powell respectively.

Though not a requirement to apply, we're especially keen to work with and promote the work of artists based in Scotland or the North of England, who are familiar with the bookshop and share our values and ambitions for the Radical Book Fair.

We’re so excited to see your work and hope you will consider sharing it with us!