York artist Mark Hearld’s poster illustration for the 2026 York National Book Fair
YORK National Book Fair, the largest antiquarian book fair in Great Britain, will be held in the Knavesmire Suite at York Racecourse, Knavesmire, York, on September 11 , from 12 noon to 7pm, and September 12, 10am to 5pm.
As many as 185 ‘bookshops’ will be set up under one roof with prices ranging from only a few pounds to tens of thousands. All subjects, all dates, from medieval to ultra-modern, will be on sale, along with ephemera, manuscripts, prints and photographs.
Two new exhibitors specialising in collectable posters will join this year’s line-up at a fair organised by Tony Fothergill, of Ken Spelman Books, Lucius Books, based in Micklegate, and Janette Ray, who runs a rare and and out-of-print bookshop, focusing on architecture, design, art, photography and landscape subjects, in Bootham, on behalf of the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association.
A range of trade stands will sell marbled papers and binding materials, complemented by providers of services to the book trade, including software and packaging material suppliers,
From modest beginnings with only 20 exhibitors at the White Swan Inn in York in 1974, the York Book Fair has grown into the largest, and many say friendliest, rare, antiquarian and out-of–print book fair in the UK and Europe.
Anyone interested in books and reading is encouraged to attend a fair that is not only for dealers or traders but also is open to everyone young and old and is an ideal place to start collecting, with more than 100,000 books – some more than 500 years old – for sale.
York Raceourse offers unlimited free parking and a free shuttle bus will run from the Memorial Gardens on Railway Street, to Knavesmire, every 30 minutes.
Tickets on the door cost £2. Alternatively, head to https://yorkbookfair.com/one-day-complimentary-ticket-2/ to download a complimentary ticket. Children aged under 16 are admitted for free.