10am-5pm, Sat & Sun
25th & 26th October 2025
Fruitmarket, Edinburgh
TAGS (Tabletop & Graphic Storytelling) Festival is a free-to-attend market event dedicated to spotlighting Scotland's small press talent!We’re celebrating collaborative and visual storytelling in its many forms, from comics and roleplaying games to board games, zines and beyond.
What's On?
Small Press Marketplace
Browse our curated collection of jaw-dropping works from artists, comic authors, game designers and independent publishers, hailing from across Scotland, the UK, and abroad.We're proud that our marketplace emphasises perspectives that often go ignored in the wider convention scene.
Board Game Zone
Find lots to do, see and play in our Board Game Zone, hosted by Ancient Robot Games -- Leith's favourite local gaming store.Book into TTRPG sessions run by volunteer stewards, or drop in and borrow board games from Ancient Robot's wide-ranged library!Like all of the festival, the Board Game Zone is wheelchair accessible.
Talks and Panels
Join guest experts from the arts, graphic novel and table top gaming industries for exciting talks and panel discussions in the afternoons of both days.
Accessibility & Masking
Fruitmarket
TAGS will take place on Saturday & Sunday, 25th & 26th October at Fruitmarket, in the heart of Edinburgh.Fruitmarket is an arts gallery located just outside of the Market Street exit of Edinburgh Waverley Train Station. It is easily accessible by train, bus, tram and by car.Fruitmarket is wheelchair-accessible, and the market will take place on the first floor in the Upper Gallery. For more information about Fruitmarket's accessibility, please visit their dedicated page:
Friendly Spaces
We work hard to create a welcoming space. To do this, we are operating under a policy of inclusion and respect. We expect anyone attending or exhibiting the event to follow it.As part of our policy, we are asking all visitors and exhibitors to wear a face mask throughout the event, if they are able to.
About
TAGS was founded in 2023 by Eve Greenwood of Quindrie Press and Brian Tyrrell of Stout Stoat Press, indie creators-turned-publishers who work in the comics and tabletop game industries respectively. As of 2025, TAGS Fest is run by Eve, Brian, and Faye Stacey under Small Press Scotland CIC.TAGS Fest is organised by creators who have first-hand knowledge of what the Scottish convention scene is like. We know what our community needs, and our goal is to deliver it!
2025 Feature Artist
This year our feature artist is Aimee Lockwood, a brilliantly talented illustrator and comic maker based in the far north of Scotland, where she creates colourful work inspired by folklore, history, conservation, and the natural world. Alongside her independent comic work, Aimee has also published the poetry comic The Wilds, written by Russell Jones.
Curation Consultant
This year curation will be assisted by Nyla Ahmad. Nyla is a writer and musician from North Lanarkshire. She currently works in the Scottish literary sector, as part of the team behind Extra Teeth and at Scottish Book Trust, leading on programming Book Week Scotland. She serves on the Society of Authors Comics Creators Network Steering Committee and the Glasgow Zine Library Board of Trustees.
Contact
Have questions about the event? Email us at: hello@tagsfest.co.uk
This year, TAGS is generously sponsored by:
Tettix Games
Hari Conner
Lost Pages
If you are interested in sponsoring TAGS Fest, please get in touch with us at hello@tagsfest.co.uk.
TAGS is organised with help from:
Ancient Robot Games
La Belle Adventure
Fruitmarket
TAGS is part of:
Small Press Scotland CIC
Reports
We value transparency. At the end of each event, we anonymously survey our exhibitors and combine their responses with data we gathered on the day.You can read our findings in these public reports. We plan to continue reporting on the success of TAGS as we continue to grow.
Exhibiting at Tags
Applications
Applications are now closed.
Important Info
Where? Fruitmarket, 45 Market St, Edinburgh EH1 1DF
When? Saturday & Sunday, 25th & 26th of October 2025
Set up - 9am to 10am
Open - 10am to 5pm (dedicated Quiet Hour 10am-11am both days)
Packdown - 5pm - 6pm
Table Prices?
4' table - £40 per day
6' table - £60 per day
You may table for just Saturday or Sunday, or all weekend.
Discount tables will be available for select first-time exhibitors.
Draft Marketplace Floorplan.
Exhibitor Timeline
Applications - Open April 15th, and close May 15th.
Assessments - All applications reviewed with our third party curator.
Table Offers - 1st round results go out June 15th, 2nd round results go out July 1st.
Invoices - Due by July 15th (get in contact if you need longer!)
Public Announcements - TAGS website profiles by August 15th, and social media posts throughout October in the run up to the fest!
Testimonials
Considering if you want to apply to be part of this year's festival? Here’s what past exhibitors have had to say!
“This was an excellent convention. Very welcoming and a great curation of folks exhibiting. It was busy throughout most of the day and the overall vibe of the show was really positive and nice. ”
“I told all my friends. An absolute no brainer for next year.”
“For artists who are starting in the convention world, it's lovely to be able to pay a little less for a table"
“This was my first market. I was terrified at first, but over the course of the day, I settled in and I made a lot of lovely friends in the industry.”
“I found sales to be [...] comparable to my sales at UKGE (the UK's largest Boardgame Convention) in a fraction of the time.”
“The attendees were really engaged and a number of them told me it was their first time looking into an event like this.”
Festival Reporting
We value transparency. At the end of each event, we anonymously survey our exhibitors and combine their responses with data we gathered on the day.You can read our findings in these public report. We plan to continue reporting on the success of TAGS as we continue to grow.
Policies
We will be using our updated Curation Policy when assessing applications. We recommend you read through it before applying.All exhibitors and visitors will be expected to adhere to the Friendly Spaces policy while at TAGS.
2025 Exhibitors
We'll be hosting over 50 creators in our 2025 marketplace! You can sort through our exhibitors by category using the buttons below, or search for custom tags assigned by the exhibitors.
Interested in tabling next year? Sign up for our exhibitor newsletter!
Venue
This year's TAGS Fest will take place from
10am to 5pm on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th of October 2025
at Fruitmarket, in the heart of Edinburgh.
Fruitmarket is an arts gallery located just outside of the Market Street exit of Edinburgh Waverley Train Station. It is easily accessible by train, bus, tram and taxi.Fruitmarket is fully wheelchair-accessible. The market will take place on the ground floor. The Boardgame Zone will take place on the first floor, which is accessible by lift. For more information about Fruitmarket's accessibility, please visit their dedicated page:There will be a dedicated quiet hour at the start of each day, running from 10am to 11am.
What's the venue like?
TAGS will be hosted in Fruitmarket's Upper Gallery and Warehouse spaces. The Upper Gallery is well lit with natural light from overhead skylights, while the Warehouse is cosier with overhead spotlights. Below is a a gallery of photos taken at TAGS Fest 2023 in the Warehouse, which this year will house the Board Game Zone!
Getting to Fruitmarket
By Train
Fruitmarket is right next to Waverley Station, Edinburgh. Use the Market Street exit which has lift access to Market Street
By Tram
The closest stop is St Andrew Square. From there, Walk downhill to Princes Street. Cross over onto Waverley Bridge. Turn left on to Market Street. Continue down towards the train station. Fruitmarket will be on your left-hand side.
By Foot
Fruitmarket is approximately 2 mins from Princes Street, the Royal Mile, Waverley Bridge and North Bridge. Martin Creed’s Scotsman Steps link North Bridge to Market Street.
By Bus
Fruitmarket is 2 mins walk from major bus routes on Princes Street, the Royal Mile, North Bridge and Waverley Bridge.Most major bus routes stop on or near the east end of Princes Street.
By Car
Pick up/drop off points and short stay parking are available on Market Street. However, they will be competetive on a Saturday in December!Long stay parking is available at Edinburgh Waverley’s car park, New Street, EH8 8BH. Rates:
Up to 40 minutes: FREE
Up to 3 hours: £9.00
Up to 5 hours: £14.00
Up to 10 hours: £18.00
Up to 24 hours: £24.50
Curation Policy
TAGS Fest’s aim is to explore visual storytelling in all its forms from small press creators.
This means that we’re looking to curate exhibitors featuring original, story-focused material such as graphic novels, comics, tabletop games, or other projects exploring visual storytelling.Curation will be assisted by an impartial guest curator.
Prioritisation
Conventions and fairs are often inaccessible to marginalised creators for a variety of reasons. Because of this, we will be prioritising applications from:
Black creators or creators of colour.
Disabled creators.
Queer creators.
Creators whose work speaks on an experience that is not often represented.
Creators from Scotland, especially those residing outside of Edinburgh or Glasgow.
For those who have exhibited with us before, we’d love to have you back! Please note, we will be prioritising returning applications showcasing new projects, or work that is further developed than from the last time you were with us. This is because we want to give new applicants a fair opportunity to show their work.
Suitability
Wondering if TAGS is the right show for you? If any of the statements below apply to you, there might be other spaces in Scotland that would be better suited to your work and your needs:
You are representing an established, large publisher of any kind. Instead, consider the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Your work is primarily text (prose, poetry, etc) with no visual or interactive component. Instead, consider CYMERA Festival.
Your work is not wholly original (ie. fanworks). Instead, consider Anime, Comic or Fan Conventions, such as DeeCon.
The majority of your practice is dedicated to producing prints, t-shirts, badges, stickers, or other forms of merchandise. Instead, consider ECAF.
Your work focuses on fine arts, conceptual printmaking, or limited edition hand-crafted books. Instead consider Fruitmarket's Artists' Bookmarket.
Your work focuses on perzines, minizines and non-profit zines. You are welcome at TAGS but may find a stronger community and more cost-effective table pricing at the Glasgow Zine Fair.
We are not at all interested in work that promotes hateful ideologies, or work from creators who use AI-generated images in any capacity.
What can I sell at TAGS?
Prints, stickers, pin badges and merchandise are an expected sight at most conventions. While beautiful, they aren't the focus of this event, and we don't want to set the expectation that storytellers need to have these things at their table to be successful.Exhibitors may sell some merchandise, but the focus of their display must be their own original material (comics, games, zines, etc).Here is an example of what we're looking for from an ideal exhibitor:
This is a mock up table display from our 2023 feature artist, Ver! Their table features their latest comics, and a concept art book for their upcoming graphic novel. Around their books are stickers and charms of their original characters.They’ve used a backing grid to hold up prints, some of their characters, and a few from other projects they’ve worked on. On the day, they had a larger selection of their prints in a fold out portfolio book for visitors to flick through.
Public Liability Insurance
If accepted to the festival, all exhibitors will be expected to have public liability insurance coverage for the duration of the event.If you don’t currently have public liability insurance, you can find advice for getting short or long term coverage in Heather Parry’s free book, The Illustrated Freelancer’s Guide.Chapter 1, page 33 covers public liability insurance, but the whole book is full of invaluable advice!
Waiting Lists
Last year, we had space for about 40 exhibitors, and received almost 100 applications. This year, we expect to receive even more great submissions, though our space remains the same size, so some applicants may be added to a waiting list.If your application is suitable for TAGS, we will let you know you have been added to our waiting list. If a table space frees up, we will offer replacements to the most suitable exhibitor in the waiting list. Like the rest of the show, these offers are curated, and not affected by an application's submission date.
Cancellations
You can cancel your table and receive a full refund (minus transaction fees) up to September 30th 2025, as we will likely be still able to quickly approach other exhibitors on our waiting list.From October 1st 2025, we cannot guarantee a refund. We will attempt to find a replacement for you from our waiting list; if this is possible, we will confirm your cancellation and issue an immediate refund. We do not allow for table swapping (e.g. giving your paid table to an unvetted exhibitor).TAGS is an event with a very small and tightly allotted budget. While we hope to offer refunds even for short notice cancellations, we can only do this once we've assessed our remaining funds after the festival has concluded.Because of our limited administrative capacity, if you do not show up to the event and have not contacted us about a cancellation you will not receive a refund.Please email hello@tagsfest.co.uk if you have any questions.
friendly spaces policy
We want TAGS to be a place where creators of all backgrounds can share their work, and all of their fans can show their appreciation.
Anyone exhibiting at or visiting the festival agrees to follow the guidelines below.
This policy will be arbitrated on a common sense basis. Creators or attendees who do not follow these guidelines will be asked to leave the event immediately.If you feel this policy has been broken by anyone, please inform a volunteer steward.
Conduct
Respect the Stewards. You will be asked to leave the event if you ignore warnings to mind your conduct.
Respect other creators and attendees. Use correct names and pronouns; if you aren’t sure what name or pronouns to use, ask. If you make a mistake, apologise and move on.
Refrain from using offensive, hostile or intimidating language. This includes but is not limited to homophobic, transphobic, or racist language.
Be considerate and careful of your surroundings. Don't misuse, damage or misappropriate other exhibitors' or visitors' property.
No 'hard sales' or 'haggling' tactics are to be used.
Keep the event space clean and tidy. Don't drop litter, and don't block walkways or fire exits with boxes or banners.
Be mindful of the space you occupy, and don't block other exhibitors tables. For example, by having your table display hang over another exhibitor's table, or blocking one exhibitor's table by queuing to speak to another exhibitor.
Be respectful of the venue. Do not create any lasting marks at the venue, and be polite and respectful to Fruitmarket staff.
Content
Works that promote discrimination (including but not limited to sexuality, race, gender, religion or age) are banned from this event.
Works featuring AI generated content (e.g. art, words, etc) are banned from this event.
NSFW or 18+ material cannot be on display. This material can be kept behind an exhibitor's table or out of reach of younger attendees with only non-explicit content on display. Games with these themes should be played with caution.
Trigger warnings should be displayed by exhibitors or introduced by players at the start of games when appropriate.
Masking and Illness
As Covid-19 is an ongoing problem, and many of our friends and community members are disabled and/or immuno-compromised, we firmly request that you wear a mask when attending TAGS, if you are able to.We will have disposable masks available for free at the welcome table, and in the board game zone. You are of course welcome and encouraged to bring your own mask, as it may be more comfortable!We will have signage at the entrance of the event asking attendees to wear masks. TAGS and Fruitmarket operates according to Scottish Government Covid regulations.If you are sick with a contagious illness (flu, cold, COVID-19, etc) please be considerate of your fellow community members and do not attend the event.
Children and Young Adults
Any attendees under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times. The festival and our stewards take no responsibility for unattended underage participants.
Dogs
Guide dogs, hearing and registered assistance dogs are welcome.
Board game Zone
Welcome to the to the
Ancient Robot board game zone!
Open from 10am to 5pm
Last games from 4pm.
Located in the Workshop area,
accessible via stairs or lift.
Children & Young Adults. Any attendees under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Neither TAGS Fest nor Ancient Robot Games takes responsibility for unattended underage participants.
Accessibility. You can reach the board game zone via stairs (marked on the venue map), via stairs at the front end of the Fruitmarket, or by lift (just right of the main entrance). There are accessible toilets with baby changing facilities at both entrances to the Fruitmarket.
What's on?
Boardgame Library
Borrow fast paced games from Ancient Robot's extensive catalogue, or browse their wonderful display for local and international titles.Open tables will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Please be kind to your fellow gamers by freeing up empty chairs and sharing tables when playing in small groups.Refreshements are available from Fruitmarket's ground floor cafe. You are welcome to bring food into the boardgame zone, but please be mindful of avoiding spilling drinks or get library games dirty! Think snacks, not a hero's feast.
TTRPG Sessions
Volunteer game masters will be ready for you to run fast paced 1.5 hour sessions for range of daring and exciting systems, like Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, and more!Two sets of sessions will run each day:
Morning. 10.30am - 13.00pm
Afternoon. 14.00pm - 16.30pm
Safety Tools. All sessions will make use of John Stavropoulos' X-Card. Some volunteers may require additional tools in their sessions.
Blood on the Clocktower
During a hellish storm, a scream disrupts the sleepy town of Ravenswood Bluff. The townsfolk rush to investigate, and find their beloved storyteller slain by something evil. Clearly, a demon stalks amongst out midst!Can good find the demon in time? Or will evil overrun this once peaceful town?
Blood on the Clocktower is a game of murder and mystery, lies and logic, deduction and deception for five-to-twenty courageous players and one devious storyteller.Two games are run each day:
Morning. 11.00am - 13.00pm
Afternoon. 14.30pm - 16.30pm
Show up 10 minutes before to grab a free seat, or book through Ancient Robot Games to confirm your place in a game.
Playtests
Help new game designers their latest creations! Read their pitches and book in through Ancient Robot Games.
Books and Benches
Benches are available for you to sit on and decompress from the rest of the festival, or wait for an upcoming booked in session,A small selection of books will also be on display for you to peruse through.