Thought Bubble Comic Convention

At Thought Bubble Comic Convention you can buy from more than 600 comic-creating exhibitors who sell their own work, over two days at Harrogate Convention Centre, run by the not-for-profit Thought Bubble Festival, whose chosen charity is Barnardo’s. Alongside them you get guests from abroad, talks, exhibitions, workshops, signings and a kids’ zone with free activities. The 2026 convention is the 20th edition and closes Thought Bubble Festival, a week of comics events held across Yorkshire from 9 to 15 November.

Tickets and opening times for 2026

You can get in free if you are under 12 with a ticket-holding adult, over 65 with proof of age, or a carer or support worker with a paying ticket holder, and groups of 10 to 24 get 20% off while groups of 25 or more get 35% off. The halls open on Saturday 14 November from 10am to 6pm and on Sunday 15 November from 10am to 5pm, and visitors can use Entrance 4 or Entrance 5. Weekend, Saturday and Sunday tickets are sold through Ticket Tailor, and any left over are sold on the door. A cosplay ticket is valid only if the holder attends in costume, and the Friends of Thought Bubble ticket adds a goodie bag of prints and merchandise. Tickets are non-refundable.

According to the organiser, your ticket covers the exhibition floors, panels, workshops, children’s activities and cosplay parade, but not the festival week events.

Programme and guests

You can meet guests at signings including Tula Lotay, Charlie Adlard, Kate Beaton, Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad, and Alice Oseman’s Sunday signing is capped at 300 people. The 2026 programme includes a “20 Years of Thought Bubble!” session, a live Kate Beaton session, “Make It Then Tell Everybody”, an Alice Oseman spotlight, a 2000 AD panel and 2000 AD writer and artist talent searches. The cosplay parade runs on Saturday from 4pm to 6pm, followed by the Mid-Con Party at MOJO Harrogate.

Artists can have their work seen by guest professionals at drop-in portfolio reviews on both days from 11am to 2pm. Each lasts up to five minutes, and artists of any level can bring up to eight finished pieces.

Who exhibits

The 2026 exhibitor list gives you individual creators alongside names such as 2000 AD, Avery Hill Publishing, Breakdown Press, Bonnier Books UK, Flying Eye Books, Puffin, Cinebook, Forbidden Planet Leeds and OK Comics. In the entertainment and collectibles calendar, other pop culture events include MegaCon Live at NEC Birmingham from 5 December 2026 and MCM Comic Con London at Excel London from 28 May 2027.

Exhibiting and table prices

You can sell your own work from a creator table if you are a writer, artist, colourist, letterer or small press, at £225 for a full table (1.8m by 0.7m) or £115 for a half table (0.9m by 0.7m). Retailers and publishers pay £300 for a full table. A standard 3m by 2m booth costs £750, a premium location booth costs £1,000, and larger custom spaces can be requested by email. Applications are curated, so applying early brings you no advantage, and exhibitors must be 16 or over and must trade on both days. Applications for 2026 have closed. Our guide to building an exhibition budget covers costs beyond the table.

History

You are visiting a convention that has grown from one day to two.

Year	Format	Venue
2007	One-day event, the first convention	Basement of Leeds Town Hall
2026	20th edition, two days	Harrogate Convention Centre

The organiser says the idea came from artist Tula Lotay (Lisa Wood), who then worked at the Leeds comic shop Travelling Man, whose director Nabil Homsi backed the first event with guidance and funding.

Getting there

You can arrive by rail, bus, air or car. Harrogate railway station is a short walk away, with direct LNER trains from London Kings Cross and journeys of around 30 minutes from Leeds and York. The convention centre has an underground car park with blue badge spaces. The 36 bus from Leeds runs every 10 minutes. Leeds Bradford Airport is 12 miles away, linked by the hourly Airport Direct 747 bus. Inside, aisles are at least 8ft wide. Other Harrogate shows at the same centre include Knit + Stitch Harrogate from 19 November 2026 and Harrogate Christmas & Gift from 10 January 2027. The UK calendar lists more.

Source: thoughtbubblefestival.com/comicconvention, thoughtbubblefestival.com/faq, thoughtbubblefestival.com/exhibit, thoughtbubblefestival.com/conventionprogramme