Privacy & cookies
Last updated 14 October 2026
Who we are
Sparkle & Spine runs bookish events: author meet-and-greets, vendor stalls and evenings like Villains & Vices and Books, Bubbles & Besties.
For anything on this page, email info@sparkleandspine.co.uk.
What we collect, and why
If you buy a ticket
Your name, email address, the ticket type and what you paid. We need this to sell you a ticket and let you in. Card details are handled by our payment provider; we never see or store them.
Lawful basis: performing our contract with you.
If you apply to trade or appear as an author
Your name, business name, email, phone, website and social links, what you make or write, your public liability insurance position and any certificate you send us, whether you are bringing a helper, and your answers about the event itself. We need this to decide on your application and to run the event with you.
Lawful basis: performing a contract, or taking steps before one.
If you join a waiting list or ask to hear about future events
Your name and email, what you asked to hear about, and when. Our forms and ticket checkout have an optional, unticked box for emails about future events; we only send those emails if you ticked it. Every one has an unsubscribe link.
Lawful basis: your consent. You can withdraw it at any time.
If you ask to see us on social media
Our forms and ticket checkout also have a separate, optional box: "Show me Sparkle & Spine on social media". Only if you tick it, we may use your email address to show you our ads on Facebook and Instagram, and to help those platforms find people with similar interests (Meta calls these "custom audiences" and "lookalike audiences"). We send the address in a scrambled (hashed) form; Meta uses it to match your account and does not keep it for anything else. If you change your mind, email us and we will remove you from our audiences.
Lawful basis: your consent. Meta's own privacy policy also applies to what you do on its platforms.
If you give us feedback
Whatever you choose to put in the form. You may leave it anonymous. If you tell us we may quote you, we record that permission and honour it.
Lawful basis: your consent.
If you email or message us
The message and your contact details, so we can reply and keep a record of what was agreed.
Lawful basis: our legitimate interest in answering you.
If you visit our website
See Cookies and website analytics below.
We never
Sell or rent your information to anybody, buy lists, or scrape contact details. We only use your email for advertising if you have ticked the social media box above.
Partners
In future we may share details with carefully chosen partners, such as authors or sponsors of our events, for their own marketing. We will only ever do that if you have ticked a box agreeing to it, naming who they are, at the time. Without that tick, your details are never shared for anyone else's marketing.
Cookies and website analytics
Our website analytics run on our own servers, not a third party's, and never follow you to other websites.
Without your consent we use no cookies. We count pages viewed and see roughly where in the world visitors are, but not who they are.
If you click "Accept" on our cookie banner, we also set analytics cookies and record how the site is used, so we can see what works and fix what doesn't. That includes:
- which pages and buttons are used, and how far people scroll;
- heatmaps of where people click;
- replays of visits, showing how the page was used. Anything typed into a form is hidden and never recorded;
- page loading speed and any errors the page hits.
Lawful basis: your consent.
None of this is sold, shared or used for advertising. You can change your mind at any time:
| Name | What it does | Kept for |
|---|---|---|
ss_consent | Remembers your cookie choice so we don't ask again. Strictly necessary; stored in your browser only. | Until you clear it |
ph_…_posthog | Analytics: recognises a returning visitor so visits can be counted and replayed. Set only after you click Accept, and removed if you change your mind. | 1 year |
TikTok videos
Our home page shows our TikTok videos. Until you tap one, it's just a picture hosted by us and TikTok isn't contacted. When you tap play, the video loads from TikTok, and TikTok's own privacy policy and cookies apply to it.
Who else sees it
Most of our systems run on our own servers rather than someone else's platform, so your data stays with us more than is usual for a business our size. Where we do rely on others:
- a card payment provider, who handles payments and sees what is needed to take them;
- an email delivery service, which sends our emails for us;
- Meta (Facebook and Instagram), only for people who ticked the social media box, as above;
- our venues, who may be told headcounts and, where the venue requires it, names on the door.
Our own team, currently three people, can see what they need to run events. We do not transfer your data outside the UK or the European Economic Area, except where one of the services above does so under an approved safeguard.
How long we keep it
| What | How long |
|---|---|
| Ticket and payment records | 6 years (tax law requires this) |
| Trader applications and contracts | 6 years after the event |
| Insurance certificates | 6 years after the event |
| Marketing and waiting lists | Until you ask us to stop, or after 3 years of no contact |
| Social media ad audiences | Until you ask us to stop; we rebuild them regularly, so a withdrawal takes effect at the next rebuild |
| Event feedback | 3 years |
| Enquiry emails | 2 years after the conversation ends |
| Website visit replays | 1 year |
| Other website analytics | 2 years |
Your rights
You can ask us to show you what we hold about you, correct it, delete it, stop using it for marketing, or give you a copy to take elsewhere. Email info@sparkleandspine.co.uk and we will respond within one month. There is no charge.
Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link. One click is enough; you never have to explain yourself.
If you think we have got something wrong, please tell us first so we can put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Photographs at events
We take photographs and video at our events and use them to promote future ones. If you'd rather not be photographed, tell any of our team when you arrive, or email info@sparkleandspine.co.uk before the day. If you spot yourself in something we've already posted and want it taken down, email us and we will.
Keeping it safe
Our systems are access-controlled and only the people who need them have logins. We take regular backups. If something goes wrong in a way that puts you at risk, we will tell you and the ICO as the law requires.
Changes
We update this page from time to time, so please check back. If we make a significant change to how we use your information, we will let you know before it takes effect.