Join writer Annabel Abbs for a journey into the night as she discusses her fascinating new book, Sleepless.
In the winter of 2020, Annabel Abbs experienced a series of bereavements. As she grieved, she kept busy by day, but at night sleep eluded her. And yet her sleeplessness led to a profound and unexpected discovery: her Night Self. As the night transformed into a place of creativity and liberation, Annabel found she wasn’t alone. From the radical fifteenth-century philosopher Laura Cereta and subversive artist Louise Bourgeois to Virginia Woolf and the activist Peace Pilgrim, women have long found sanctuary, inspiration and courage in darkness. Drawing on the latest science, which shows we are more imaginative, open-minded, and reflective at night, Annabel set out to discover the potential of her Night Self. Sleepless follows her journey, from midnight hikes to starlit swims, from Singapore, the brightest city on Earth, to the darkest corner of the Arctic Circle, and finally to that most elusive of places – sleep.
A moving, revelatory voyage into the dark, Sleepless invites us to feel less anxious about our sleep, and to embrace the possibilities of the night.
We look forward to hearing Annabel’s stories from her wide-ranging adventures while researching the book! ABOUT ANNABEL ABBS
Annabel Abbs is an award-winning writer of fiction and non-fiction. As Annabel Abbs, she is the author of The Language of Food, a historical novel about Eliza Acton, and Windswept: Why Women Walk, voted a top ten 2021 travel book. As Annabel Streets she wrote 52 Ways to Walk: The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy, One Week at a Time and cowrote The Age-Well Project: Easy Ways to a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life. She has written for a wide range of titles, including the Guardian, Daily Mail, Telegraph, Tatler and the Paris Review, and is a Fellow of the Brown Foundation. She lives in London and Sussex with her husband and four children. ABOUT THE EVENT
Venue: The Methodist Church, Steyning. Doors open 7pm, Talk start 7.30pm. FORMAT: Author talk followed by Q and A. Teas and coffees will be served. Tickets £12 including a paperback copy of SLEEPLESS.
We are joining forces with Chanctonbury Wines for a ‘Homage to Fromage’ with cheesemonger, author and ‘the UK’s leading expert on cheese’ NED PALMER. This will be a cheese and wine evening with a difference: Ned will discuss his new book A Cheesemonger’s Tour de France, accompanied by a cheese-tasting and fresh French wines to match.
There are just 22 tickets available for this boutique event which will take place at Chanctonbury Wines, and your £35 ticket includes a glass of wine, the cheese tasting, AND a signed hardback copy of Ned’s new book, as well as the fascinating talk and chance to ask your cheese-related questions! Further wine by the glass or bottle can be purchased from the bar on the night. ABOUT NED PALMER
Ned Palmer is a British cheesemonger and author, and a former jazz pianist. He worked as an affineur for Neal’s Yard Dairy before publishing A Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles, in 2019, folowed by A Cheesemonger’s Compendium of British and Irish Cheese. Ned lives in London with his wife, the novelist Imogen Robertson, many, many books about cheese, and a piano. He set up the Cheese Tasting Company in 2014, to spread the cheese gospel. ABOUT A CHEESEMONGER’S TOUR DE FRANCE
The truly fascinating story of some of our favourite French fromages: Ned Palmer wends his way around the country’s regions, meeting the remarkable cheesemongers who carry the torch for France’s oldest and most treasured traditions and exploring the science and history behind cheeses such as Brie, Comte, Epoisses, Munster and Roquefort. As he explains the mysteries of terroir and why each of those different fromages taste as they do, he shows that a French cheeseboard offers genuine insights into la Belle République.
Join Dr Linia Patel for an informative talk on nutrition for perimenopause, menopause and beyond, as she celebrates the release of her book Food For Menopause, published by Murdoch Books in September.
Linia’s book is packed with advice and recipes to help manage and alleviate common menopausal symptoms including hot flushes, brain fog, mood swings, weight gain and low libido. Linia will evaluate the reserach and medical evidence behind beneficial nutrients and give us healthy recipe tips and inspiration.
ABOUT DR LINIA PATEL
Linia is a leading Dietician and Performance Nutritionist, who has degrees in Biochemistry and Physiology; Nutrition and Dietetics; and Sports Nutrition. She also gained a PhD in Public Health and Epidemiology. She is affiliated to the Health Professional Council, British Dietetic Association (BDA), Sports Dietitians UK and the Nutrition Society. Her numerous TV appearances as a presenter and nutrition expert include: BBC2 Food’s Truth or Scare, BBC1’s Tomorrow’s Food and Rip Off Britain, ITV’s Save Money, Lose Weight and Channel 5’s Get a Holiday Body and Diet Secrets.
ABOUT THE EVENT
The venue is the historic Tudor Brotherhood Hall, part of the old Steyning Grammar School campus in Church Street, Steyning. There will be a signboard outside the venue. We apologise but Brotherhood Hall is accessed via a flight of stairs so is not wheelchair accessible.
Linia will be in conversation with an interviewer (TBC) and the event includes a non-alcoholic welcome drink.
‘Book with Ticket’ tix are £20 to include a copy of Linia’s ‘Food for Menopause’ book (book RRP £20 so you are getting the event for freeeeee!)
‘Ticket Only’ Tix are £8 and you can purchase the book on the night for an additional £15 (making your total spend £23)
DOORS OPEN 7pm, Talk Starts 7.30pm.
Tickets online via Ticketsource below or direct from the bookshop.
We are delighted to announce that popular thriller writer Peter James is returning to Steyning to tell us all about One of Us is Dead, the 20th book in his best-selling Roy Grace series.
The Roy Grace series of gritty police thrillers set in Brighton is a a global phenomenon, with 23 million books sold to date, and has also been adapted into an award-winning ITV series starring John Simm, now on its third series.
Peter James is always an immensely entertaining speaker and will be in conversation with an interviewer, TBC.
The venue is the beautiful historic church of St Andrew & St Cuthman, in Steyning.
EVENT FORMAT
Author talk / Interview followed by audience Q and A.
Book signing/ meet & greet
TICKETS: Single ticket with book £22 / Couples ticket: admits 2 people with 1 book £32
Tickets available via button below or at the Steyning Bookshop or by phone on 012903 812062
Join fantastic children’s author / illustratorADAM STOWER for an hour of fun, games and DRAWING as he celebrates the release of his latest book MURRAY AND BUN: MURRAY THE KNIGHT... a madcap illustrated chapter book bursting with comic-style illustrations and funny jokes! Travel through the magical cat flap and prepare for an adventure, packed to the brim with fun, creativity and lots and LOTS of drawing. Hear all about Murray & Bun, and have your pencils at the ready to draw-along with Adam too!
ABOUT THE MURRAY AND BUN BOOKS
Meet MURRAY AND BUN! Murray is a cat. Murray loves snoozing, fluffy blankets, and peace and quiet. Bun is a bun. Bun loves… EVERYTHING! And together they are unstoppable…Perfect for newly independent readers and fans of Bunny vs Monkey, Dog Man, Adventure Mice and Claude.
Adam Stower is an award-winning author/ illustrator who has published LOTS of briliant picture books and who is also the illustrator of books by David Walliams including Spaceboy, Robodog and The World’s Worst Pets.
Child Ticket £7 each includes a book. Accompanying adults do not need to purchase a ticket. AGE GUIDE: Adam’s books will be enjoyed by children aged 5-9 years.
START TIME 2.30pm END TIME 3.30pm approx
Tix via link below or direct from the bookshop in person or by phone 01903 812062
Join amazing author & illustrator CLARA VULLIAMY for a DOG-TASTIC event to celebrate her adorable Dog Squadbooks! There will be stories, a doggy draw-along and fun crafting for ages 5-9.
ABOUT THE DOG SQUAD BOOKS
A delightful new series of chapter books with GORGEOUS illustrations. Meet ‘The Newshounds’: Eva, Simone, and Ash – best friends, budding journalists, and dog-lovers. Their adventures begin when Eva finds a stray whippet puppy and the Newshounds spring into action to try to track down the owner.. Lots more doggy adventures follow, from busting a whippet racing racket to putting on a dog show to help their local animal rescue centre… WOOFTASTIC fun for animal lovers aged 5+.
ABOUT CLARA VULLIAMY
Clara Vulliamy was born in London and studied at Chelsea School of Art, The Ruskin and the Royal Academy. She is the daughter of the celebrated author-illustrator Shirley Hughes and began illustrating picture books when she had her own children. She has since written and illustrated many stories, sometimes collaborating with her mother. She lives in Twickenham, with her husband and their daughters, Leah and Martha. Some of her other brilliant books include the Dotty Detective series, the Marshmallow Pie Cat Superstar series, and the Mango and Bangbang series. Her illustrations have the same warmth and charm as those of her illustrious mother!
EVENT FORMAT: Start time 2.30pm. Stories, a draw-along and a dog related craft activity, with free refreshments for kids, followed by author book-signing. Duration: approx 1 hour.
TICKETS: £5 per child, fully redeemable against a purchase of one of Clara’s lovely books! Accompanying parents do not need to purchase a ticket. Tickets via Ticketsource link below or direct from the bookshop.
AGE GUIDE: Clara’s books are suitable for reading aloud to children from 5 years or for 6+ independent readers.
We are excited to welcome CATHERINE GRAY, author of the best-selling book The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober as she introduces her debut novel, Versions of a Girl, a breath-taking, addictive story about the paths taken - and not taken – in life.
This will be a small, boutique style event at the bookshop, with seats for only 30, and will include a welcome drink. ABOUT CATHERINE GRAY
Catherine Gray is a Sunday Times bestselling author of five books, including The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober. She’s sold over half a million books, her work has been published in Stylist, Marie Claire, The Lancet Psychiatry and the Guardian, and her books have been translated into nine languages. In 2018, Catherine founded charitable campaign Sober Spring, a Three-Month Sabbatical from Alcohol, and she now runs it with Alcohol Change UK, for whom she is an ambassador. She lives in Sussex and when not writing she enjoys falling off a paddleboard, giving her plants names like ‘Cassandra’ and ‘Miguel’, and spamming Instagram with pictures of dogs! ABOUT VERSIONS OF A GIRL
A truly compulsive read which I tore through in 2 days! Do we become who we are because of our parents, or in spite of them? Fern’s mother is a social climber and a former ballet dancer who lives a plush life in a London townhouse. Fern’s father only climbs if there’s a bottle at the top, has an IQ of 133 and lives hand-to-mouth in Californian motels. Aged fourteen, Fern has spent equal time with each of her parents. That is, until an unexpected visitor triggers a life-changing dilemma: whether she should get on a plane to London to be with her mother, or stay in California with her father. Here, Fern’s narrative splices in two. Two possible lives, one person. Each Fern will grow in wildly different, but eerily similar directions. Both must determine who they want to be – and how they deal with a thorny problem which threatens to undo them all: a murder. Fern is a marvellous creation, flawed, spontaneous and relatable, and you’ll be rooting for both versions of her every step of the way! Online Tickets here, Tickets also available from the shop and by phone on 01903 812062
Join cookery writer, chef and founder of Higgidy Pies CAMILLA STEPHENS as she celebrates the release of Clever with Veg, her latest cookbook, at this summer evening soiree in the atmospheric rural setting of Charlton Court Barn.
The evening will comprise: mingling with wine & delicious nibbles (food kindly provided by Higgidy Pies) followed by a talk / Q and A with Camilla Stephens. Tickets also include a copy of Clever with Veg cookbook.
About Camilla Stephens
Higgidy’s founder and chief pie maker, Camilla Stephens, began making pies in 2003, having trained as a cook at Leiths School of Food and Wine. She worked as head of food development for Starbucks UK before leaving to follow her dreams and start her own business – Higgidy. Since then, Higgidy has become one of the UK’s fastest-growing food companies making glorious everyday food to help people live well. From wholesome pies and quiches to sausage rolls and mini muffins, its products are now stocked in the UK’s major supermarkets. Camilla is married to Higgidy’s co-founder James, and they have two children. Clever with Veg is Camilla’s third book, and once again her mission is to move more veggies from the edge to the centre of the plate and to empower home cooks to have the confidence to experiment.
About Clever with Veg
Camilla’s latest cookbook is packed with eminently cookable recipes; from gloriously easy roasting-tin suppers, faff-free one-pan wonders, to speedy salads and family favourites ready in under one hour. The book also offers crafty shop-bought shortcuts, ingenious ways to pack more veg into your cooking, and strategies for cutting down on food waste. Whether you are vegetarian or just want fresh ideas for your meat-free days, you’ll find veggie inspiration within!
TICKETS
Single Ticket: £25 per person including food & drink, and a hardback copy of Clever with Veg.
Couple Ticket: £35 admits 2 people but only includes 1 copy of Clever with Veg, to share!
There is parking at Charlton Court, however it is just a pleasant 10 minutes stroll up Mouse Lane, so we do recommend the strolling option!
Event Details
Doors Open at 6.50pm Event Starts 7pm
Guardian journalist and nature writer PATRICK BARKHAM will discuss his book The Swimmer, about the life of Roger Deakin.
Roger Deakin wrote the nature writing classics, Waterlog and Wildwood. But he was also a maverick ad-man, a seller of stripped-pine furniture, an inspirational teacher, filmmaker, music promoter and eco-warrior. Today, he lives on as the patron saint of wild swimming.
Patrick brings this great romantic alive in an illustrated talk, and tell stories of Roger and his generation – perhaps the luckiest and most distinctive that ever lived. About Patrick Barkham
Patrick Barkham is OUR FAVOURITE nature writer and has been to Steyning on a number of occasions – his talks are always highly informative and he is a lovely chap! Patrick is Natural History Writer for The Guardian and the award-winning author of many brilliant non-fiction books including The Butterfly Isles, Badgerlands, Coastlines, Islander and Wild Child. He lives in Norfolk with his family.
The event will be held at Steyning Methodist Church, teas & coffees will be on offer from the church volunteers (small cash donation appreciated). Doors open 7pm, talk starts at 7.30pm.
Tickets from the shop, by phone on 01903 812062 or click below to book online (small booking fee applies)
Join JULIA DONALDSON for a very special book-signing to celebrate the release of her brand new book The Tooth Fairy & The Crocodile, her latest book with superstar illustrator LYDIA MONKS. The Tooth Fairy and the Crocodile tells the tale of Ruth Mary the tooth fairy, who gets more than she bargained for when she collects the teeth of some jungle animals, including a less-than-friendly crocodile! ABOUT THE BOOK SIGNING PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE – 1 ticket per family group
Your £12.99 ticket includes 1 hardback copy of The Tooth Fairy & The Crocodile, and allows entry of one family group (of up to 5 people) to the book-signing. You’ll be able to purchase more copies of the new book and all Julia’s previous books on the day, from the Steyning Bookshop. Julia will sign AND name-dedicate ALL books either pre-ordered or purchased at The Steyning Bookshop that day! We regret that we will not accept books from home or books purchased elsewhere for signing.
The book-signing begins at 2pm and is split into 40-minute time-slots to reduce queue times, with 25 family groups in each time slot, starting from 2pm. As each time slot fills up, we will start ticket sales for the next time slot. Feel free to call us for more info!
The signing will take place mainly outdoors, under cover in the beautiful back garden of the Steyning Bookshop, Julia’s local bookshop.
There will be activities, music & refreshments for children while you wait to meet Julia.
Book online via our TICKETSOURCE page via the button below, or by phone on 01903 812062.
Join us as we celebrate Independent Bookshop Week and our 40th year in business with a fabulous crime-writers event!
A star-studded evening with best-selling cosy crime writer REVEREND RICHARD COLES and master thriller-writer ELLY GRIFFITHS in conversation, chaired by fellow crime-writer WILLAM SHAW.
The Reverend Richard Coles will be celebrating the release of Murder at the Monastery, the 3rd book in his best-selling Canon Clement Mystery series, published on 6th June. Murder at the Monastery sees Canon Daniel Clement taking respite at the monastery where he was a novice, only for a suspicious death to occur… As dark secrets unfold, can Daniel solve the mystery at the monastery without the help of Detective Sergeant Neil Vanloo?
Elly Griffiths will be celebrating the release of The Man in Black & Other Stories, a collection of short stories featuring all her best-loved characters including Dr Ruth Galloway, Harry Nelson, Max Mephisto, Detective Harbinder Kaur alongside ghost stories and cosy mysteries; tales of psychological suspense and poignant vignettes of love and loss.
The discussion will be ably chaired by fellow thriller writer William Shaw, whose latest book The Wild Swimmers will be on sale on the night.
All tickets include a copy of either Murder at the Monastery or The Man in Black (please choose which book when booking tickets). Further books and all authors’ previous titles will be available to purchase & to be signed by the authors on the night.
Tickets can be purchased in person from the bookshop, by telephone on 01903 812062, or online here and via the button below (a small booking fee applies to online bookings)
ABOUT REVEREND RICHARD COLES
Richard Coles is a writer, broadcaster and an Anglican priest. He co-presented Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4 for eleven years and appears, from time to time, on QI, Have I Got News For You, and Would I Lie To You? He has won Christmas Masterchef, Celebrity Mastermind twice, and captained Leeds to victory in Christmas University Challenge in 2019. A contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, he scored a lamentably low mark for a Paso Doble. He writes regularly for the Sunday Times, and is the author of half a dozen books, including a bestselling autobiography, Fathomless Riches, and the bereavement bestseller The Madness of Grief, after the death of his partner, Rev David Coles. Murder Before Evensong and A Death in the Parish, the first two books in the Canon Clement Mystery series, were both instant number 1 Sunday Times bestsellers.
ABOUT ELLY GRIFFITHS
Elly Griffiths is the bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries and the Brighton Mysteries. She has won the CWA Dagger in the Library, has been shortlisted five times for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for The Lantern Men. Her new series featuring Detective Harbinder Kaur began with The Stranger Diaries, which was a Richard and Judy book club pick and won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in the USA. It was followed by The Postscript Murders, shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and Bleeding Heart Yard. Elly has two grown-up children and lives near Brighton with her archaeologist husband.
ABOUT OUR CHAIR WILLIAM SHAW
William Shaw has been shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger, longlisted for the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year and nominated for a Barry Award. A regular at festivals, he organises panel talks and CWA events across the south east. His books include the acclaimed Breen & Tozer crime series set in sixties London, the newest series featuring DS Alexandra Cupidi, and the standalone bestseller The Birdwatcher. He worked as a journalist for over twenty years and lived in Brighton until a recent move to Ireland!
Join award-winning journalist Rafael Behr as he discusses his book ‘Politics, A Survivor’s Guide: How to Stay Engaged without Getting Enraged‘.
We live in an age of fury and confusion. A new crisis erupts before the last one has finished: financial crises, Brexit, pandemic, war in Ukraine, inflation, strikes. Prime Ministers come and go but politics becomes ever more divided and toxic. It is tempting to switch off the news, tune out and hope things will get back to normal. Except, this is the new normal, and our democracy can only work if enough people stay engaged without getting enraged.
But how? To answer that question, award-winning journalist Rafael Behr takes the reader on a personal journey from despair at the state of politics to hope that there is a better way of doing things, with insights drawn from three decades as a political commentator and foreign correspondent.
Rafael will be in conversation with our very own local political poet, Simon Zec.
ABOUT RAFAEL BEHR
Rafael Behr is a political columnist for the Guardian. He is a former Political Editor for the New Statesman, Chief Leader Writer and Online Editor for The Observer, a business news reporter for BBC online and a foreign correspondent for the Financial Times, based in the Baltic region and Russia. Rafael is a regular contributor to Prospect Magazine, a guest on BBC and Sky News and a speaker at UK think tanks. His book, Politics, A Survivor’s Guide, is published by Atlantic. He hosts the Politics on the Couch podcast.Before becoming a journalist, Rafael was a political risk analyst covering countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. He studied modern languages at Merton College, Oxford and took a Master’s degree in Russian Studies at the School for Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London. He lives in Brighton with his family.
TICKETS
£10 Ticket Price includes a drink upon entry.
£15 Ticket Price includes a copy of Politics, A Survivor’s Guide and a drink upon entry.
Tickets avaiable from the bookshop or online via link below (booking fee applied to online bookings)
This is going to be a really special evening!
We are delighted to welcome writer, literary critic and cultural historian ALEXANDRA HARRIS to Steyning to discuss her new book The Rising Down.
Alexandra grew up in Sussex and was educated at schools in Storrington and Horsham, so the Arun valley, the Wealden mud and the chalky sweep of the South Downs are in her blood, and The Rising Down sees her returning to West Sussex to consider the layers of buried lives beneath this familiar landscape…Who has stood here, she asks; what did they see?
As Alexandra excavates archival records and everyday objects, hundreds of unexpected stories and hypnotic voices emerge from the area’s past, from the painter John Constable and the modernist writer Ford Madox Ford, to the lost local women who left little trace. She uncovers the unexpected stories behind hidden places: an ancient church sheltering a medieval anchorite who chose to be buried alive, the country estate parading a menagerie of exotic animals, the cottage where William Blake received the poetic spirit of Milton, and a safe house harbouring secret agents from wartime French resistance networks.
Alexandra will be ‘in conversation’ with an interviewer (TBC) and will also answer audience questions and sign books at the end of the evening.
ABOUT ALEXANDRA HARRIS
Alexandra Harris is a British writer and academic. She was born in Sussex and spent her childhood in the Arun Valley area. She is the author of Romantic Moderns, on modernism in inter-war Britain, and Weatherland on weather in English art and literature. She has also written a short biography of Virginia Woolf. Her radio work includes a series following Virginia Woolf’s walks, a ten-part ‘British History in Weather’, as well as programmes on candlelight, fireworks, coldness, and an excursion to ask shepherds about pastoral literature. She is a Professor of English at the University of Birmingham.
Tickets £8 ticket only or £20 including a signed copy of The Rising Down (RRP £25!!)
Book online via the button below, alternatively pop into the bookshop or call us on 01903 812062.
This gorgeous book is an illustrated, children’s version of Isabella Tree’s fantastic Wilding, the story of the pioneering rewilding project at Knepp, near Horsham.
Angela Harding’s beautiful linocuts, as well as fascinating photos, illuminate the progression of Knepp from an intensively farmed landscape to a much wilder one, thrumming with life (and PHD students), with sections on different ecological processes and different species.
Informative, beautiful, and hopeful, this is a lovely gift. Age 8+
Join writer, broadcaster, musician and all round bard & chronicler IAN MARCHANT, as he discusses his book ONE FINE DAY: A JOURNEY THROUGH ENGLISH TIME, upon its paperback release.
One Fine Day is Marchant’s story of digging around in his family history and discovering the detailed diaries, written from 1714 to 1728, of his Great (x7) Grandfather Thomas Marchant, a Yeoman famer and Jacobite sympathiser.
Thomas wrote about life on his family farm in Sussex, about fishponds, dung, horses, mud, and about the making and drinking of beer. Marchant was able to map, day-by-day, the life of Thomas in 1720 to his own, in 2020 – a letter from a world on the brink of industrialisation, to one now exhausted by it.
By exploring the Marchant family’s journey – and how their England (rainy, muddy, politically turbulent and illness ridden) became the England of today, Marchant discovers just how much we have to learn from our ancestors. By turns funny, lyrical, moving and illuminating, this is a conversation with the dead to find out what is still alive.
‘Bloody marvellous.’ Nicholas Lezard, New Statesman
ABOUT IAN MARCHANT
Ian Marchant is originally from Newhaven in East Sussex, and now lives with his family in neither England, nor Wales, but Radnorshire. He is the author of A Hero for High Times : A Younger Reader’s Guide to the Beats, Hippies, Freaks, Punks, Ravers, New-Age Travellers and Dog-on-a-Rope Brew Crew Crusties of the British Isles, 1956–1994, which was long-listed for the Gordon Burns Prize in 2018, the railway travelogue Parallel Lines, musings on nightime in Something of the Night and The Longest Crawl, a hilarious account of a month long pub crawl. He has played in numerous bands, written for The Guardian, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent on Sunday, The Times, The Sunday Times and Metro, and presented documentaries about talking trees, scary buses, ghost trains, the self-service nation and the history of barbed wire on Radio 4. ABOUT THE EVENT
Doors open 7pm, Talk starts 7.30pm. Ian will be in conversation with SIMON ZEC, the Bard of Steyning. Plus Q & A at the end. No bar but teas and coffees will be served.
Ticket only price £7. Book with ticket £14 – includes a copy of One Fine Day in paperback. Additional books and hopefully a few of Ian’s previous books will be on sale on the night.
Join children’s author HANNAH PECKHAM for an hour of stories and crafts to celebrate the release of her new book The Get Well Spell and to help children’s charity The Rockinghorse Charity. ABOUT THE EVENT
Hannah Peckham will read her stories and lead a simple craft activity suitable for ages 3-7 – please bring a glass or plastic jar for each child if possible.
Ticket price of £4 is fully redeemable to get £4 off your purchase of The Get Well Spell.
Hannah Peckham and AWARD publications have teamed up with Rockinghorse Charity for a special ‘buy one, gift one’ offer – for every purchase of The Get Well Spell at The Steyning Bookshop, the publishers will gift a copy to a child in need with The Rockinghorse Charity. Doors open 10.45am event starts 11am.
ABOUT THE GET WELL SPELL
When Morris wakes one misty morning under the shadow of Dragon’s Ridge, the kind-hearted unicorn doesn’t feel well at all. As he sets out on a quest to find a fabled ‘Get Well Spell’, he discovers the need to fill his own cup back up, so that he can continue to share love and kindness and look after others. With delightful illustrations by Hannah Tkachenko, a Ukrainian / German artist. ABOUT HANNAH PECKHAM
Hannah Peckham is a children’s author and young person’s counsellor, and is the author of Bronty’s Battle Cry, Climb, and Conker the Chameleon. She is passionate about encouraging children’s emotional literacy. Since her son Bodhi’s diagnosis of leukaemia, Hannah has raised thousands of pounds for leukaemia research and was appointed as an Ambassador for Leukaemia UK in November 2023.
ONLY 20 TICKETS AVAILABLE (due to space constraints) so we recommend you book in advance for this event
We are delighted to welcome author KATE MORGAN to talk about her new book THE WALNUT TREE: WOMEN, VIOLENCE AND THE LAW, A HIDDEN HISTORY.
Kate Morgan’s fascinating new book The Walnut Tree lifts the lid on the shocking history of women under British law, and what it means for women today.
ABOUT THE WALNUT TREE
“A woman, a dog and a walnut tree, the more they are beaten, the better they’ll be.” So went the proverb quoted by a prominent MP in the Houses of Parliament in 1853. But were things about to change?
Kate investigates the legal campaigns, test cases and individual injustices of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and explores the untold stories of women whose cases became cornerstones of our modern legal system; the uniquely abusive marriage which culminated in the dramatic story of the Clitheroe wife abduction, the domestic tragedies which changed the law on domestic violence; the controversies surrounding the Contagious Diseases Act and the women who campaigned to abolish it; and the real courtroom stories behind notorious murder cases such as the Camden Town Murder. ABOUT KATE MORGAN
Kate Morgan is a writer and former solicitor. She worked as a senior in-house lawyer in the water industry for most of her legal career. Long fascinated with the darker side of the law, her writing focuses on British legal history and the stories behind the important cases that have shaped the law over the centuries. Her first book, Murder: The Biography, was published in 2021. ABOUT THE EVENING
Kate will discuss her book, her research and inspirations with an interviewer from The Steyning Bookshop. The venue is the warm and comfortable Steyning Methodist Church.
Teas & Coffees will be available.
Doors open 7pm, start time 7.30pm.
‘Book with ticket’ option = £18 – Amazing value as the book alone is RRP £20
‘Ticket only’ option = £8 – Books available to buy on the night
Tickets available in the Steyning Bookshop, by phone on 01903 812062 or buy online tickets here:
A creative writing workshop for budding writers with children’s author LIZ FLANAGAN.
Ideas are all around us – but how do you catch one?
In this fun, interactive workshop, author Liz Flanagan will lead children through a series of creative exercises to inspire and develop some new ideas. She will describe the surprising places she found ideas for the Legends of the Sky and Wildsmith series, before inviting children to start a story using material from their own lives.Dragons, pirates, witches … harness the power of your imagination! For children aged 7-12
ABOUT LIZ FLANAGAN AND HER BOOKS
Liz Flanagan is an award-winning author who writes for children and young adults. Her books include the Wildsmith series of cute illustrated chapter books for emergent readers, wonderfully illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton, the exciting, inventive Legends of the Sky fantasy series, and the YA novel Eden Summer, which was nominated for the Carnegie Medal.
CHILD TICKET £5 – ticket can be used to get £5 off one of Liz Flanagan’s brilliant books! Accompanying adults do not need a ticket.
You can purchase tickets in the shop or click below to book via Ticketsource
Manage your menopause symptoms and get in the best shape of your life.
We are embracing the spirit of January with a wellness event, welcoming author, menopause coach and personal trainer Kate Rowe-Ham who’ll discuss her new book Owning Your Menopause: Fitter, Calmer, Stronger in 30 Days.
Kate Rowe-Ham is a personal trainer who specialises in using exercise and fitness to help women through perimenopause and menopause. She is the founder of the app and website Owning Your Menopause which has supported thousands of women in the UK who are suffering from challenging menopause symptoms, and she has now turned this life-changing programme into a book.
Kate will discuss her own personal menopause story and her work as a personal trainer, and how these experiences have fed into her book. Kate’s book aims to transform your attitude to exercise and change your habits, and provides fitness plans as well as advice for every aspect of your life from alcohol and sugar consumption to mindfulness. Owning Your Menopause also includes a 30-day fitness plan complete with menu suggestions, movement goals and links to online videos.
Despite being a personal trainer, Kate found herself totally derailed in her early 40s as perimenopause started. Her usual strategies to stay well weren’t working and HRT wasn’t the magic bullet she hoped it would be. Only when she started changing the way she exercised, what she ate and drank, and lifting weights did she feel better… and now, a few years down the line she feels more energised than ever before. Kate wants to empower other women to experience the same revelation. Kate will be in conversation with Hannah Ebelthite, a Steyning-based health & wellness writer.
As part of our celebrations for Steyning’s special ‘Christmas Shopping Day’ on Sunday 3rd December we have award-winning, best-selling author VASHTI HARDY stopping by at 2pm to sign copies of her fantastically inventive books, including her new magical Christmas picture book Santa’s Marvellous Mechanical Workshop.
Vashti is the celebrated author of many exciting, imaginative fantasy novels for older children, including the award-winning Wildspark, the brilliant Brightstorm Chronicles, the shorter Harley Hitch novels for emergent readers, and the exciting Griffin Gate series for dyslexic / reluctant readers. Santa’s Marvellous Mechanical Workshop is her debut picture book. It’s a lovely story for ages 3-5 containing many of Vashti’s trademark features; ingenious contraptions and inventive recycling, all with a sprinkle of Christmas magic!
We’ll have ALL Vashti’s amazing books on sale and she will be happy to meet readers and sign any books purchased on the day or pre-ordered via our website. We can also take orders for customers who are not local or can’t attend, just order via our online store here, and add the names / messages for dedication in ORDER NOTES at checkout. Be sure to add postage if you are not picking up in store!
On Saturday 25th November at 3pm we are thrilled that explorer, entrepreneur, author and self-confessed ‘adventureholic’ Neil Laughton will be stopping by the shop to sign copies of his new book Adventureholic – Extraordinary journeys on seven continents by land, sea and air.
Please ORDER YOUR COPY of Adventureholic via this link and state in ORDER NOTES whether you’ll be coming to meet Neil & get the book signed in person, OR add the name / message for dedication if you’d prefer the book to be posted.
Neil Laughton is a successful business entrepreneur, multiple Guinness World Record breaking adventurer and a former Royal Marine Commando, helicopter pilot and Special Forces Officer. Neil has a passion for travel, sport and adventure. He has organised and led more than 50 expeditions on 7 continents – by land, sea and air. Adventureholictells the stories of Neil’s most unforgettable and daring adventures yet. From summiting Mount Everest with Bear Grylls and playing cricket at the Geographic South Pole to piloting the world’s first road-legal flying car on a 10,000km journey across the Sahara Desert to Timbuktu, running with bulls, and train-surfing in Myanmar, Neil really has seen and done it all.
Join Neil on a roller-coaster ride around the world, a perfect present for the (would-be?) adventurer in your life!
The book is a beautifully produced hardback published by WhiteFox Publishing at £20.
Join local historian and author Kevin Newman as he takes us on a whistlestop tour through the history of Sussex, from prehistory to the present day. This event celebrates the release of Kevin’s new book A Little History of Sussex, published by The History Press. Kevin will give an illustrated talk, with slides, featuring highlights from the book, which is an engaging and lively read, as Kevin has an eye for the absurd, droll and unusual!
EVENT INFO:
The venue is the historic Brotherhood Hall, part of the old Steyning Grammar School buildings in Church St – we regret that there is no disabled access to the Hall which is on the 1st floor, accessed by a staircase.
Doors open 7pm, talk starts at 7.30pm
Tickets include welcome drink upon entry
Ticket prices: £14.99 for our bargain book with ticket deal – get the book and the ticket is free! Book RRP £14.99, hardback copy.
£7 for ticket only – you can purchase books on the night at RRP.
Tickets can be purchased online via TICKETSOURCE by clicking link below (booking fee applies) or by phone on 01903 812062, or in person from the Steyning Bookshop
Meet Jonathan Hollins, the vet at the end of the earth. As the resident vet for the remote British Overseas Territories of the Falklands, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan de Cunha, Jonathan Hollins has seen it all! From caring for the world’s oldest living reptile (a 200-year-old giant tortoise!) to relocating herds of reindeer, he has spent years working with every variety of animal, amidst extraordinarily rugged and challenging landscapes, from cloud forests to volcanic cliff faces. Jonathan’s book The Vet at the End of the Earth is a fascinating portrait of life in this remote outpost of the British Empire, where regimental pomp and circumstance abides alongside down-to-earth farming folk, battling the elements to survive!
The Vet at the End of the Earth is perfect for animal lovers, adventurers and armchair travellers alike, and Jonathan has a wealth of entertaining and hair-raising stories to tell from his years vetting at the back of beyond, we can’t wait to hear him bring the book to life in person!
Originally from the south of England, Jonathan Hollins MRCVS graduated from Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and has been a working vet for four decades. Since the mid-2000s, he has spent long periods as a senior vet in the British Overseas Territories of the South Atlantic and has a home on St Helena. He has written for the UK national press and presented documentary features for BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4
EVENT INFORMATION
Venue: Steyning Methodist Church
Doors open 7pm, Talk starts at 7.30pm. Jonathan will be ‘in conversation’ with an interviewer (TBC) but may also share slides of the island’s fauna and flora!
Teas & coffees will be served by the Methodist Church team.
Tickets are £16 for our great value book + ticket deal (just the book on its own is £16.99) we also offer just an entry ticket for £6.
Extra books will be available on the night, while stocks last, for the event price of £16
We are delighted to present an evening with local author TRACY FELLS, who’ll be introducing her debut short story collection The Naming of Moths – a real treat for those of us who enjoy dark, twisted fairy tales with a hint of Angela Carter! THE NAMING OF MOTHS features stories of magical realism, myths and legends re-imagined, where all the characters are undergoing transformation or facing a pivotal moment of change in their lives. People and animals interchange their shapes. Story landscapes flit from fairy-tale woods to urban homes. Here love, hope and kindness weave between the realities of man’s endless talent for cruelty. TRACY FELLS is an award-winning writer.
Tracy was the 2017 Regional Winner (Europe and Canada) for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Her novella-in-flash Hairy On The Inside (published by Ad Hoc Fiction, 2021) was shortlisted for the 2022 Saboteur and International Rubery Book Awards. Tracy has a degree in Zoology (Reading University), a MA in Creative Writing (Chichester University) and worked in clinical research until 2010. She lives in West Sussex with her husband and an abundance of garden wildlife.
Tickets are £5, to include a refreshing drink upon entry and £2.00 towards the book. Tix available in the shop, by calling us on 01903 812062, or via TICKETSOURCE here
Praise for The Naming of Moths
“Precise, imaginative, visceral, Fells never disappoints.” Angela Readman, author of The Girls are Pretty Crocodiles
– “The depth and scope of these beautifully crafted stories is a delight. This is a writer who has a deep understanding of the complexities of the human condition.” – Amanda Huggins, author of An Unfamiliar Landscape and talk to me about when we were perfect.
