by Gudrun Bowers | 6, Mar 2018
Julia Donaldson will be at the bookshop at 11 am on Saturday 7th April, for a signing session celebrating the paperback release of The Everywhere Bear and What the Ladybird Heard on Holiday. An amazing chance to get a hot-off-the-press paperback copy personally signed and dedicated by Julia!
The Everywhere Bear, beautifully illustrated by Rebecca Cobb, is a really lovely story about a classroom teddy bear’s adventures after he falls out of a child’s backpack. What the Ladybird Heard on Holiday is the third installment of the crime-busting ladybird’s adventures, told as ever in jaunty rhyme and joyously brought to life by Lydia Monk’s bright illustrations! Both are picture books perfect for ages 2-6.
The signing will begin at 11 am, and finish no later than 1.30 pm. We will have all Julia’s books available for purchase and signing, books may be purchased from the shop from 9.30 am, to relieve congestion in the shop during the actual signing period. Depending on demand, we may issue timed slots for signing to reduce queues. If the weather is warm we may be able to use the bookshop garden but if it’s chilly we will be inside, in which case space will be limited. Children’s activities and free refreshments will be on offer, plus no doubt Malcolm Donaldson and his trusty guitar will entertain you as you wait!
If you wish, books may be reserved and paid for in advance by phoning the shop on 01903 812062. Please make it clear when ordering whether you are coming to the signing, or whether you’d like the books to be dedicated and signed by Julia for you to collect at a later date.
This is not a ticketed event – just turn up!
by Gudrun Bowers | 26, Jan 2018
On Thursday 22nd March at 7.30pm we are very excited to welcome back award-winning novelist Claire Fuller, who’ll be discussing her new novel ‘Swimming Lessons’, in the atmospheric ambience of the Gluck Studio.
Claire’s first novel ‘Our Endless Numbered Days’ was one of our favourite reads of 2015 – a dark, disturbing story with a punchy twist in the tail, beautifully written with a very distinctive voice. It won the 2015 Desmond Elliott Prize and was a 2016 Richard and Judy Book Club Pick. She came to Steyning and talked to our bookshop bookgroups about that novel, so we are thrilled to have her back!
Her new novel ‘Swimming Lessons’, published by Penguin, follows husband and father Gil Coleman, and his turmoil after a sighting of his wife, Ingrid, who has been missing, presumed drowned, for twelve years. His children, Nan and Flora, return home, and together they begin to confront the mystery of their mother. Is Ingrid dead? Or did she leave? And do the letters hidden within Gil’s books hold the answer to the truth behind his marriage, a truth hidden from everyone including his own children?
The Sunday Times described the book as ‘Thrilling, transporting, and delicately realised’.
Tickets are £12 – public / £10 – Bookshop book group members – to include the book, wine/soft drinks, nibbles, and of course, a fascinating evening of literary insights! Call 01903 812062 to book.
by Gudrun Bowers | 8, Jan 2018
Come down to the bookshop at 11 am on Tuesday 13th February for some arty fun!
Author and illustrator Guy Parker-Rees (illustrator of Giraffes Can’t Dance, Never Ask a Dinosaur to Dinner, author/illustrator of Be Brave Little Penguin, Dylan the Teacher and more) will entertain children with stories and live drawing (with audience participation!) and then we’ll get the pencils out and kids can get busy creating our own colourful characters!
Advance booking advised as places limited to 20 children.
£2 per child, ticket entitles bearer to £2 off one of Guy’s wonderful picture books, which he’ll be happy to sign. Age guide 4-8 ish.
by Gudrun Bowers | 30, Nov 2017
We are thrilled to announce that best-selling Scottish crime-writer Peter May will be the guest at our next Author Supper at The Sussex Produce Cafe, at 7pm on Tuesday 23rd January, 2018.
Peter will be in conversation with fellow thriller writer William Shaw.
Peter May is the best-selling author of more than 24 novels, including the internationally acclaimed Lewis Trilogy of thrillers set in the Outer Hebrides, which have sold more than a million copies in the UK alone.
Peter will be celebrating the release of his explosive new thriller I’ll Keep You Safe, which follows husband and wife Niamh and Ruairidh Macfarlane, whose successful textile company Ranish Tweed has taken them from their Hebridean home to the world of high fashion. While in Paris on a business trip, cracks begin to appear in their relationship, and when Ruairidh and his lover are killed by a car bomb, Niamh finds herself the prime suspect. Her life unravelling, Niamh travels back to her home on the Isle of Lewis, followed by a French detective, Sylvie Braque, and as the investigation proceeds, distant memories resurface and past feuds are reignited, and the 2 women are drawn into the dark web of a killer who won’t back down.
I’ll Keep you Safe is published by Quercus on 11th January. A hardback copy is included in the ticket price!
Peter will share stories from his fascinating research into forensics, the Dark Web, the world of Harris tweeds, and the many stunning locations in the novel. He will be interviewed by fellow novelist William Shaw, author of hit thriller The Birdwatcher, also published by Quercus,
TICKETS priced £30 will include a delicious 2 course meal, a signed hardback copy of I’ll Keep You Safe, and of course, a fascinating evening of insights from 2 great crime writers!
About Peter May
Peter May was an award-winning journalist at the age of just twenty-one. He left newspapers for television and screenwriting, creating three prime-time British drama series and accruing more than 1,000 television credits.
Peter May’s novels, Entry Island (2014), Runaway (2015), Coffin Road (2016) & were all top 3 Sunday Times bestsellers. He is published in 30 countries and has sold several million copies worldwide.
The Lewis Trilogy has sold over 5 million copies in the UK alone. Peter has won numerous awards. In 2013 he won the ‘Best Crime Novel Award’ for ‘The Blackhouse’ at Bouchercon in the US. In September 2014, ‘Entry Island’ won the Deanston Crime Book of the Year and in October 2014 it won the Specsavers ITV3 Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read Award.
He lives in France with his wife, the writer Janice Hally, so grab your chance to meet him on a rare trip to the UK!
See http://www.petermay.info for more details. Or follow him at @authorpetermay
“Peter May is a writer I’d follow to the ends of the earth.” New York Times
“Peter May follows his superb Lewis Trilogy with an equally absorbing work”. The Times
“Exceptional…May is a writer to be cherished.” Daily Mail
by Gudrun Bowers | 20, Nov 2017
The Steyning Late Night Christmas Shopping Evening is an event not to be missed! From 6pm onwards, the High St is transformed into a Winter Wonderland of craft/ shopping stalls, delicious food outlets, and entertainments, with a fun-fair in the central car park, too!
Every year we have an author signing in the shop, and this year we are thrilled beyond measure to be graced by TWO stellar authors, Matt Haig and Chris Riddell. They will be in the shop signing from 7pm until 9pm. As always, Rob’s delicious hot mulled wine will be flowing, alongside our scrummy home-made mince pies.
Best-selling writer Matt Haig is perhaps best known for his non-fiction memoir/self help book ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’, but he hit the number 1 spot in the fiction charts this summer with his wonderful new novel ‘How to Stop Time’ – which has just been released in a beautiful new hardback limited edition with illustrations by Chris Riddell! He has also written widely for children and teenagers, and his trilogy of Christmas books which began with ‘A Boy Called Christmas’ is essential reading for the festive season!
Multi-talented illustrator and writer Chris Riddell has recently finished his stint as Children’s Laureate, and is the author of the very popular ‘Goth Girl’ and ‘Ottoline’ series of children’s books, as well as illustrating hundreds of books by other authors. Most recently, he has released ‘Goth Girl and the Sinister Symphony’, as well as the afore-mentioned illustrated edition of Matt Haig’s ‘How to Stop Time’.
We will have a wide selection of all Matt and Chris’s books on sale, and customers will be able to get any books they buy signed and personally dedicated by Matt and Chris.
If you aren’t able to make it to the evening but would like to get a signed book, please drop in or give us a ring, we can take orders and get books signed and dedicated for later pick-up.
by Gudrun Bowers | 15, Oct 2017
Bring your little witches and wizards down to the shop on Wednesday 25th October at 2.30 for some Hallowe’en-themed fun!
Crafts, stories, and games for 4-8 year olds, inspired by all our favourite witchy characters, from Room on the Broom to the Worst Witch!
2.30-3.30 (ish)
Ghoulish refreshments included!
Max 20 children.
by Gudrun Bowers | 8, Sep 2017
Thursday 9th November, 7.30pm at The Gluck Studio.
Guardian journalist, nature writer and Steyning favourite Patrick Barkham will be giving an illustrated talk about his wonderful new book ‘Islanders‘, in which he explores some of Britain’s most remote and beautiful islands, investigating their flora, fauna, and human history.
The British Isles are an archipelago comprised of 2 large islands and 6,289 smaller ones. Some, like the Isle of Man, are large enough to have their own languages and laws, while others are mysterious, remote and abandoned. As Patrick travels to ever tinier outposts, he meets all kinds of islanders, from nuns to puffins, from local legends to rare subspecies of vole, and seeks to discover the magic of islands, what it is like to live on a small island, and what it means to be an islander.
This will be Patrick’s third visit to Steyning, and his friendly demeanor and encyclopedic nature knowledge make him a very engaging speaker, so do book early for this lovely event at the atmospheric Gluck Studio.
Ticket price of £10 includes wine, and entitles bearer to £5 off Patrick’s new book, a beautifully produced hardback which would make a great Christmas present!
by Gudrun Bowers | 8, Sep 2017
Please join us for an intimate event at the bookshop on Tuesday 10th October at 7.30pm, with Ben Clench and his father, Hugh. Ben is the author of ‘Ben Again’, the moving and inspiring memoir of his recovery from a terrible head injury.
Ben was only 27 when he and his girlfriend Jazz were hit by a car while on holiday in the Dominican republic. Tragically, Jazz was killed instantly, while Ben suffered a traumatic brain injury and was rushed to hospital in a coma.
Ben was airlifted to the UK, where he eventually emerged from his coma with no memory and little physical control or ability.
Expectations for his recovery were low, yet Ben, with the help of his family and friends, defied medical opinion and, within a few short months was out of hospital and embarking on an intensive self-directed rehabilitation programme.
Key milestones included going to the Glastonbury Festival six months after leaving intensive care, studying for a Master’s degree, and running a half-marathon. Throughout the recovery process Ben was striving to regain his cognitive abilities with a view to resuming his career in international development.
His powerful memoir weaves his own story with the recollections of his family and friends, and Ben will be jointly giving his presentation with his father, Hugh, who was instrumental in his recovery.
by Gudrun Bowers | 21, Aug 2017
We are thrilled to present a fantastic science event with science writer Dr Michael Brooks and TV presenter/writer Rick Edwards. This entertaining and informative show, based on their hit podcast and upcoming book Science(ish) examines the science behind the movies. Illustrating their theories with film clips from iconic movies, Michael and Rick will ponder whether it’s really possible to bring back an extinct species (Jurassic Park), whether we will ever be able to travel back in time and meet our parents (Back to the Future) and if it is possible that we are, in fact, already living in a computer simulation (The Matrix).
Dr Michael Brooks is an author, journalist and broadcaster, holds a PHD in Quantum Physics and is editor-at-large of the New Scientist, as well as writing a weekly column for the New Statesman. He is the author of At The Edge of Uncertainty, The Secret Anarchy of Science and the bestselling 13 Things That Don’t Make Sense.
Rick Edwards is a TV presenter and writer with a particular interest in mathematics and the natural sciences. As a broadcaster Rick has most recently made a foray in to the world of quizzing as the host of BBC1’s daytime show !mpossible which aired in January 2017 and will return for an extended second run in May this year. Amongst his other numerous presenting credits are: ITV2’s comedy roast Safeword, BBC Three’s live current affairs debate show Free Speech and Channel 4’s Paralympic Breakfast Show. He also writes a monthly fashion column for The Observer, and has made forays into stand-up comedy.
Advance booking highly recommended for this event, as it promises to be fantastic fun and very popular!
Start time is 7.30pm, wine and soft drinks will be on sale, and a reduced price of £7 is available for under 18’s.
Booking is available online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/FDFIGM
or by phoning us on 01903 812062.
by Gudrun Bowers | 8, Aug 2017
Thursday 5th October at 7.30 pm.
Beer expert and writer Roger Protz will tantalise our tastebuds with a tutored beer tasting and talk about his new book ‘IPA, A Legend in its Time’- a fascinating look at the history of IPA.
India Pale Ale is a world-wide phenomenon. It is currently enjoying an astonishing rebirth and is brewed in just about every country in the world. In particular, it’s the most popular beer style brewed by craft brewers in the United States and there are some 300 versions produced in Britain, its country of origin. Roger’s book traces the history of IPA and looks into the art and science of its creation.
Roger will lead the audience through a tutored tasting of some local brews, including of course, several tasty local IPA style brews from our hosts, Dar Star Brewing Co.
Ticket price of £18 includes beer tasting, a copy of Roger’s book, and Roger’s fascinating talk.
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