by Gudrun Bowers | 13, Mar 2025
Join comedian, broadcaster and writer Robin Ince for an evening of entertaining and insightful discussion about neurodiversity, as he celebrates the release of his new book Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal: My Adventures in Neurodiversity.
What if being a bit weird is actually entirely normal? What if sharing our internal struggles wasn’t a sign of weakness, but strength? Is there even any such thing as ‘neurotypical’?
For over thirty years, award-winning broadcaster and comedian Robin Ince has entertained thousands in person and on air. But underneath the surface, a whirlwind was at play – a struggle with sadness, concentration, self-doubt and near-constant anxiety. But then he discovered he had all the hallmarks of ADHD and his stumbling blocks became stepping stones.
In Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal, Robin uses his own experiences to explore the neurodivergent experience and to ask what the point of “being normal” really is. Packed with personal insights, intimate anecdotes and interviews with psychologists, neuroscientists and many neurodivergent people he has met along the way, this is a quirky and witty dive into the world of human behaviour., which reminds us all that it’s OK to be a little different!
About Robin Ince
Robin Ince is a comedian, actor, broadcaster, and writer.
The Guardian once declared him a ‘becardiganed polymath’ which seems about right. He is the author of many hilarious books, including The Importance of Being Interested and I’m a Joke and So Are You. With Professor Brian Cox, he created and presents the award-winning BBC Radio 4 show The Infinite Monkey Cage, which ranks among the most popular science podcasts worldwide. He co-hosts the podcast Book Shambles with Josie Long, An Uncanny Hour and Science Shambles with Dr Helen Czerski, all three of which are a part of The Cosmic Shambles Network, which he also co-created. He also won Celebrity Mastermind but forgot that calcium was the dominant element of chalk. After being diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 52, he finally has an excuse.
Event Details
Robin will be ‘in conversation’ with local poet and general town MC, Simon Zec.
There will be a licensed bar serving alcoholic and soft drinks run by Keith’s Bar, card & cash payment accepted.
*A Book and Ticket option is available for this event which includes a hardback copy of the book (which Robin will sign!) and entry to the event. The cost is the RRP of the book. Bargain!
There is also a ‘ticket only’ option for £7 and additional books will be on sale on the night – while stocks last (however purchasing the book+ticket option gives a £4 saving AND ensures you get a book)
The Venue is St Andrew & St Cuthman’s Church, Steyning. Disabled access can be arranged, please contact us.
Doors Open at 7:00PM
Starts at 7:30PM
TICKETS: Book with ticket £20 / Ticket only £7
Purchase online via button below (small booking fee applies) or direct from the bookshop in person or by phone on 01903 812062.
by Gudrun Bowers | 11, Mar 2025
Join amazing illustrator SHARON KING-CHAI for a fun Easter-themed crafting workshop for children aged 4-8! The children will create their own mirror magic Easter Cards, plus there will be colouring, stories and snacks.
Child ticket £5 – gives £5 off purchase of one of Sharon’s beautiful picture books or board books.
Accompanying adults don’t need a ticket.
Event Details: TUESDAY 8th APRIL, 3pm-4pm Suitable for ages 4-8.
About Sharon King-Chai
Sharon King-Chai is an award-winning designer and illustrator. Born in Australia to Chinese-Malaysian parents, she moved to London in 2003. She fell in love with storytelling and design through music and books, creating album artwork and book covers before eventually writing and illustrating her own books and establishing her range of cards and prints. She has also collaborated with the bestselling Julia Donaldson on the intricately beautiful Animalphabet, Counting Creatures and Colours, Colours Everywhere. Her self-authored book Starbird won the Kate Greenaway Shadower’s Choice Award, and her books have gone on to win a range of international accolades including the Chen Bochui Award for Best Picture Book. Her unique board book series Mirror Magic plays with reflective pages to create a beautifully shiny and colourful new world for the youngest readers.
by Gudrun Bowers | 30, Jan 2025
Meet best-selling author JULIA DONALDSON for a very special BOOK-SIGNING event on WORLD BOOK DAY® at the Steyning Bookshop.
Swap your World Book Day token for one of this year’s World Book Day books, including Julia’s special ‘Who’s in Acorn Wood?’. Or use your voucher to get £1 off any books at the Steyning Bookshop, including any of Julia’s titles. Julia will happily sign and dedicate any of her books purchased in store on the day.
ABOUT THIS BOOK-SIGNING EVENT
There is no charge to attend this book-signing and meet Julia, but to reduce queuing and prevent overcrowding, you must book a ticket in advance. We are offering three 30-minute time-slots from 3.30pm. Each ‘ticket’ allows entry for 1 FAMILY GROUP (of up to 5 people) so please DO NOT book a ticket for each member of your party! There will be around 20 families in each time slot. There will be free refreshments and activities for children to enjoy while you wait to meet Julia!
We will have plenty of Julia’s special £1 World Book Day books which you can swap for your WBD token, plus a wide selection of ALL Julia’s books on sale, so come a little earlier than your slot to allow time to choose and purchase the books that you would like Julia to sign.
Click on the link below to book via our Ticketsource page – all time slots are listed there: 3.30-4pm, 4-4.30pm, 4.30-5pm
by Gudrun Bowers | 27, Jan 2025
A wonderful opportunity to meet best-selling author ELLY GRIFFITHS as she launches the first book in a new series! Elly will be in conversation with fellow thriller writer WILLIAM SHAW.
Elly will be discussing her new novel THE FROZEN PEOPLE, an exciting historical crime thriller – with a dash of time travel!
About The Frozen People
Ali Dawson and her cold case team investigate crimes so old, they’re frozen – or so their inside joke goes. Most people don’t know that they travel back in time to complete their research. The latest assignment sees Ali venture back farther than they have dared before: to 1850s London in order to clear the name of Cain Templeton, the eccentric great-grandfather of MP Isaac Templeton. Rumour has it that Cain was part of a sinister group called The Collectors; to become a member, you had to kill a woman… Fearing for her safety in the middle of a freezing Victorian winter, Ali finds herself stuck in time, unable to make her way back to her life, her beloved colleagues, and her son, Finn, who suddenly finds himself in legal trouble in the present day. Could the two cases be connected? Fresh, gripping and original!
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 most recent 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 and Bleeding Heart Yard. Elly has two grown-up children and lives near Brighton with her archaeologist husband.
About our guest 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 brilliant DS Alexandra Cupidi series, the latest of which, The Wild Swimmers, is just out in paperback, and two adventure-thrillers under the pen-name G.W Shaw.
About the event
Elly Griffiths in Conversation with William Shaw followed by Audience Q and A
Venue: The Steyning Methodist Church.
Doors Open: 7pm, Talk starts: 7.30pm
Price: Ticket only £7 / Ticket AND book £20 – includes hardback copy of The Frozen People (RRP £22) which Elly will sign & dedicate
Additional books by both authors will be on sale on the night.
Unreserved seating. Teas & coffees served upon entry (with donation to church)
ONLINE TIX VIA THIS LINK OR IN PERSON FROM THE BOOKSHOP
by Gudrun Bowers | 20, Jan 2025
Join fantastic author / illustrator JOHN BOND as he celebrates the release of his adorable new picture book ‘HOW LONG IS THAT DOG?’
There will be stories, a draw-along, and other fun sausage-dog related activities / crafts. Plus free refreshments for kids and £5 off the book for ticket-holders!
Suitable for ages 4-7.
Child Ticket £5 – accompanying adults go free.
ABOUT JOHN BOND
John Bond is an illustrator, author and artist who lives and works in Worthing. He’s the author of Mini Rabbit Not Lost, Mini Rabbit Come Home, Mini Rabbit Must Help and Much too Busy, and has also illustrated several books by Peter Bentley.
ABOUT ‘HOW LONG IS THAT DOG’
A delightfully funny tale of one little girl who is desperate for the dog in the pet shop window to come home with her – if only she can guess his correct size. But can she reach the right answer before it’s too late? Full of John’s classic wit and warmth, and with funny, colourful illustrations throughout, this story of one little girl’s single-minded determination will bring a smile to the face of every little reader.
Event Timings
Start time: Saturday 1st March at 11am Doors Open at 10:45AM
by Gudrun Bowers | 10, Jan 2025
Meet debut novelist LISA CARTER as she introduces her heartfelt novel SIX POPPIES, an achingly poignant portrait of love, regret, and healing.
Afghanistan, 2007. Carl meets Sarah, a nurse, at Camp Bastion and they feel an instant connection. But she’s the girlfriend of his fellow soldier, Danny, so he pledges to keep his distance.
Finally back in England, Carl vows to never forget those who didn’t make it home, honouring each of them with a tattoo of a poppy. While, many miles away, Sarah tries to forget the man she swore to leave behind. But when Carl and Sarah are thrown back together, it’s clear that both of them are broken.
But do the scars of what they went through run too deep, or is there a chance they can find happiness again, together…?
A heartbreaking and authentic military romance, perfect for fans of Nicholas Sparks, Kristin Hannah and Jojo Moyes.
ABOUT LISA CARTER
Lisa Carter is a journalist who has worked at The Sun, The Mirror and the Daily Mail, where she edited the Femail pages for over ten years. She lives in London with her husband and three sons. Lisa has a Steyning connection, her brother lives here, so we expect a friendly welcome for her!
ABOUT THE EVENT
Lisa will be ‘in conversation’ with our guest interviewer, Tilly, who’s a well-known Bookstagrammer, part-time bookseller and avid reader. We are trying out a new, comfortable (one might even say, SUMPTUOUS!) venue, the upstairs showroom at Awen Furniture in Steyning, which will be transformed for the evening into a literary salon! Your £5 ticket includes a complimentary drink upon entry, and ticket-holders can purchase their signed copies of SIX POPPIES on the night for £6.99 (£3 off RRP) Big thanks to Justin and Sarah at Awen for their friendly offer!
DOORS OPEN 7pm EVENT BEGINS 7.30pm BOOK ONLINE VIA LINK BELOW OR IN PERSON AT THE SHOP (avoids online booking fee)
by Gudrun Bowers | 23, Dec 2024
We are delighted to present an evening with Caroline Lucas celebrating the paperback release of her wonderful book Another England.
Caroline will be in discussion with a guest chair, Andrew Simms, about her book Another England and there will also be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions.
ABOUT ANOTHER ENGLAND
In Another England, Caroline asks why the Right have hijacked the notion of ‘Englishness’ and whether it can be reclaimed. Today, those who speak of ‘Englishness’ seem to be cheerleaders for Brexit, exceptionalism and imperial nostalgia, but there is another England, hiding in plain sight, which is dramatically more inclusive, radical and forward looking … the England of William Blake, the Chartists, the Suffragists, and the Kinder Scout trespassers.
ABOUT CAROLINE LUCAS
Caroline Lucas was, until recently, the MP for Brighton Pavilion, and the UK’s first Green Party MP. Elected to parliament in 2010, she also served as leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2008 to 2012 and as co-leader from 2016 to 2018. She was previously a Member of the European Parliament for ten years. She holds a PhD in English literature. It was her passion for the English countryside that first inspired Caroline to think more deeply about the importance of place in our national life, and her love of literature that led her to respond to the rise of the populist Right by examining the more positive, inclusive stories of England and the English explored in this book.
ABOUT OUR GUEST INTERVIEWER ANDREW SIMMS
Andrew Simms is an author, political economist and campaigner.
His books include The New Economics, Ecological Debt: Global Warming & the Wealth of Nations, Tescopoly: How One Shop Came Out on Top and Why it Matters, Do Good Lives Have to Cost the Earth? Most recently he co-authored Badvertising: Polluting Our Minds & Fuelling Climate Chaos. He is a research associate at the Centre for Global Political Economy, University of Sussex and co-founder of the New Weather Institute.
ABOUT THE EVENT
Venue: Steyning Methodist Church
Doors open 7pm
Talk start 7.30pm
Teas and coffees served (with donation to Methodist Church Volunteers)
Book+Ticket holders will receive their paperback copy of Another England on the night.
‘Ticket only’ ticket holders can purchase a book on the night for £10.
by Gudrun Bowers | 11, Nov 2024
WOW! THE STEYNING BOOKSHOP IS 40 YEARS OLD! Sara and Rob opened the shop doors for the very first time on Saturday 8th December 1984! The shop has weathered many storms, from the scrapping of the Net Book Agreement, to the rise of Kindles, online competition, and the pandemic, but has flourished nevertheless! We wouldn’t be here at all if it wasn’t for our WONDERFUL, loyal customers, so we invite you to come and celebrate with us on our birthday weekend!
We are celebrating on FRIDAY 6th DECEMBER by staying open late, from 6pm-9pm there’ll be mulled and bubbly drinks, nibbles, 15% off all night, and the chance to jingle, mingle and tingle (with emotion!) and share your memories of the shop with Sara, Rob and Gudrun.
Then on SUNDAY 8th DECEMBER, the shop’s ACTUAL birthday, we will be open from midday until 6pm for the annual street festival that is Christmas in Steyning (previously Steyning Late Night Shopping) – the high street becomes a festive wonderland of artisan stalls, food trucks and musical entertainment! We have the fab illustrators Sophy Henn, Steven Lenton, Nick Sharratt and Adam Stower doing a Draw-Off oin the kitchen at 1pm (buy a ticket separately for this as space is limited) and also signing books from 2pm -3pm, plus festive mulled drinks and nibbles from 4pm onwards. And BIRTHDAY CAKE!
We hope to raise a glass with you!
by Gudrun Bowers | 11, Nov 2024
Join Gudrun & Alice for a relaxing afternoon of crafting, and learn how to upcycle old books into various charming handmade decorations.
Over the years, many customers have admired the paper tree garlands that hang over our tables in December, and the various paper creations that we craft for our shop windows, so now’s your chance to make some yourself! There will be a chance to try your hand at one, two or even three different upcycled decorations, depending on how speedy you are with the scissors! All materials will be supplied and there will be festive snacks and beverages.
This crafting afternoon is for adults and older teens (13+) only, as the projects are fairly fiddly.
Only 10 spaces, so we can all fit around the table!
Event Details
Doors Open at 2:15PM
From 2:30PM to 4:00PM
Tickets £7 per person, can be purchased online via link below or in person frpm the shop.
by Gudrun Bowers | 9, Nov 2024
Join our relaxed and informal evening workshop and learn to make a simple linocut Christmas card!
The workshop will be led by bookshop part-timers Alice and Sarah, who in their ‘real jobs’ run Patternmakers, a fabric block-printing company -so they know their cutting tools!
This workshop is for adults or older teens (sharp tools!) and is suitable for beginners. All materials are provided and there will be drinks and Christmassy nibbles too!
7pm-9pm on WEDNESDAY 11th DECEMBER
Online tix here or pop into the shop!
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