Have you ever wondered what it takes to run an ultramarathon? Find out more at this sociable evening at Steyning Athletic Club with writer and runner Matt Whyman, whose new book ‘Failure is an Option’ is the story of an average runner who sets out to discover just how far he can go. With the support (and misgivings) of his family, and aware that his quickest years are behind him, Matt Whyman leaves the Saturday morning 5K to push towards 100-mile ultramarathons and beyond. By slowing things down to run a very long way, he joins a growing number of men and women from all walks of life striving to do something extraordinary. Warm, witty, entertaining and at times, deeply moving, Matt’s story will have you rooting for him, as he travels far beyond his comfort zone and sets his sights on a six-day mountain ultra that even hardened veterans consider to be the most formidable on earth: the Dragon’s Back Race. Copies of ‘Failure is an Option’ will be on sale for the ticket-holders bonus price of £10 (RRP £12.99). EVENING FORMAT: Doors open 7.30pm, refreshments (wine/ soft drinks & nibbles) will be served, interview with Matt from 7.45pm followed by Q & A, then book signing. Tickets: Steyning Athletic Club members £3 / general admission £5
To celebrate the lovely honour of being the Crime Writer Association’s Bookshop of the Month for July 2021, we wanted to celebrate crime writing! So we are delighted that thriller writer & journalist Lucy Atkins will be Zooming in to discuss her fourth novel, the critically-acclaimed thriller ‘Magpie Lane’. Lucy will be joined by wonderful writer William Shaw, with his interviewing hat on.
This will be a kind of ‘Open Book Group’ style event – 2 of our book groups will be reading ‘Magpie Lane’, we are very happy to invite non book-group members to join the event but we strongly recommend that you read the book first, as there may be SPOILERS and we can’t have that with a thriller!
Lucy Atkins is an award winning British author and journalist. She has written four novels, most recently the critically acclaimed MAGPIE LANE. Many of her books are published internationally and THE NIGHT VISITOR (2017) has been optioned for television. Lucy teaches on the Creative Writing Masters degree at the University of Oxford. She was a judge for the 2017 Costa Book Awards , and is a book critic for The Sunday Times. She has lived in Boston, Seattle and Philadelphia, and is now based in Oxford, with her family and her dog.
About Magpie Lane
When the eight-year-old daughter of an Oxford College Master vanishes in the middle of the night, police turn to the Scottish nanny, Dee, for answers.
As Dee looks back over her time in the Master’s Lodging – an eerie and ancient house – a picture of a high achieving but dysfunctional family emerges: Nick, the fiercely intelligent and powerful father; his beautiful Danish wife Mariah, pregnant with their child; and the lost little girl, Felicity, almost mute, seeing ghosts, grieving her dead mother.
But is Dee telling the whole story? Is her growing friendship with the eccentric house historian, Linklater, any cause for concern? And most of all, why was Felicity silent?
Roaming Oxford’s secret passages and hidden graveyards, Magpie Lane explores the true meaning of family – and what it is to be denied one.
Tuesday 17th March 7.30pm at the bookshop
Just before Mothers’ Day (on Sunday 22nd March), let’s celebrate bad mothers with Stephanie Calman.
Daughter of the late well-loved humorist and cartoonist Mel Calman, Stephanie is the author of six books including the bestselling Confessions of a Bad Mother. Her latest, Confessions of a Bad Mother – the Teenage Years, published by Pan Macmillan, is full of witty and wry observations on life with teenagers, and is a must-read for parents and grandparents alike – and probably should be read by teenagers themselves!
Ticket includes a glass or two of wine, and ticket price of £5 is redeemable against book purchase.
Stephanie Calman is the founder of the Bad Mothers Club website and the author of six previous books including the bestselling Confessions of a Bad Mother. She created the hit Channel 4 sitcom Dressing For Breakfast and has appeared on many TV shows including Have I Got News For You and The Wright Stuff. She has also written for most British newspapers and magazines including the Daily Telegraph, Observer, Guardian, Cosmopolitan, GQ and Harpers & Queen, and has contributed to a wide variety of radio programmes, including Woman’s Hour and The Today Programme. She is married to the author Peter Grimsdale.
On Saturday 14th March at 11 am, we have a lovely event for younger children with up-and-coming illustrator Alice McKinley. Alice will read her book ‘Nine Lives Newton’ and lead a fun draw-along session.
Alice’s charmingly funny picture book debut ‘Nine Lives Newton’ is released by Simon & Schuster Children’s books in March.
Featuring wonderfully exuberant illustrations, the book tells the story of Newton, the dog who thinks he has nine lives and infinite luck. And if Newton has nine lives, then that means he can do all his favourite things but be MUCH more daring….but what if Newton’s got it all wrong and he’s not quite as invincible as he thinks he is?
Tickets are just £3 for children (accompanying adults are free) and the ticket price is redeemable against purchase of ‘Nine Lives Newton’.
We are really excited to have finally bagged a visit from Brian Bilston, the hilarious poet and novelist, frequently described as the ‘Accidental Poet Laureate of Twitter’. Brian’s novel ‘Diary of a Somebody’ is just out in paperback and has been short-listed for the Costa Book Award, First Novel Category.
‘Diary of a Somebody’ is the achingly funny story of a year in the life of .. ‘Brian Bilston’. It’s January 1st and Brian Bilston’s life needs to change. His ex-wife has taken up with a new man, a motivational speaker and marketing guru to boot; he seems to constantly disappoint his long-suffering son; and at work he is drowning in a sea of spreadsheets and management jargon. Brian’s resolution is to write a poem every day; poetry will be his salvation. But there is an obstacle to his happiness in the form of Toby Salt, his arch nemesis in the Poetry Group and rival suitor to Liz, Brian’s new poetic inspiration. When Toby goes missing, Brian is the number one suspect… Part tender love story, part murder mystery, part coruscating description of a wasted life, and interspersed with some of the funniest poems about the mundane and the profound, Diary of a Somebody is a unique, warm, and hilarious novel.
Brian Bilston has been dubbed ‘the Banksy of Poetry’ – he has kept his identity secret and stumbled into poetry via composing short poems on Twitter, eventually racking up more than 50,000 followers. His first volume of poetry ‘You Took the Last Bus Home’ was released in 2017, and ‘Diary of a Somebody’ came out in 2019. His powerful poem ‘Refugees’ has also been released as a beautifully illustrated children’s picture book. His clever, wry poems can take the shape of Christmas trees or Venn diagrams, he can poke fun at grammar pedants, and take the piss out of Jeremy Clarkson, but also tap into profound depths.
Tickets are £12 to include a paperback copy of ‘Diary of a Somebody’, plus wine & nibbles. Brian’s other books will also be on sale.
Pop into the shop, give us a ring on 01903 812062 , or book online – we think this will be a popular one so buy soon!
Book online here ‘Glorious. I will be astonished if I read a more original, more inventive or funnier novel this year.’ – Adam Kay, author of This Is Going to Hurt
