Join us on Sunday 20th November, from 2pm, for a very special book-signing with Julia Donaldson as she celebrates TWO lovely new picture books; the stunning Colours, Colours Everywhere, beautifully illustrated by Sharon King-Chai, and the long awaited return of everyone’s favourite little ladybird in What the Ladybird Heard at Christmas, charmingly illustrated by Lydia Monks.
How it Works The book-signing will be split into 40-minute time-slots to reduce queue times. Each single ‘ticket’ admits ONE FAMILY GROUP of up to 5 persons (please specify how many adults / children). A £12.99 ticket includes a copy of What the Ladybird Heard at Christmas, a £14.99 ticket includes a copy of Colours, Colours Everywhere, and a £27.98 ticket includes both books. You can buy additional copies at the bookshop on the day. If you want to purchase multiple copies – don’t buy multiple tickets please! You’ll have plenty of chance to buy more books on the day of the signing, and Julia will sign AND name-dedicate ALL books either pre-ordered or purchased at The Steyning Bookshop that day! We will provide fun activities and free biscuits / juice for children while you wait to meet Julia. We are sorry, but Julia will not sign books purchased elsewhere or brought from home.
About the Books Colours, Colours Everywhere is Julia’s third book with the talented illustrator Sharon King-Chai, following the stunning Animalphabet and Counting Creatures. In lyrical rhyme, follow the adventures of a little girl and her tree frog friend as they discover a world of colours, sumptuously illustrated with fold-out pages and peep-through cut-outs. What the Ladybird Heard at Christmas is the fifth book in Julia Donaldson & Lydia Monks’ best-selling What the Ladybird Heard series, and sees the plucky little ladybird once again foiling the dastardly plans of those baddies, Hefty Hugh and Lofty Len as they plot to steal the children’s Christmas presents from their stockings! A lively rhyming story with vibrant illustrations.
We are delighted to welcome best-selling author Jess Kidd back to Steyning to talk about her astonishing new novel The Night Ship. Jess has many fans amongst our staff and book group members for her previous books Things in Jars, The Hoarder, and Himself, which all share a certain gothic sensibility, quirky humour, and supremely inventive writing. The Night Ship, published on 11th August, is inspired by the infamous shipwreck of the Dutch merchant vessel The Batavia, in 1629, and interweaves the stories of two compelling child narrators, 350 years apart, who both find themselves stranded on the remote atoll where the Batavia met her end. The book is an incredible feat of imagination: bold, visceral, haunting, and unforgettable – we can’t wait to hear more! EVENT FORMAT: Author talk ‘in conversation’ followed by audience Q&A and book signing. A complimentary glass of wine / soft drink will be served upon arrival. This is to be an ‘open book group’ style evening – we encourage audience members to purchase our ‘book with ticket’ option and pop in to the shop to claim your book and read it prior to the event, where you’ll be joining our 3 book groups, who will have read the book. But we will try to guarantee no spoilers on the night for those who prefer to wait!
Click HERE to book via Ticketsource (NOT Steyning Bookshop book group members)
About Jess Kidd
Jess Kidd was brought up in London as part of a large family from county Mayo and has a PhD in Creative Writing from St. Mary’s University. Her debut, Himself, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2016. She won the Costa Short Story Award the same year. Her second novel, The Hoarder was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year 2019. Both books were BBC Radio 2 Book Club Picks. Her next book, the Victorian detective tale Things in Jars, attracted widespread critical acclaim. Jess’s work has been described as ‘Gabriel García Márquez meets The Pogues.’ She is also currently developing her own original TV projects with leading UK and international TV producers.
A gripping, gritty and absorbing crime novel set in Brighton. Graham Bartlett spent 30 years in the police, as a detective, firearms commander, and city police chief in Brighton & Hove, and now works as a crime-consultant for writers including Peter James, Elly Griffiths and Dorothy Koomson. Bad for Good is his first crime fiction novel, following 2 best-selling ‘true crime’ books.
Detective Superintendent Joanne Howe has a complex and sensitive case on her hands: the murder of a promising young footballer, who just happens to be the son of her colleague, D.I Phil Cooke. Against the backdrop of a city wrought by violence and crime, and a police force hamstrung by government cuts, Joanne must contend with blackmail, a disturbingly brutal gang of vigilantes, and deep-rooted police corruption as she tracks down Harry’s killer. As you might expect, the plotting, characters and local details are grainy and authentic – and Graham isn’t shy about packing a political punch amongst the intrigue.
For fans of Peter James!Graham Bartlett will be talking about BAD FOR GOOD with fellow crime-writer Lesley Thomson at the Steyning Centre on Friday 24th June. Tix from the Steyning Bookshop.
Welcome to the World is Julia Donaldson’s beautiful new book – a magical, lyrical celebration of babies’ first experiences, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. To celebrate the book’s publication, Julia will sign copies of Welcome to the World, plus her latest paperback Counting Creatures, andall her other books purchased on the day or pre-ordered, at The Steyning Bookshop on Saturday 7th May from 10.30am.
To attend this signing you MUST book a place. Each booking admits 1 family (of up to 5 people). There are 2 family ticket prices: the £12.99 price includes 1 copy of Welcome to the World in hardback, the £10.99 price includes 1 copy of Counting Creatures in paperback. Additional copies of these and Julia’s other books may be purchased from us on the day. Julia will sign all books purchased at our shop, but we are afraid that customers may not bring their own copies from home to be signed.
There are 3 signing sessions: 10.30am, 11.15am and 12 midday. Each session lasts 40 minutes and 20 families will meet Julia during this time, so there will be time to have a little chat!
Come and meet Julia Donaldson at the Steyning Bookshop on Saturday 5th March, from 2pm onwards, to celebrate the release of her 2 wonderful new books A Pocketful of Songs and Mole’s Spectacles. For COVID safety, this event will be organised in timed slots, each 40 minutes long, admitting 20 families per 40 minutes. Your ticket booking entitles entry to the signing for 1 family group of up to 5 people, and includes a copy of either Pocketful of Songs (£14.99 ticket) Mole’s Spectacles (£6.99 ticket) , or both books (£21.98 ticket)
Additional Julia D books for signing can be purchased at the bookshop on the day – we will have a huge selection of ALL Julia’s books on display for customers to browse, buy and get signed, but if there is a particular book that you really want, you can add it to your ticket order by phoning the shop on 01903 812062 or shopping via our website here, selecting LOCAL PICKUP as your delivery option, and adding in the ORDER NOTES that you’ll be collecting it at the signing.
We are sorry, but we cannot allow customers to bring books from home for signing by Julia.
There will be activities for children while they wait to meet Julia!
Pocketful of Songs is the latest collection of Julia’s songs, including family favourites from Stick Man and Superworm to Tiddler and The Highway Rat, collected in a beautiful hardback gift edition, richly illustrated by Axel Scheffler and accompanied by a CD featuring Julia Donaldson herself performing the songs, which will have the whole family singing and clapping along. The book also includes music scores for piano and guitar.
Mole’s Spectacles is the 7th book in Julia and Axel’s beloved Acorn Wood series, perfect for pre-schoolers, produced in sturdy board book format with fun flaps to lift on every page…. Mole has lost his spectacles. He searches all around his house, in the garden and even in Weasel’s sweetshop, but he can’t find them anywhere! Where could they be? Lift the flaps to help him find them!
