Edinburgh Events and Reading Groups
We're delighted to bring our all-year-round Literary Festival to our bookshop in Edinburgh. We have a packed calendar which ranges from readings in the bookshop to evenings with literary stars.
Cooks & Books: Ottolenghi's Noor Murad for Lugma
Thursday 3rd April, 7.30pm
Please note, this is now taking place in Pilrig St Paul's / LARCH.Bahrain-born, London-based and New York trained, Noor Murad joined the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen in …
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Submarine's Joe Dunthorne for Children of Radium: A Buried Inheritance
Friday 4th April, 7.30pm
'A gripping story of family secrets and chemical warfare [and] a tale of one writer's search for a reliable past... Joe Dunthorne has written a contemporary …
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Queer Reading Group
Monday 7th April, 7pm
For the second installment of our Queer Fiction reading group, we will explore E.M. Forster's Maurice.With Sanna as our guide, we will be immersing ourselves in …
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Contemporary Crime Writing with Ian Rankin, Neil Lancaster, and Mari Hannah
Monday 7th April, 7.30pm
Three award-winning crime writers Ian Rankin, Neil Lancaster, and Mari Hannah join us to celebrate their latest books.Ian Rankin is a legend in his genre. The …
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Poetry Reading Group
Tuesday 8th April, 7pm
Our poetry reading group is returning for 2025! With Zain as our guide, we will be immersing ourselves in a range of exciting voices in the …
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Lucy Mangan for Bookish: How Reading Shapes Our Lives
Tuesday 8th April, 7.30pm
'Lucy Mangan on books is like butter on toast: perfect' Caitlin MoranLucy Mangan is a columnist for Stylist magazine and a reviewer for The Guardian, The …
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Andrés N. Ordorica for Holy Boys
Wednesday 9th April, 7.30pm
Local author Andrés N. Ordorica joins us for his newest poetry collection Holy Boys that explores themes of masculinity, the Church, and nationhood.Andrés is a queer …
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William Coles for Lord Lucan
Wednesday 9th April, 7.30pm
The Lord Lucan Scandal: 50th Anniversary EditionA murder gone wrong. A worldwide police hunt for the killer. And a fugitive who became a legend: The 7th …
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The New Frontiers: Contemporary Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reading Group
Thursday 10th April, 7pm
You asked, we answered; due to popular demand, we’ve opened up a second Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reading Group!Join Andrew as he leads you on a guided …
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Of This and Other Worlds - Science Fiction Reading Group
Monday 14th April, 7.20pm
Continuing into 2025, we’ll be continuing our Fantasy and Science Fiction reading group, exploring worlds both fantastical and horrific, monstrous and utopian. Whether your interests lie …
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New Voices in Poetry: Gabrielle Tse for Rustlings
Monday 14th April, 7.30pm
We are delighted to be welcoming Edinburgh-based poet Gabrielle Tse for the launch of her debut poetry pamphlet, Rustlings. Also joining her to read will be …
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Irish Fiction Reading Group: Contemporary and Classic
Tuesday 15th April, 7pm
Fáilte romhat! Our next reading group will be Irish Fiction: Contemporary and Classic Writing. We’ll be immersing ourselves in a range of Irish writing, expanding the …
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Gareth Russell on Queen James: the Life & Loves of Britain's First King
Tuesday 15th April, 7.30pm
Please note, this event is now taking place at Pilrig St Paul's / LARCH. 'Elizabeth was king,Then James was queen.' - English author (1603)Gareth Russell is …
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John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs with Ian Leslie
Wednesday 16th April, 7.30pm
Please note, this is now taking place in Pilrig St Paul's / LARCH."One of my favourite writers" MALCOLM GLADWELL"The first new Beatles story in decades - …
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Red Pockets: An Offering with Alice Mah
Tuesday 22nd April, 7.30pm
Alice Mah is Professor of Urban and Environmental Studies at the University of Glasgow. Originally from a small town in northern British Columbia, she has a …
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Green Mountains Supper Club with Caroline Eden
Wednesday 23rd April, 7pm
Please note, this event is sold out with a long waiting list. We won't be able to add further names to the waiting list. A Bookshop …
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An Evening with Gordon Buchanan
Thursday 24th April, 7.30pm
Gordon Buchanan is an award-winning presenter and wildlife cameraman, his credits including the Planet Earth and Frozen Planet series and, as presenter, the popular Family & …
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Rethinking our Relationship with the Countryside with Patrick Galbraith
Friday 25th April, 7.30pm
'Galbraith has written a book about the countryside and its vital issues with a clarity of mind and prose possessed by few, if any. Galbraith is …
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Geri Halliwell-Horner for Rosie Frost: Ice on Fire
Saturday 26th April, 1.30pm
A STAR COMES TO EDINBURGH!Geri Halliwell-Horner is internationally recognised for her iconic place in British pop culture as “Ginger Spice," an original member of the record-breaking …
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Rob Cowen with Dan Richards for The North Roads
Monday 28th April, 7.30pm
"A haunting exploration of time, place and memory along the road to London-Edinburgh highway. Radical. Beautiful. Brilliant." ~ Robert MacfarlaneRob Cowen is an award-winning writer and …
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East West Street's Philippe Sands for 38 Londres Street
Tuesday 29th April, 3pm
"A true masterpiece. Utterly compelling, a staggering piece of research and beautifully written." ~ HENRY MARSHBaillie Gifford winner Philippe Sands is Professor of Public Understanding of …
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Cooks & Books: Kenji Morimoto for FERMENT
Tuesday 29th April, 7.30pm
Please note, this is now taking place in Pilrig St Paul's / LARCH. "Kenji is a fermenting guru and this book is a masterclass in fermentation." …
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Karim Kattan for The Palace on the Higher Hill
Wednesday 30th April, 7.30pm
Winner of the 2021 Prix des Cinq Continents de la FrancophoniePalestinian author Karim Kattan was born in 1989 in Jerusalem and grew up in Bethlehem.His 2017 …
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Cooks & Books: Twelve Triangles' Emily Cuddeford & Rachel Morgan for Kitchen Table
Thursday 1st May, 7.30pm
Please note, this is now taking place in Pilrig St Paul's / LARCH. Join us to celebrate gorgeous debut cookbook from beloved Scottish bakery, Twelve Triangles.Rachel …
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The Bagpipes: A Cultural History with Richard McLauchlan
Friday 2nd May, 7.30pm
'Richly entertaining and perceptive. A revelation for pipers like me, and for anyone interested in how an instrument can transform culture.' ~ Alastair CampbellRichard McLauchlan is …
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The Infinite Monkey Cage's Robin Ince: Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal
Saturday 3rd May, 7.30pm
"You need Robin Ince in your life." ~ Natalie HaynesRobin Ince is a comedian, actor and writer once described by the Guardian as a 'becardiganed polymath.'He …
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Queer Fiction Reading Group
Monday 5th May, 7pm
For the third installment of Sanna's Queer Fiction reading group, we will explore Alyson Greaves' Welcome to Dorley Hall.With Sanna as our guide, we will be …
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Artist & Illustrator Angie Lewin for The Book of Garden Flowers
Monday 5th May, 7.30pm
Angie Lewin studied fine art at the Central School of Art and is a highly regarded artist and printmaker. She has published three books: Angie Lewin: …
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Alice Vincent for Hark: How Women Listen
Tuesday 6th May, 7.30pm
Alice Vincent is the author of four books, including Why Women Grow and Rootbound: Rewilding a Life, both longlisted for the Wainwright Prize and named as …
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Mary's Feminist Fiction Reading Group
Wednesday 7th May, 7pm
We are back with the wonderful Feminist Fiction Reading Group! A place to discover and enjoy a range of titles and themes lovingly hand picked by …
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The New Frontiers: Contemporary Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reading Group
Thursday 8th May, 7pm
You asked, we answered; due to popular demand, we’ve opened up a second Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reading Group!Join Andrew as he leads you on a guided …
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Philip Hoare for William Blake and The Sea Monsters of Love
Thursday 8th May, 7.30pm
'An impassioned magnum opus celebrating Blake's star-shaken genius by discovering his lineage everywhere in the author's own crystal cabinet of artists and outlaws. A tremendous literary …
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David Farrier for Nature's Genius
Friday 9th May, 7.30pm
'A book that shows how we might evolve to solve the problems we have caused our planet. Brilliantly written, surprising, inspiring and, ultimately, hopeful.' ~ ISABELLA …
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Joe Abercrombie for The Devils
Saturday 10th May, 7.30pm
Bestselling and Locus award-winning author Joe Abercrombie joins us for the release of his new book The Devils, a dark fantasy set in a version of …
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Adam Nicolson for Bird School
Monday 12th May, 7.30pm
Adam Nicolson is an award-winning nature writer with a deep knowledge of the Scottish landscape. Some of his notable nature works include Sea Room about the …
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Cooks & Books: Julie Lin for SAMA SAMA
Tuesday 13th May, 7.30pm
"Food has the power to stir memories, bring people together, transport you to new places, and, most importantly, take you home. Julie captures all of this …
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Piece by Piece: Patchwork & Quilting Talk with Lauren MacDonald
Wednesday 14th May, 7.30pm
Lauren MacDonald is a designer, maker and founder of textile studio Working Cloth. She's made every sewing project under the sun but is perhaps best known …
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Renato Cisneros for The World We Saw Burning
Thursday 15th May, 7.30pm
"Who is able to recount and connect, on the basis of a chance encounter between two Peruvians in a taxi in Madrid, the uprooting of the …
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Contemporary Fantasy Panel featuring Stephen Aryan, Annabel Campbell, and Gareth Hanrahan
Saturday 17th May, 7.30pm
We are thrilled to welcome three acclaimed names of the fantasy genre - Stephen Aryan, Annabel Campbell, and Gareth Hanrahan - join us to celebrate their …
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Sarah Moss for Ripeness
Monday 19th May, 7.30pm
Please note, this event is now taking place in Pilrig St Paul's / LARCH on Leith Walk. 'One of our very best contemporary novelists' ~ Independent'Moss …
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Gavin & Stacey's Ruth Jones for By Your Side
Tuesday 20th May, 11am
Please note, this is now taking place in Ps&Gs, York Place.Ruth Jones MBE is well known for her television work, most notably BBC One's multi-award-winning Gavin …
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Irish Fiction Reading Group: Contemporary and Classic
Tuesday 20th May, 7pm
Fáilte romhat! Our next reading group will be Irish Fiction: Contemporary and Classic Writing. We’ll be immersing ourselves in a range of Irish writing, expanding the …
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Square Haunting's Francesca Wade on Gertrude Stein
Wednesday 21st May, 7.30pm
From the author of the critically acclaimed Square Haunting comes a biography as unconventional and surprising as the life it tells...Francesca Wade is the author of …
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Shatter Me's Tahereh Mafi for Watch Me
Wednesday 21st May, 7.30pm
We are thrilled to be hosting #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author Tahereh Mafi as part of her first UK tour to celebrate …
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Chloe Dalton for Raising Hare
Monday 26th May, 7.30pm
'A beautiful book' - ANGELINA JOLIE'I will be recommending this to everyone' - MATT HAIG__THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERLONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2025SHORTLISTED …
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Gill Hornby for The Elopement ~ Jane Austen's 250th Anniversary
Tuesday 27th May, 7.30pm
2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth - and, fittingly, we are welcoming back Gill Hornby, to celebrate The Elopement, the sequel to her …
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The Lost Scottish Cult-Classic: James Robertson & Alan Taylor on Gordon M Williams' From Scenes Like These
Thursday 29th May, 7.30pm
SHORTLISTED FOR THE FIRST EVER BOOKER PRIZE'A MASTERPIECE... DEMANDS TO BE READ' - DOUGLAS STUART, AUTHOR OF SHUGGIE BAINGordon M. Williams (1934 - 2017) was born …
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Unearthing the Real Pompeii with Gabriel Zuchtriegel, Director General of the Archaeological Park in Pompeii
Friday 30th May, 7.30pm
Please note, this is now taking place in Ps&Gs, York Place.'The best book on Pompeii I've ever read' ~ STEPHEN FRYGabriel Zuchtriegel is Director General of …
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Cooks & Books: Bee Wilson for The Heart-Shaped Tin
Saturday 31st May, 7.30pm
*A 2025 book of the year from Guardian and Sunday Times"Bee Wilson is one of my favourite writers and this may be her best book" ~ …
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Heather Darwent for A Sharp Scratch
Monday 2nd June, 7.30pm
Heather Darwent is based in Edinburgh, the setting for her Sunday Times bestselling debut, The Things We Do To Our Friends.She joins us for her second …
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Francesca Segal for Island Calling
Tuesday 3rd June, 7.30pm
Francesca Segal is an award-winning writer and journalist. She is the author of two critically acclaimed novels, The Innocents (2012) and The Awkward Age (2017), and …
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Guadalupe Nettel for The Accidentals
Wednesday 4th June, 7.30pm
Guadalupe Nettel is the author of the international award winning novels El huesped [The Guest], The Body Where I Was Born, After the Winter (Herralde Novel …
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Geoff Dyer for Homework: A Memoir
Thursday 5th June, 7.30pm
"Moving, atmospheric, truthful, perceptive and hilariously funny - I loved it: a piece of our English history, the story of a vanished time, which feels close …
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Mary's Feminist Fiction Reading Group
Friday 6th June, 7pm
We are back with the wonderful Feminist Fiction Reading Group! A place to discover and enjoy a range of titles and themes lovingly hand picked by …
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Queer Fiction Reading Group
Monday 9th June, 7pm
For the fourth installment of Sanna's Queer Fiction reading group, we will explore Rita Mae Brown's classic coming-of-age novel, Rubyfruit Jungle. One of the first mainstream …
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The New Frontiers: Contemporary Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reading Group
Thursday 12th June, 7pm
You asked, we answered; due to popular demand, we’ve opened up a second Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reading Group!Join Andrew as he leads you on a guided …
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Electric Spark: the Enigma of Muriel Spark with Frances Wilson
Thursday 12th June, 7.30pm
'Frances Wilson writes books that blow your hair back' ~ KATHERINE RUNDELLA 2025 HIGHLIGHT FOR: Telegraph, Financial Times, Guardian, Observer and Scotsman.From one of our leading …
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Michael Pedersen with Jackie Kay for Muckle Flugga
Monday 16th June, 7.30pm
Please note, this event is now taking place in Pilrig St Paul's / LARCH.Michael Pedersen is a prize-winning poet and author of Boy Friends, which was …
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Chiara Valerio on The Little I Knew
Thursday 19th June, 7.30pm
Chiara Valerio was born in Scauri in 1978 and lives in Rome. She is a novelist, editor, critic, cultural commentator and mathematician and has published essays, …
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Maggie Stiefvater for The Listeners
Friday 20th June, 7.30pm
'A marvel: strange, witty, moving, exuberant... at once gloriously extravagant and perfectly poised' ROBERT MACFARLANEMaggie Stiefvater is a No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of …
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Cooks & Books: Ottolenghi's Sami Tamimi for Boustany: Palestinian Vegetarian Cooking
Monday 23rd June, 7.30pm
Sami Tamimi was born in Jerusalem. He became head chef of Lilith, one of the top restaurants in Tel Aviv, before moving to London. In 2002 …
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The Hiroshima Men: The Quest to Build the Atomic Bomb with Iain MacGregor
Tuesday 1st July, 7.30pm
"The Hiroshima Men is a meticulously researched and profoundly thought-provoking account of one of history’s most consequential events... More than just a work of history, this …
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Mary's Feminist Fiction Reading Group
Wednesday 2nd July, 7pm
We are back with the wonderful Feminist Fiction Reading Group! A place to discover and enjoy a range of titles and themes lovingly hand picked by …
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Rosemary Goring for Exile: The Captive Years of Mary, Queen of Scots
Thursday 3rd July, 7.30pm
Rosemary Goring has been the literary editor of Scotland on Sunday, The Herald and Sunday Herald.Rosemary's previous books include the bestselling Scotland: The Autobiography; Scotland: Her …
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Queer Fiction Reading Group
Tuesday 8th July, 7pm
For the fifth installment of Sanna's Queer Fiction reading group, we will explore Oisín McKenna’s Evenings and Weekends - a poignant exploration of modern relationships, capturing …
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Siouxsie and The Banshees' Budgie for The Absence
Thursday 10th July, 7.30pm
As a member of Big in Japan, The Slits and, most famously, Siouxsie and The Banshees and The Creatures, 'Budgie' became one of the era-defining drummers …
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John Niven for The Fathers
Tuesday 15th July, 7.30pm
"Vivid, visceral, brilliantly funny in places, dispensing sharp punches to the gut in others..." ~ Guardian on John Niven's writingJohn Niven is the author of twelve …
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Alan Parks for Gunner
Tuesday 22nd July, 7.30pm
Partly inspired by the true story of Rudolph Hess's secret mission to broker appeasement with Britain during WWII, Gunner is an atmospheric and addictive new thriller …
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Irvine Welsh for Men in Love: a Trainspotting sequel
Thursday 24th July, 7.30pm
* A Guardian and Standard BOOK OF 2025 *Choose life. Choose love? The Trainspotting crew fall for rave and romance in the blazing new novel from …
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Queer Fiction Reading Group
Monday 11th August, 7pm
For the sixth installment of Sanna's Queer Fiction reading group, we will explore Anna Dorn’s 2024 novel Pain and Perfume. Unapologetically feminine yet ribald, steamy and …
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Justin Lee Anderson for The Damned King
Tuesday 19th August, 7.30pm
Join us for an evening of fantasy action with Justin Lee Anderson to talk about the third book in The Eidyn Saga, The Damned King. Inspired …
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Tim Spector for Ferment: The Life-Changing Power of Microbes
Wednesday 10th September, 7pm
The legendary Tim Spector joins us for his new cookbook Ferment: The Life-Changing Power of Microbes.Tim Spector, MD, is Professor of Epidemiology at King's College London. …
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Clare Jackson on The Mirror of Great Britain: A Life of James VI & I
Thursday 11th September, 7pm
Clare Jackson is Honorary Professor of Early Modern History at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Trinity Hall.She has presented a number of highly successful programmes …
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Katherine Rundell for The Poisoned King
Thursday 18th September, 6pm
'Readers will seize this with delight.' ~ Philip Pullman on Impossible Creatures'There was Tolkien, there is Pullman and now there is Katherine Rundell.' ~ Michael MorpurgoKatherine …
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The Kindest Garden: A Practical Guide to Regenerative Gardening with Marian Boswall
Monday 29th September, 7pm
"I found myself crying 'yes, yes, yes!' to every page of this beautiful, inspiring, visionary yet practical and compassionate book. This is how we can garden …
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In Conversation with Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon
Tuesday 30th September, 7pm
As October draws close, join us for an evening of horror from two Bram Stoker Award-Winning legends of the genre, Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon, to …
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