Ely Events and Reading Groups
In this atmospheric medieval city, just over an hour from London by train, author events range from reading groups and intimate events in the bookshop to the drama of performances under the world-renowned Octagon of Ely Cathedral. We hold events all year round, but in the autumn there is a special focus on the Ely Literary Festival.
Tim Parks
Friday 24th April, 7pm
We're delighted welcome Tim Parks for Across Sicily with the Thousand. Tim is a friend of the bookshop and an icon of travel writing. We hope …
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Queer Reading Group - Mere
Tuesday 28th April, 7pm
Norfolk, AD 990. Deep in the Fens, an order of holy sisters lives in quiet isolation, cut off from the outside world by a treacherous marsh …
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Andrey Kurkov
Wednesday 29th April, 7pm
Fresh from case of the stolen heart, one that shattered his belief in the regime he works for, Samson Kolechko is confronted with a mystery that …
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Jeremy Vine
Tuesday 5th May, 7pm
Sidmouth is gearing up for summer - but murder is all year round...When a doctor is found dead in the woods, shot through the heart with …
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Simon Barnes
Wednesday 6th May, 7pm
A unique and all-encompassing exploration of the wonders of flight and the way different species have evolved different solutions to the problem of defying gravity - …
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Melissa Harrison
Monday 11th May, 7pm
A FINANCIAL TIMES AND OBSERVER BOOK TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2026April brings spring surging with it, giving rise, among many in the village, to a …
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Reading Group - Loitering with Intent
Tuesday 12th May, 7pm
A funny and clever novel about art and reality and the way they imitate each other, from the author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. …
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Reading Group - Fictions & The Invention
Tuesday 12th May, 7.30pm
Creating awe-inspiring dream-like worlds of puzzlement and mystery within a tiny space, the short fictions of Borges are amongst the most original and intriguing writings of …
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Reading Group
Sunday 17th May, 10.30am
Hari Kumar: 10 years old, 75% Indian, 25% French, and 100% going to be a superstar. All Hari needs to make it big is a lucky …
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Robert Macfarlane
Tuesday 19th May, 7pm
From the creators of the internationally bestselling, award-winning, multi-adapted phenomenon The Lost Words: a dazzling celebration of birdlife in Britain, re-imagining the classic field guide for …
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Peter Jones
Wednesday 20th May, 7pm
What can a twelfth-century monk teach us about burnout, envy, or despair? Far more than we might imagine. In Self-Help from the Middle Ages, historian Peter …
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Teen Reading Group - She Gets The Girl
Thursday 21st May, 5.15pm
Alex and Molly are two girls who don't belong on the same planet, let alone the same college campus . . .Alex Blackwood is a little …
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Victoria Pendleton
Thursday 21st May, 7pm
Increase your confidence, feel less anxious and get more out of life by taking small steps outside your comfort zone. Packed with examples and clear takeaways, …
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Philippa Perry
Friday 22nd May, 7pm
Shrink Solves Murder is a warm, witty, and perceptive crime caper from the nation's favourite therapist. Her 3 o'clock just became a murder case...When a body …
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Minette Batters
Tuesday 26th May, 7pm
The first female president of the National Farmers' Union in its 109-year history tells the story of how she fought tooth and nail for British farms …
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Katja Hoyer
Tuesday 2nd June, 7pm
Weimar looms large in German history: a crucible of democracy and dictatorship. This ancient town nestled in the heart of the country was home to some …
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Olly Smith
Thursday 25th June, 7pm
In an idyllic Sussex town, murder is fermenting..Barclay Flint is the charmingly eccentric proprietor of The Bottle Bank wine shop, nestled in a picturesque Sussex town …
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Lisa Jewell
Monday 6th July, 7pm
It was the night she almost died.Jane Trevally, newly divorced and feeling a little lost, agrees to accompany a man she doesn't know to his house …
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Charles Cumming
Wednesday 8th July, 7pm
A YOUNG COUPLE ON THE RUNMax Radinsky thought he was living the perfect life in Athens. But when his girlfriend, Yasmine, is forced to flee the …
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David Baldacci
Friday 31st July, 7pm
REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD . . .After turning informant for the FBI against a global criminal empire, Walter Nash has lost everything he …
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Reading Group - Thomas de Quincey
Tuesday 11th August, 7.30pm
Far more than a memoir of addiction, de Quincey's celebrated and vastly influential Confessions are a hallucinatory, path-breaking exploration of the links between experience, imagination and …
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Rachel Morley
Tuesday 8th September, 7pm
The poet John Betjeman coined the phrase 'church crawling' to describe his days out visiting churches. In the spirit of Betjeman, Morley's book captures the magical …
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Andrew Davies
Thursday 10th September, 7pm
The undisputed maestro of literary adaptation finally turns his razor-sharp pen on the most challenging subject of all: himself. Andrew Davies has written his way into …
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Yotam Ottolenghi
Monday 14th September, 7.30pm
It's a noisy world out there, so stop, take a minute or two, listen to the soup bubble or the egg crackle... and let simple cooking …
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Robert Harris
Wednesday 21st October, 7pm
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026 IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, BBC CULTURE, THE MIRROR AND RADIO TIMES.From the bestselling author of Conclave comes a new …
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