York Events and Reading Groups
Opening in 2026 opposite York Minster, the largest independent bookshop in the country will be home to a year-round programme of author events and reading groups.
For queries about the events listed, please email york@toppingbooks.co.uk. Sign up to our newsletter at the bottom of this page for updates on the bookshop, events, and to be the first to know with regards to our opening date.
Tiny Tales Picture Book Reading Group
Sunday 9th August, 10am
Welcome to Tiny Tales! Enjoy storytelling in the bookshop on a Sunday morning.Starting just after 10am on the first Sunday of each month, a bookseller or …
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Eleanor's Feminist Fiction Reading Group
Sunday 23rd August, 6pm
Welcome to our Feminist Fiction Reading Group! A place discover an array of titles and themes by female authors selected each month by Eleanor. From a …
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Translated Fiction Reading Group
Sunday 23rd August, 6pm
Welcome to our Translated Fiction reading group! Reading fiction in translation offers a whole new way of learning about the histories, cultures and literary traditions of …
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French Fiction Reading Group
Sunday 23rd August, 6pm
To all francophiles of York and North Yorkshire, we invite you to join our new French Fiction reading group!One Sunday a month, after our doors have …
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Edward Shawcross on The People's Emperor: The Unlikely Rise and Spectacular Fall of Napoleon III
Wednesday 26th August, 7pm
We're delighted to welcome Edward Shawcross to the bookshop for The People's Emperor. Described by Simon Sebag Montefiore as a 'five star' book "written to be …
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Translated Fiction: Agnes Lidbeck for All My Love
Thursday 27th August, 7pm
'What a writer Agnes Lidbeck is - bold, blisteringly intelligent, deliciously playful.'- Katie Kitamura, author of Audition and IntimaciesAgnes Lidbeck is one of Sweden's most prominent …
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Marion Gibson for Witchland
Monday 31st August, 7pm
"No historian before Marion Gibson has managed to convey so well the lived reality of British witch trials at the local level. This is as close …
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Folklore: A Journey Through the Past and Present with Owen Davies and Ceri Houlbrook
Tuesday 1st September, 7pm
"Meticulously researched, imaginative in scope and rich in strange stories and rewarding insights. Fascinating reading." Malcolm Gaskill, author of The Ruin of All WitchesOwen Davies is …
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Alice Roberts for The Goddess Queen
Wednesday 2nd September, 7pm
Professor Alice Roberts is an academic, author and broadcaster, specialising in human anatomy, physiology, evolution, archaeology and history.In 2001, Alice made her television debut on Channel …
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Angharad Hampshire for The Mare
Thursday 3rd September, 7pm
Angharad Hampshire is a lecturer in creative writing at York St John University. Previously she worked as a producer for BBC Radio 4 and the World …
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Gordon Brown for The Future Starts With Us
Friday 4th September, 7pm
Gordon Brown joins us this Autumn for the publication of his much-awaited book, The Future Starts With Us, a practical and hopeful roadmap to bring us …
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Cooks & Books: Sabrina Ghayour for Persiana One
Tuesday 8th September, 7pm
"Sabrina Ghayour's Middle-Eastern plus food is all flavour, no fuss - and makes me very, very happy." ~ Nigella LawsonSabrina Ghayour is an Iranian, self-taught home …
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Sebastian Barry for The Newer World
Wednesday 9th September, 7pm
Sebastian Barry was the 2018-21 Laureate for Irish Fiction. His novels have twice won the Costa Book of the Year award, the Independent Booksellers Award and …
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Roman Britain in Twenty Towns with Professor Richard Hingley
Thursday 10th September, 7pm
"Hingley has succeeded in writing a guidebook to the towns of Roman Britain that is so evocative and clear in its descriptions that visitors will have …
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Christopher de Hamel for The Migrants: A Memoir with Manuscripts
Friday 11th September, 7pm
In the course of a long career at Sotheby's and at Cambridge University, Christopher de Hamel has probably handled more medieval manuscripts than anyone alive and …
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Andrea Wulf for The Traveller
Monday 14th September, 7pm
"A remarkable biography of a remarkable man. Wulf's books are always horizon-expanding, but with this one she has excelled herself. I loved it." ~ Tom HollandAndrea …
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Marie Darrieussecq for How to Make a Woman
Tuesday 15th September, 7pm
"Darrieussecq is one of the most prolific and distinguished living writers in France with a truly impressive body of work." ~ Samantha Harvey, author of OrbitalMarie …
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Daniel Mason for Country People
Wednesday 16th September, 7pm
'THE BOOK OF THE SUMMER' Mick HerronDaniel Mason is a doctor and author of The Piano Tuner, A Far Country, The Winter Soldier, and A Registry …
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Caroline Quentin for Drawn to Nature
Wednesday 16th September, 7pm
Caroline Quentin is highly regarded as an actor on both stage and screen. She is a leading lady at the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company and …
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R.F. Kuang for Taipei Story
Thursday 17th September, 2pm
Rebecca F. Kuang is the #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Katabasis, Yellowface, Babel: An Arcane History and the Poppy War …
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Kate Atkinson for Our Noble Selves
Thursday 17th September, 7pm
Kate Atkinson is one of the world's foremost novelists. She won the Whitbread Book of the Year prize with her first novel, Behind the Scenes at …
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Sebastian Faulks for Farewell to Eden
Friday 18th September, 7pm
'A fascinating, timely and densely pleasurable novel, written with measured and impressive intelligence and tremendous narrative aplomb' WILLIAM BOYDSebastian Faulks has written nineteen books, of which …
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Cooks & Books: Ella Risbridger for The Kitchen Book
Monday 21st September, 7pm
'Inspiring and joyously delicious' - NIGEL SLATERThe award-winning author of Midnight Chicken Ella Risbridger joins for her brilliant new cookbook The Kitchen Book.Home cooking but make …
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Carlo Rovelli for On the Equality of All Things: Physics and Philosophy
Tuesday 22nd September, 7pm
The global bestselling superstar 'poet of physics' returns with a dazzling philosophical exploration of our place in the universe.Carlo Rovelli is an internationally acclaimed writer whose …
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Rob Cowen for The North Road
Wednesday 23rd September, 7pm
LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2025 AND A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK'A dazzlingly inventive work of literature' Robert Macfarlane, author of …
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David Lascelles for Out of Colditz
Thursday 24th September, 7pm
David Lascelles, 8th Earl of Harewood, is a BAFTA-winning film and television producer. He is one of the founders of Heirs of Slavery, a campaign group …
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Andrew Pettegree for The Bookshop: A History of Bookselling
Friday 25th September, 7pm
Andrew Pettegree, FBA, is Professor of Modern History at the University of St Andrews. He is the author of The Book at War, the prize-winning The …
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Lauren Working for A Golden World
Monday 28th September, 7pm
Lauren Working is Lecturer in Early Modern Studies at the University of York. She was shortlisted for the prestigious Eccles Institute & Hay Festival Global Writer's …
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Nick Hayes for The Medicine Tree
Wednesday 30th September, 7pm
Nick Hayes is an award-winning writer, illustrator and land justice campaigner. In 2020 he co-founded Right to Roam, the influential campaign group advocating for public access …
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Palestinian Fiction: Ibtisam Azem for The Sleep Thief
Monday 5th October, 7pm
'Sleep thief is what the interrogator called me. I'll never forget that. I would steal a few seconds of sleep so I could remain steadfast before …
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An Evening with Spark of the Everflame's Penn Cole
Tuesday 6th October, 7pm
Penn Cole is an internationally bestselling author of magical worlds, feisty women, and angsty romance. Her debut series, The Kindred's Curse Saga, has been sold in …
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Owen Jones on The Fall of the West
Tuesday 6th October, 7pm
From the critically acclaimed author of Chavs, an excoriating take-down of Western hubris - and the book that reveals why we're really in the state we're …
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Adalyn Grace for The Wretched Divine
Wednesday 7th October, 7pm
Join Adalyn Grace, beloved author of the Belladonna Trilogy, as she joins us to discuss her adult fantasy debut: The Wretched Divine! Reviving the beloved angels …
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David McCloskey for London Station
Thursday 8th October, 7pm
David McCloskey is a former CIA analyst who worked in field stations across the Middle East and briefed senior White House officials and Arab royalty.His first …
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Emily St John Mandel for Exit Party
Thursday 8th October, 7pm
From the bestselling author of Station Eleven, Exit Party is Emily St. John Mandel's new mind-bending epic: a story of crimes committed and loves lost across …
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Terry Deary for A History of the World in Ten Wars
Monday 12th October, 7pm
War: what is it good for? Absolutely something, surely, or we wouldn't keep doing it.Throughout the ages, each generation has faced the same questions: Am I …
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Ian Rankin for The Heights
Tuesday 13th October, 7pm
Please note, this event is now taking place at The Citadel. Ian Rankin is the multimillion-copy worldwide bestseller of over thirty novels and creator of John …
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Perilous Enchantment: The True History of Faeries with Sarah Clegg
Wednesday 14th October, 7pm
Sarah Clegg has a PhD in ancient history from the University of Cambridge. She is the author of Woman's Lore and The Dead of Winter. She …
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Rob Wilkins on Terry Pratchett's The Discworld Bestiary
Thursday 15th October, 7pm
Terry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, …
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Jo Baring for Totem: The Untold Story of Sculpture
Friday 16th October, 7pm
'This lively and passionate book celebrates all the ways that sculpture roots us into first-hand physical experience - both of the world and our innermost feelings' …
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An Evening with Red Rising's Pierce Brown
Monday 19th October, 7pm
I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war.Join us for an unmissible evening with beloved science fiction author, Pierce Brown, to discuss …
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Alice Oswald for Rhapsody: A Manifesto
Tuesday 20th October, 7pm
Join us to hear Alice Oswald talk on Rhapsody, a daring, genre-defying work of non-fiction from one of our greatest poets.Alice Oswald has published several poetry …
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Andrew Graham Dixon for Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found
Tuesday 20th October, 7pm
"This book is going to revolutionize the way we understand Vermeer. I read it slowly, feeling 'like some watcher of the skies when a new planet …
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Pulitzer Prize winner Hernan Diaz for Ply
Friday 23rd October, 7pm
Hernan Diaz is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Trust, which won the Pulitzer Prize and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. It was named one …
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Francis Spufford for Nonesuch
Monday 26th October, 7pm
"My God can he write." ~ Richard OsmanFrancis Spufford is the author of three novels and five highly-praised works of non-fiction. His debut work of fiction …
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Wine Tasting with Julia Harding for The World Atlas of Wine
Wednesday 28th October, 7pm
We are pleased to welcome Julia Harding for the latest edition of The World Atlas of Wine. Join us for an evening of tasters and knowledge …
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Cooks & Books: Jess Elliott Dennison for Vegetable Recipes
Thursday 29th October, 7pm
Jess Elliott Dennison is a food writer, cook and founder of Elliott’s, her studio in Marchmont, Edinburgh. Here she hosts chefs, runs cookery workshops and tests …
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Great British Architecture with Daniel Wilson
Tuesday 3rd November, 7pm
Daniel Wilson has become huge across social media by exploring Britain's incredible built heritage. Under @greatbritisharchitecture he posts the stories he uncovers about the nation's incredible …
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Lessons in Chemistry's Bonnie Garmus for Peck & Peck
Thursday 5th November, 7pm
Bonnie Garmus is a coffee-dependent American novelist. Her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, was a number one global bestseller and spent almost ninety weeks in the …
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Nick Harkaway for The Taper Man
Monday 9th November, 7pm
'Le Carre's legacy is in good hands - Smiley is back with a vengeance!'IAN RANKIN'Note-perfect'MICK HERRONNick Harkaway is the acclaimed author of Gnomon, The Gone-Away World, …
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Sisters Brothers' Patrick deWitt for Dodge City
Friday 13th November, 7pm
'I adored every page' MAX PORTER'A perfect novel' JONATHAN LETHEMPatrick deWitt is the author of five novels including The Sisters Brothers, which won the Rogers Writers' …
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Wine tasting with Noble Rot's Dan Keeling for Pick Your Bottles
Monday 16th November, 7pm
Dan Keeling is a London-based writer, restaurateur, and wine merchant. He is the editor and co-founder of Noble Rot magazine and co-owner of three eponymous London …
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Jonathan Coe for Lessons in Harmony
Tuesday 17th November, 7pm
"Please God... if there is a next life, let me write as well as Jonathan Coe." ANTHONY BOURDAIN"Probably the best English novelist of his generation." NICK …
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Tim Hayward for The Cocktail Hour
Wednesday 18th November, 7pm
Tim Hayward writes for the Financial Times and is a panellist on BBC Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet. He won the Guild of Food Writers 'Food …
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Cooks & Books: Alissa Timoshkina for Lozhka
Thursday 19th November, 7pm
In her latest cookbook, Lozhka, award-winning food writer and historian Alissa Timoshkina pens a love letter to Eastern European comfort food.More than a utensil, the spoon …
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Emily Wilson for Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea
Wednesday 25th November, 7pm
'Enthralling and profoundly relevant' SALMAN RUSHDIE'Joyful, illuminating and engaging' MADELINE MILLEREmily Wilson is Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Her translations of The …
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John Potter on Christmas Carols: an English Enchantment
Thursday 26th November, 7pm
John Potter's books include Song, Tenor, and A History of Singing. A former member of the Hilliard Ensemble, his singing career has included first performances of …
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Translated Fiction: Dorothy Tse for City Like Water
Monday 30th November, 7pm
"To be ushered into Tse's hallucinatory city is a revelation, an unnerving gift." ~ CHINA MIEVILLEDorothy Tse is a writer from Hong Kong. Her debut novel, …
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British Museum Lectures: The Bayeux Tapestry
Thursday 4th February, 7pm
We're delighted to be joined by curator Michael Lewis to discuss the upcoming British Museum exhibition, The Bayeux Tapestry, and its accompanying publications.These new titles mark …
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Michael Grieve for Asterism
Thursday 11th February, 7pm
Michael Grieve is a poet, teacher, and former bookseller with Topping & Company Booksellers of St Andrews. His work has appeared in many poetry journals, including …
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