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.
Natalie Haynes for No Friend to This House
Sunday 14th June, 7pm
Natalie Haynes is the author of The Amber Fury, The Children of Jocasta, A Thousand Ships, which was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction in …
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Crime with Wine: Olly Smith for Death by Noir
Wednesday 24th June, 7pm
"Uncork this sparkling delight and quaff deep. With high notes of comedy, suspense and fruity characterisation Olly Smith's debut is instantly addictive." ~ BEN ELTONOlly Smith …
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Brandon Taylor for Minor Black Figures
Thursday 25th June, 7pm
Brandon Taylor is the author of the novels The Late Americans and Real Life, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics …
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Stephen Grosz with Oliver Burkeman for Love's Labour
Friday 26th June, 7pm
Stephen Grosz is a practicing psychoanalyst, and has worked with patients for more than forty years. The Examined Life, his Number One bestselling debut, was about …
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Cooks & Books: Georgina Hayden for MEDesque
Thursday 2nd July, 7pm
'Joyful, generous and drenched in olive oil' - Yotam Ottolenghi'Vibrant, comforting food destined to become firm favourites' - Jamie OliverGeorgina Hayden is a multi-award-winning cook and …
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David Larbi for Frequently Happy
Monday 6th July, 7pm
'Filled with such personality and contagious optimism... I love this book' ~ Matt HaigDavid Larbi is a writer, creator and poet from London. Through his experimentation …
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Sally Hayden for This Is Also A Love Story
Tuesday 7th July, 7pm
Orwell Prize-winning author of My Fourth Time, We Drowned, Sally Hayden comes to the bookshop for her latest piece of reportage. With This Is Also A …
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Book Signing: Alice Oseman for Heartstopper Volume 6
Wednesday 8th July, 5.30pm
Book Signing with Alice Oseman for the hugely anticipated Heartstopper Volume 6!Meet Alice Oseman, the creator of bestselling and beloved Heartstopper graphic novel series, and celebrate …
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Cooks & Books: Itamar and Sarit for Honey & Co Daily
Friday 10th July, 7pm
Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer opened their first Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant, Honey & Co. in 2012. They have since added a deli, Honey & Spice, a …
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Philippa Perry for Shrink Solves Murder
Wednesday 15th July, 7pm
Philippa Perry is an artist and psychotherapist as well as a TV and radio presenter. She is the number one Sunday Times bestselling author of The …
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Michael Downes for Story of the Century: Wagner and the creation of The Ring
Thursday 16th July, 7pm
Michael Downes is a conductor, writer and lecturer with a particular interest in opera. His publications include books written both with and about British composer Jonathan …
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Martin Latham for The Bookseller's Tale
Tuesday 4th August, 7pm
"The Bookseller's Tale is a joy. I read the first chapters in a single binge-read, and each chapter instantly became my favourite. Memoir-flecked, magpie-minded, relentlessly engaging …
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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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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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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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Francis Spufford for Nonesuch
Monday 21st September, 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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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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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
Ian Rankin is the multimillion-copy worldwide bestseller of over thirty novels and creator of John Rebus. His books have been translated into thirty-six languages and have …
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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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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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Matthew Rice for A Year in the Garden
Monday 19th October, 7pm
Matthew Rice is a renowned painter and designer who has written six books on architecture. He previously helped run Emma Bridgewater ceramics. Matthew joins us for …
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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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