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.
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
Please note: This event is now taking place at The Creative Centre, York St John University, Lord Mayors Walk, York YO31 7EX"Meticulously researched, imaginative in scope …
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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 with MP Rachael Maskell for The Future Starts With Us
Friday 4th September, 7pm
Please note: This event is now taking place at Central Hall, University of York, University Rd, Heslington, York YO10 5DD.Gordon Brown joins us this Autumn for …
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Tiny Tales Picture Book Reading Group
Sunday 6th September, 10.30am
Welcome to Tiny Tales! Enjoy storytelling in the bookshop on a Sunday morning.On Sunday 6th September, we are joined by Catherine Jacob. Catherine is an award-winning …
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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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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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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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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
Please note: This event is now taking place at The Creative Centre, York St John University, Lord Mayors Walk, York YO31 7EX 'A fascinating, timely and …
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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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French Fiction Reading Group
Sunday 27th September, 6pm
To all francophiles of York and North Yorkshire, we invite you to join our new French Fiction reading group!Every last Sunday of the month, after our …
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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
Please note: This event is now taking place at The Creative Centre, York St John University, Lord Mayors Walk, York YO31 7EX Nick Hayes is an …
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James Marriott on The New Dark Ages
Thursday 1st October, 7pm
'Without question the most important book of the year' MARINA HYDE'Superb' TOM HOLLANDJames Marriott is a columnist at The Times. He presented the Radio 4 series …
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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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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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An Evening with Spark of the Everflame's Penn Cole
Tuesday 6th October, 7pm
Please note: This event is now taking place at The Creative Centre, York St John University, Lord Mayors Walk, York YO31 7EXPenn Cole is an internationally …
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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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Paul 'Piglet' Middleton for ALL ABOARD!: Tales from a Yorkshire Steam Railway
Wednesday 14th October, 7pm
Paul 'Piglet' Middleton's first book is a heartwarming and often hilarious collection of stories from his first thirty years working on the beautiful and historic North …
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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
PLEASE NOTE: Due to overwhelming demand, this event has moved to YORK GRAND OPERA HOUSE, Clifford and Cumberland St, York YO1 9SW.We are sold out of …
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England Cricketer Chris Woakes for The Wizard
Monday 19th October, 7pm
Two-time world champion, Ashes Player of the Series, County Championship winner and one of England's finest all-rounders of the modern era joins us for his gripping …
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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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The History of York: Susan Major for Blossom Street
Wednesday 21st October, 7pm
Join us for an evening celebrating the history of York and the publication of Clements Hall History Group's latest book. Blossom Street is the latest in …
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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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An Evening with Sabriel's Garth Nix
Tuesday 27th October, 7pm
Join us for an evening with New York Times bestseller and master of speculative fiction, Garth Nix, to celebrate his first foray into the adult sci-fi …
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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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British Vogue's Alexandra Shulman for Black Coffee and Red Lipstick
Wednesday 11th November, 7pm
Alexandra Shulman is a writer and commentator. She was British Vogue's Editor-in-Chief from 1992 to 2017 and was awarded the CBE in the 2018 New Year's …
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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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Alice Loxton for A History of Britain in 21 Paintings
Friday 20th November, 7pm
Alice Loxton is a bestselling author, historian and presenter, with more than three million followers on social media (@history_alice). She is passionate about bringing history to …
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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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