by Gudrun Bowers | 5, Aug 2016
Following the purchase of a run-down Herefordshire farm, and encouraged by dreams of roast duck with wild mushroom sauce, as well as a combination of being utterly broke, with natural bounty around him, farmer John Lewis-Stempel, whose previous book Meadowland was a runaway success, decides to eat only wild food for a year. It must be hunted or foraged by himself from his own forty acres, and may not include food produced by agriculture. His wife bans him from using the freezer, so he also has to rely on traditional preservation techniques. This book is the story of his year, his (often monotonous) meals, and the methods he uses to procure them. A lot of rabbit, also squirrel, snails, pigeon and trout are consumed (but mainly rabbit), as well as what many people this of as weeds – chickweed, silverweed and dandelions. The long hours spent hunting for food, and even longer ones preparing it, ultimately hone his perceptions, his tastebuds, and draw him closer to the land and to himself. Fascinating.
Alice
by Gudrun Bowers | 5, Aug 2016
This is the story of four ambitious, talented friends who meet at college, and then move to New York to make their way in the world. Malcolm is a diffident aspiring architect, JB paints acclaimed pictures of his friend, Willem waits tables and auditions for parts and brilliant, enigmatic Jude is working at the district attorney’s office. As their careers and relationships develop, Jude becomes the centre of the narrative, his past slowly and devastatingly revealed, the dark centre of the circle of friendship. This is outstanding book built in layers of quiet, subtle and heart-breaking detail.
by Gudrun Bowers | 5, Aug 2016
We are very excited about our next author supper, to be held on Tuesday 20th September, 7 for 7.30 pm, – a talk by best-selling author and actress Carol Drinkwater!
Carol will join us at The Sussex Produce Cafe to talk about her new novel ‘The Forgotten Summer’, just out in paperback. Tickets are priced £25 and include a delicious two course meal, and a copy of ‘The Forgotten Summer’.
Carol Drinkwater is an actress, writer and film-maker, perhaps best known for her award-winning portrayal of Helen Herriot in the TV adaptation of James Herriot’s ‘All Creatures Great and Small’. She was a member of the National Theatre Company under the leadership of Laurence Olivier and has acted in numerous television series and films including the highly successful ‘Chocky’, ‘Bouquet of Barbed Wire’, and ‘Golden Pennies’. Amongst many other film and television credits, she has appeared in Stanley Kubrick’s ‘A Clockwork Orange’, ‘Queen Kong’, ‘Father’, and the film adaptation of Beryl Bainbridge’s novel ‘An Awfully Big Adventure’.
In recent years Carol has become better known for her best-selling memoirs about her life on an olive farm in Provence, in particular for ‘The Olive Tree’ and ‘The Olive Route’, which she also turned into a short series of documentary films. She has also written novels for children and young adults.
Carol Drinkwater
by Gudrun Bowers | 5, Aug 2016
Saturday 3rd September 11 am
‘Zog’ is one of our favourite picture books, and we are delighted to announce that Julia Donaldson will be coming to the bookshop to sign copies of her fantastic follow-up, ‘Zog and the Flying Doctors’!
‘Zog and the Flying Doctors’ is officially released on the 8th September, so we are very fortunate to have this special pre-publication appearance by Julia.
This is not a ticketed event, just a book-signing, but we hope Malcolm Donaldson will be on hand with his trusty guitar to entertain the queues with some of Julia’s jolly songs.
If you are unable to attend but would like to get a copy signed and dedicated by Julia, we can take pre-orders so give us a ring.
Julia Donaldson
by Gudrun Bowers | 5, Aug 2016
On Wednesday 24th August at 2.30 pm we are delighted to welcome back talented Brighton-based picture-book author and illustrator, Sam Lloyd.
Sam will share her latest book ‘First Day at Bug School’, and hopefully some of her other colourful picture-books – Dino-Baby is one of our favourites – as well as helping children with some bug-based-crafts!
Tickets are only £2, please book ahead so we have an idea of how many craft materials Sam needs to bring! Ticket entitles bearer to £2 off one of Sam’s fab books.
Sam Lloyd
by Gudrun Bowers | 30, Jun 2016
To celebrate the publication of his book ‘Death Comes Knocking; Policing Roy Grace’s Brighton’, co-written with Peter James, we are delighted to welcome Graham Bartlett to the bookshop, on Thursday 28th July at 7.30 pm.
Fans of Peter James will know that Graham Bartlett is an advisor for Peter’s most well-loved character, Inspector Roy Grace. Graham was a long-serving detective in the city once described as Britain’s ‘crime capital’, and will be sharing stories from his years on the force, looking behind the scenes at some of the city’s most gripping and challenging cases.
Tickets are £10 to include the book, wine/soft drinks and nibbles.
Ticket are available from the bookshop on 01903 812062.
Graham Bartlett
by Gudrun Bowers | 17, Jun 2016
As part of our celebrations for Independent Bookshop Week 2016, multi-talented illustrator and author Leigh Hodgkinson is paying us a return visit. Some of you may recall Leigh’s bag-monster making session which was so much fun last summer!
She will be creating a wondrous, artistic window display in our children’s window during the morning, then, at 3pm she will lead a simple print-making workshop for children aged 4-8 (ish!) and share some of her funny, colourful picture books.
Tickets are a mere £2, including refreshments, and can be used to get money off one of Leigh’s lovely picture books.
by Gudrun Bowers | 13, Jun 2016
SATURDAY 18th JUNE 2.30-4pm.
Prior to his talk at The Steyning Centre on the evening of Sat 18th June, we are offering this exciting opportunity for a few lucky fans to join Scotland’s finest crime writer, Ian Rankin, on a tour of The Riverside Brewery, Upper Beeding’s finest micro-brewery, which was established in 2015. Ian, like his most well-known character Inspector Rebus, is fond of a brew, so come along and see what he makes of our fine Sussex ales! Ticket price includes bottle of beer.
Riverside Breweries finest ales
by Gudrun Bowers | 31, May 2016
To kick off our celebrations for Independent Bookseller’s Week in very fine style, we are thrilled to announce that Ian Rankin will be paying Steyning a visit on Saturday 18th June. This is an absolutely unmissable chance to hear the Scottish Master of Noir talk about his life and work, upon the paperback publication of ‘Even Dogs in the Wild’ his latest John Rebus thriller. He will be appearing at the Steyning Centre at 7.30 pm on Saturday 18th June. Tickets for this event are £12, to include a paperback book.
Also, during the afternoon, he will be touring Upper Beeding’s own Riverside Brewery, and a VERY limited number of tickets will be on sale to join him on this tour.
Please contact the bookshop on 01903 812062 for tickets or for further information on either of these two events.
by Gudrun Bowers | 19, May 2016
Meadows: At Great Dixter and Beyond by Christopher Lloyd and Fergus Garrett
Pimpernel Press £30
This is a sumptuous new edition of Christopher Lloyd’s classic book on meadows. Starting with the origins of meadows in history, art and literature, Lloyd goes on to describe in detail the different types of meadow and prairie, how to create and maintain them, and his own efforts at Great Dixter, the garden that was his life’s work. Fergus Garrett, current head gardener at Great Dixter, who worked closely with Lloyd, and continues his work after his death has contributed a lengthy new introduction, which looks at the ongoing developments in their grassland management, and the resurgent interest in ecology and wildlife habitats.
Come and hear Fergus talk about the book and his gardening life at Great Dixter on May 27th in the Big Top at 11am as part of the Steyning Festival. The book will be available at the special Festival price of £20.
by Gudrun Bowers | 19, May 2016
“To see a meadow in bloom is a great delight – it’s alive and teeming with life, mysterious, dynamic . . .” To celebrate the publication of a new edition of Meadows At Great Dixter and Beyond by Christopher Lloyd, one of the greatest gardeners of the twentieth century, Fergus Garrett, head gardener at Great Dixter, near Northiam, and author of a new introduction to the book, will give an illustrated talk both about the gardens and the meadows there.
A Steyning Festival event.
Copies of this beautiful and informative book will be available for purchase (at a special festival price) and signing at the event.
Friday 27th May 11 am Festival Big Top, opposite the church.
by Gudrun Bowers | 19, May 2016
The Kindness by Polly Samson Pub Bloomsbury 8.99
At the outset of this assured second novel by Polly Samson we encounter Julian, prematurely aged at only 29, in a state of deep anguish at the loss of his lover, Julia, and their daughter, Mira. He drifts through his Sussex childhood home, consumed by their absence. Empty photograph frames, beds which no longer hold his sleeping family, this is a house echoing with regrets – but the details of his loss are a mystery. Polly Samson has received much praise for her short story collections and this compelling novel, lyrical but deftly rooted in reality, is a set of interlocking stories which lead the reader to piece together the mystery at the heart of the book while at the same time provide great insight into the inner lives of the protagonists.
The Kindness wears its structural complexity lightly, the voice and the pace so assured that it seems remarkable that this is only Samson’s second novel. It’s a rare achievement to create a book that is at once a wise and tender meditation on the nature of love and disappointment, and a page turner that will keep you awake into the small hours” – Observer
by Gudrun Bowers | 19, May 2016
Helen Simonson sets her new novel, “The Summer Before the War,” in the summer of 1914 when Europe is contemplating the unthinkable – a German invasion of Belgium. In the English seaside town of Rye the residents are agog at the arrival of the new Latin teacher, Beatrice Nash —a bright, attractive and fiercely independent orphaned daughter of academic parents who is not prepared to endure uncritically the social restrictions that prevail in the town that later inspired E F Benson’s Lucia novels. Fans of Simonson’s “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand,” will once again enjoy the perceptive social comedy in this lively and engaging book which gains added depth as we are drawn inexorably towards the effects on the town’s inhabitants of the onslaught that will ravage a generation.
Helen Simonson will be in discussion with authors Polly Sampson and Suzanne Joinson at a Festival event on May 23rd at 7.30pm in the Gluck Studio, Chantry House. Access from Elm Grove Lane.
by Gudrun Bowers | 19, May 2016
On Monday 23rd May at 7.30 pm, Steyning’s newest arts venue, the atmospheric Gluck Studio, will host a very special literary event, as part of the Steyning Festival.
Enjoy a glass of wine as you hear a trio of fine novelists all published by Bloomsbury Publishing; Suzanne Joinson, Polly Samson and Helen Simonson.
Suzanne Joinson’s first novel A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar was Guardian/Observer Book of the Year 2012. Her latest, The Photographer’s Wife is a beautiful and gripping story set in 1930’s Jerusalem and Sussex.
Author Suzanne Joinson
Polly Samson is an acclaimed writer and Costa Award judge whose brilliant novel The Kindness, was chosen as a 2015 Book of the Year by the Times and Observer.
Bloomsbury author Polly Samson
Helen Simonson is the author of international bestselling Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand which was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick. Her stunning new novel The Summer Before the War is set in Rye in the summer of 1914.
Bloomsbury author Helen Simonson
All the author’s books will be on sale at the event, and they will be happy to personally sign and dedicate copies at the conclusion of the evening.
by Gudrun Bowers | 9, May 2016
An amazing chance to join best-selling children’s author Cressida Cowell to hear about her wonderful Hiccup the Horrendous series and the twelfth and final novel (sob) How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury, just out in paperback. Cressida spent her childhood summers on an uninhabited Hebridean island with no electricity. In the evenings her father would tell tales of the Vikings who invaded the islands a millennium ago. This inspired her to use these stories, and her beloved island, as the basis for her wildly popular and very funny Viking series, starting with How to Train your Dragon, which has enchanted a generation of 6-11 year olds with its wit, inventiveness and hilarious illustrations, and inspired two (soon to be three!) DreamWorks films. Just like her books, Cressida is great fun!
Ticket includes £2 voucher towards a book.
Tickets available from the bookshop, and from http://www.steyningfestival.co.uk/whats-on/meet-cressida-cowell-94
by Gudrun Bowers | 9, May 2016
A very special opportunity to meet Sir Vince Cable who joins Guardian columnist and economist David Boyle to discuss a new revised and updated paperback edition of After the Storm. This provides fascinating insights into the global economy – and Britain’s place in it – from his unique vantage point as a former senior member of the coalition and offers a carefully considered perspective on how the British economy should be managed in the future. “Lucid, intelligent – and damning” — The Guardian. “Vince Cable is the parliamentarian who has been consistently the most prescient and thoughtful in his analysis of the credit crunch.” John Kay, Financial Times.
7.30 – 10 pm Tuesday 24th May, Festival Big Top.
Copies of ‘After the Storm’ will be on sale for Vince to sign after his talk.
Tickets from http://www.steyningfestival.co.uk/
or direct from The Steyning Bookshop.
by Gudrun Bowers | 9, May 2016
We are delighted to announce that Peter James is back in Steyning to introduce the 12th novel in his addictive Roy Grace series – ‘Love You Dead’.
Peter James is a one of the nation’s most treasured thriller writers – recently voted ‘The Best Crime Author of All Time’ by WH Smith readers. The Roy Grace series of novels have sold more than 17 million copies and been translated into over 36 languages, bringing the seamy underbelly of Brighton alive to a worldwide audience!
Peter is always a very entertaining speaker, having a wealth of fascinating stories that he has picked up while researching with the Sussex Police, so we can promise an evening of thrills, spills, and the occasional raised eyebrow!
Ticket price includes a hot-off-the-press hardback copy of ‘Love You Dead’, which Peter will, as always, be happy to sign for you after his talk.
7.30 -10 pm Tuesday 24th May.
Tickets available from http://www.steyningfestival.co.uk/
or from The Steyning Bookshop, festival box office.
by Gudrun Bowers | 4, Apr 2016
A welcome return to longer picture books from Emily Gravett, after her delightful series for toddlers featuring Bear and Hare, ‘Tidy’ tells the story of Pete the badger, a slightly OCD woodland character who gets a bit carried away when he starts to tidy up the forest, with disastrous but amusing consequences! Sumptuously illustrated and with a resounding environmental message, this book is a real treat for 3-5 year olds.
Emily will be at the bookshop on the launch date of the book – April 7th, tickets priced £2 per child.
by Gudrun Bowers | 4, Apr 2016
Sunjeev Sahota’s first novel Ours Are The Streets gained him a place on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list of 2013 and this his second novel was longlisted for the 2015 Man Booker prize. Pertinent in view of the situation in Calais and Greece, this novel, set in Sheffield, is a brilliant depiction of the aspirations and daily struggles of three Indian men sharing accommodation with a group of other migrant workers and, in another part of the city, a devoutly Hindu Indian woman trapped and compromised by her marriage of convenience. The novel moves skilfully between India and England, initially taking the form of short stories and novellas about the characters in childhood and in the present day, and then as the main protagonists’ lives intermingle, the narrative gains further strength and opens still more the question of Western responsibilities to those less fortunate. An engrossing and humane read.
by Gudrun Bowers | 4, Apr 2016
Yasmin is fifteen, fat and in her words “a freak”, compulsively drawn to beautiful Alice Taylor whom she feels compelled to protect from afar, with far reaching consequences. An unsettling but at times comic portrayal of an obsession, this debut novel by former film editor Tasha Kavanagh grips and disturbs.
Published as adult fiction but could be read by older teenagers.
by Gudrun Bowers | 4, Apr 2016
Anne Jaccob is the daughter of a well-to-do family, though material comforts do nothing to soften a life pinched by misery and neglect. Her father cares nothing for her, her mother is exhausted and absent through her many confinements, and they are all grieving in their own ways for Anne’s baby brother. Denied emotional solace at home and desperate to escape the suitor her father has picked for her, Anne starts to look outside for excitement and affection. She settles on Fub, the butchers’ boy, hardly a suitable match for a young lady. Hardened by grief and made reckless by desire, Anne pushes herself off on a course there’s no turning back from…
Don’t let Janet Ellis’s cosy demeanour fool you, this is a dark, twisting tale of grief, lust and violence in Georgian London, and one unforgettable heroine’s warped attempt to escape the stifling claustrophobia of the female sphere.
by Gudrun Bowers | 18, Mar 2016
On Thursday April 7th at 2.30pm, come and join Emily Gravett in the bookshop garden marquee as we celebrate the release of her charming new picture book ‘Tidy’ – a very funny rhyming woodland tale about the perils of being too tidy.
Pete the badger likes everything to be neat and tidy at all times, but what starts as the collection of one fallen leaf escalates quickly and ends with the complete destruction of the forest! Will Pete realise the error of his ways and set things right? ‘Tidy’ delivers a timely environmental message which children will appreciate, with subtlety and humour, and is sumptuously illustrated in Emily’s unique style.
Emily will share stories and badger-y craft activities with children aged 3-8 (suggested age only)
Tickets just £2 entitle the bearer to £2 off one of Emily’s books.
Includes free refreshments.
Emily has visited our bookshop many times before so should need no introduction – but just to remind you – she is an author/illustrator of unique talent and tremendous skill who has a host of critically acclaimed books to her name, including Wolves, Meerkat Mail and Again! She is also twice winner of the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal and the Nestlé Children’s Book Prize Bronze Award for Wolves and Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears.
Tidy by Emily Gravett
by Gudrun Bowers | 17, Mar 2016
On Thursday 21st April at 7pm join TV presenter and novelist Janet Ellis for supper at The Sussex Produce Cafe. Janet will be talking about her hotly tipped debut novel The Butcher’s Hook – a dark and bewitching historical novel with a truly unforgettable heroine.
Janet Ellis is a broadcaster, an agony aunt for a national newspaper, and now a novelist. She lives in west London with her husband, and has three children, among them the singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
‘The Butcher’s Hook doesn’t read like a first novel – it is a high-finish performance… You need to be braced for violence to rival any Jacobean tragedy: The Butcher’s Hook will hook you’
Observer (New Faces of Fiction 2016)
Tickets priced at £27.50 include a delicious 2 course meal and a copy of The Butcher’s Hook.
Book in advance from The Steyning Bookshop.
The Butcher’s Hook
by Gudrun Bowers | 11, Feb 2016
Local writer and illustrator Sam Watkins, author of the very funny and popular ‘Creature Teacher’ series, published by Oxford University Press, will join us on Friday 19th February at 11 am to help kids create their own comic-strips, and offer general story-writing advice, too.
£2 per ticket, advance booking essential as places for this workshop are limited to 15.
Ideal for ages 7-11, ticket entitles the bearer to £2 off one of Sam Watkins’ books.
Free Refreshments will be served.
creature teacher
creature teacher science shocker
creature teacher goes wild
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