A creative writing workshop for budding writers with children’s author LIZ FLANAGAN.
Ideas are all around us – but how do you catch one?
In this fun, interactive workshop, author Liz Flanagan will lead children through a series of creative exercises to inspire and develop some new ideas. She will describe the surprising places she found ideas for the Legends of the Sky and Wildsmith series, before inviting children to start a story using material from their own lives.Dragons, pirates, witches … harness the power of your imagination! For children aged 7-12
ABOUT LIZ FLANAGAN AND HER BOOKS
Liz Flanagan is an award-winning author who writes for children and young adults. Her books include the Wildsmith series of cute illustrated chapter books for emergent readers, wonderfully illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton, the exciting, inventive Legends of the Sky fantasy series, and the YA novel Eden Summer, which was nominated for the Carnegie Medal.
CHILD TICKET £5 – ticket can be used to get £5 off one of Liz Flanagan’s brilliant books! Accompanying adults do not need a ticket.
You can purchase tickets in the shop or click below to book via Ticketsource
Manage your menopause symptoms and get in the best shape of your life.
We are embracing the spirit of January with a wellness event, welcoming author, menopause coach and personal trainer Kate Rowe-Ham who’ll discuss her new book Owning Your Menopause: Fitter, Calmer, Stronger in 30 Days.
Kate Rowe-Ham is a personal trainer who specialises in using exercise and fitness to help women through perimenopause and menopause. She is the founder of the app and website Owning Your Menopause which has supported thousands of women in the UK who are suffering from challenging menopause symptoms, and she has now turned this life-changing programme into a book.
Kate will discuss her own personal menopause story and her work as a personal trainer, and how these experiences have fed into her book. Kate’s book aims to transform your attitude to exercise and change your habits, and provides fitness plans as well as advice for every aspect of your life from alcohol and sugar consumption to mindfulness. Owning Your Menopause also includes a 30-day fitness plan complete with menu suggestions, movement goals and links to online videos.
Despite being a personal trainer, Kate found herself totally derailed in her early 40s as perimenopause started. Her usual strategies to stay well weren’t working and HRT wasn’t the magic bullet she hoped it would be. Only when she started changing the way she exercised, what she ate and drank, and lifting weights did she feel better… and now, a few years down the line she feels more energised than ever before. Kate wants to empower other women to experience the same revelation. Kate will be in conversation with Hannah Ebelthite, a Steyning-based health & wellness writer.
As part of our celebrations for Steyning’s special ‘Christmas Shopping Day’ on Sunday 3rd December we have award-winning, best-selling author VASHTI HARDY stopping by at 2pm to sign copies of her fantastically inventive books, including her new magical Christmas picture book Santa’s Marvellous Mechanical Workshop.
Vashti is the celebrated author of many exciting, imaginative fantasy novels for older children, including the award-winning Wildspark, the brilliant Brightstorm Chronicles, the shorter Harley Hitch novels for emergent readers, and the exciting Griffin Gate series for dyslexic / reluctant readers. Santa’s Marvellous Mechanical Workshop is her debut picture book. It’s a lovely story for ages 3-5 containing many of Vashti’s trademark features; ingenious contraptions and inventive recycling, all with a sprinkle of Christmas magic!
We’ll have ALL Vashti’s amazing books on sale and she will be happy to meet readers and sign any books purchased on the day or pre-ordered via our website. We can also take orders for customers who are not local or can’t attend, just order via our online store here, and add the names / messages for dedication in ORDER NOTES at checkout. Be sure to add postage if you are not picking up in store!
On Saturday 25th November at 3pm we are thrilled that explorer, entrepreneur, author and self-confessed ‘adventureholic’ Neil Laughton will be stopping by the shop to sign copies of his new book Adventureholic – Extraordinary journeys on seven continents by land, sea and air.
Please ORDER YOUR COPY of Adventureholic via this link and state in ORDER NOTES whether you’ll be coming to meet Neil & get the book signed in person, OR add the name / message for dedication if you’d prefer the book to be posted.
Neil Laughton is a successful business entrepreneur, multiple Guinness World Record breaking adventurer and a former Royal Marine Commando, helicopter pilot and Special Forces Officer. Neil has a passion for travel, sport and adventure. He has organised and led more than 50 expeditions on 7 continents – by land, sea and air. Adventureholictells the stories of Neil’s most unforgettable and daring adventures yet. From summiting Mount Everest with Bear Grylls and playing cricket at the Geographic South Pole to piloting the world’s first road-legal flying car on a 10,000km journey across the Sahara Desert to Timbuktu, running with bulls, and train-surfing in Myanmar, Neil really has seen and done it all.
Join Neil on a roller-coaster ride around the world, a perfect present for the (would-be?) adventurer in your life!
The book is a beautifully produced hardback published by WhiteFox Publishing at £20.
Join local historian and author Kevin Newman as he takes us on a whistlestop tour through the history of Sussex, from prehistory to the present day. This event celebrates the release of Kevin’s new book A Little History of Sussex, published by The History Press. Kevin will give an illustrated talk, with slides, featuring highlights from the book, which is an engaging and lively read, as Kevin has an eye for the absurd, droll and unusual!
EVENT INFO:
The venue is the historic Brotherhood Hall, part of the old Steyning Grammar School buildings in Church St – we regret that there is no disabled access to the Hall which is on the 1st floor, accessed by a staircase.
Doors open 7pm, talk starts at 7.30pm
Tickets include welcome drink upon entry
Ticket prices: £14.99 for our bargain book with ticket deal – get the book and the ticket is free! Book RRP £14.99, hardback copy.
£7 for ticket only – you can purchase books on the night at RRP.
Tickets can be purchased online via TICKETSOURCE by clicking link below (booking fee applies) or by phone on 01903 812062, or in person from the Steyning Bookshop
Meet Jonathan Hollins, the vet at the end of the earth. As the resident vet for the remote British Overseas Territories of the Falklands, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan de Cunha, Jonathan Hollins has seen it all! From caring for the world’s oldest living reptile (a 200-year-old giant tortoise!) to relocating herds of reindeer, he has spent years working with every variety of animal, amidst extraordinarily rugged and challenging landscapes, from cloud forests to volcanic cliff faces. Jonathan’s book The Vet at the End of the Earth is a fascinating portrait of life in this remote outpost of the British Empire, where regimental pomp and circumstance abides alongside down-to-earth farming folk, battling the elements to survive!
The Vet at the End of the Earth is perfect for animal lovers, adventurers and armchair travellers alike, and Jonathan has a wealth of entertaining and hair-raising stories to tell from his years vetting at the back of beyond, we can’t wait to hear him bring the book to life in person!
Originally from the south of England, Jonathan Hollins MRCVS graduated from Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and has been a working vet for four decades. Since the mid-2000s, he has spent long periods as a senior vet in the British Overseas Territories of the South Atlantic and has a home on St Helena. He has written for the UK national press and presented documentary features for BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4
EVENT INFORMATION
Venue: Steyning Methodist Church
Doors open 7pm, Talk starts at 7.30pm. Jonathan will be ‘in conversation’ with an interviewer (TBC) but may also share slides of the island’s fauna and flora!
Teas & coffees will be served by the Methodist Church team.
Tickets are £16 for our great value book + ticket deal (just the book on its own is £16.99) we also offer just an entry ticket for £6.
Extra books will be available on the night, while stocks last, for the event price of £16
We are delighted to present an evening with local author TRACY FELLS, who’ll be introducing her debut short story collection The Naming of Moths – a real treat for those of us who enjoy dark, twisted fairy tales with a hint of Angela Carter! THE NAMING OF MOTHS features stories of magical realism, myths and legends re-imagined, where all the characters are undergoing transformation or facing a pivotal moment of change in their lives. People and animals interchange their shapes. Story landscapes flit from fairy-tale woods to urban homes. Here love, hope and kindness weave between the realities of man’s endless talent for cruelty. TRACY FELLS is an award-winning writer.
Tracy was the 2017 Regional Winner (Europe and Canada) for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Her novella-in-flash Hairy On The Inside (published by Ad Hoc Fiction, 2021) was shortlisted for the 2022 Saboteur and International Rubery Book Awards. Tracy has a degree in Zoology (Reading University), a MA in Creative Writing (Chichester University) and worked in clinical research until 2010. She lives in West Sussex with her husband and an abundance of garden wildlife.
Tickets are £5, to include a refreshing drink upon entry and £2.00 towards the book. Tix available in the shop, by calling us on 01903 812062, or via TICKETSOURCE here
Praise for The Naming of Moths
“Precise, imaginative, visceral, Fells never disappoints.” Angela Readman, author of The Girls are Pretty Crocodiles
– “The depth and scope of these beautifully crafted stories is a delight. This is a writer who has a deep understanding of the complexities of the human condition.” – Amanda Huggins, author of An Unfamiliar Landscape and talk to me about when we were perfect.
We are delighted that lovely Nick Sharratt is going to join us on SATURDAY 4th NOVEMBER at 11am for a book-signing at the shop celebrating his brilliant new book, You Choose Christmas! The You Choose books by Pippa Goodhart and Nick Sharratt are an ESSENTIAL part of every parenting toolkit, prompting hours of family discussion and fun, and we are over the moon that there is now a festive edition for family holiday fun!
The focus will be on this new book but we will have all Nick’s books on sale to get signed / dedicated.
We are not ticketing this book-signing, it is fine to just turn up, but if you want to be SURE you get a book and we don’t run out, you can pre-order yours via our website here Please mention in the order notes that you are coming to the book-signing!
Alternatively, if you’d like a book signed and dedicated, but cannot attend the book-signing, you can pre-order a copy using the same link above, please specify the name for dedication in ORDER NOTES, mention that you are NOT attending the book-signing, and make sure to include postage if necessary.
About YOU CHOOSE CHRISTMAS
The You Choose books are perennial favourites of parents and children alike, and we are so excited to reveal this new, CHRISTMAS version! From choosing where to sleep on Christmas Eve, which Christmas jumper to wear, what gifts you’d like to give and receive, and what job you’d like to do in Santa’s workshop, every page offers infinite possibilities and will trigger hours of festive discussion! Nick Sharratt’s detailed, jolly illustrations are a joy to behold, and this book is sure to become an essential part of every family Christmas!
Join ‘National Treasure’, broadcaster, author, and dog-lover Claire Balding for a canine adventure around Britain as she talks about her new book Isle of Dogs.
Clare Balding has always been fascinated by the impact dogs have on our lives and the way they have shaped Britain across the centuries. In Isle of Dogs, she explores the characteristics of our favourite breeds, why we’re drawn to them and what they bring out in us, from how we work to how we live.
Clare journeys from Battersea to the Orkney Islands meeting dogs and their owners, to explore the many roles dogs fulfil and the history of how they became such an intrinsic part of our lives. She meets people whose everyday survival depends on their dog, and those whose experience of life has been transformed by them. She also explores our long canine history, rediscovering long-lost working breeds and investigating why it was that our relationship with dogs changed during Queen Victoria’s reign.
We are famed as a nation of dog lovers, but do we truly appreciate how much our lives and our history have been shaped by our connection to dogs?
CLARE BALDING is an award-winning writer and broadcaster who has been at the forefront of TV sports presenting since 1998. She has presented the television coverage of Crufts for nearly two decades and presents Lost Dogs Live on Channel 5, which helps reunite missing dogs with their owners. During most of her childhood she thought she was a dog and has tried to live with the mentality of a Labrador puppy: be pleased to see everyone and treat every new task as an exciting adventure. Her first book, My Animals and Other Family, was published in 2012 and won the National Book Award for biography of the year.
EVENT INFORMATION: A SINGLE TICKET IS £22 AND ADMITS 1, INCLUDING A COPY OF ISLE OF DOGS(RRP £22) FOR COLLECTION ON THE NIGHT. COUPLES TICKETS ARE £32 AND ADMIT 2 PEOPLE INCLUDING 1 BOOK FOR COLLECTION ON THE NIGHT.
At the end of Clare’s talk she will meet the audience and sign books. Only copies of the book received on the night can be signed. There will be bar accepting payment by cash & card. DOORS OPEN 6.15pm, TALK STARTS at 7pm
THE DRAMA HALL IS SITUATED AT THE SHOOTING FIELD STEYNING GRAMMAR SCHOOL CAMPUS, POSTCODE BN443RX. Please access via SHOOTING FIELD, NOT from the coach park / leisure centre on the Horsham Road. There is a large car park within the school grounds after you pass through the green gates.
CLICK ABOVE OR HERE TO BE TAKEN TO OUR TICKETING WEBSITE (BOOKING FEE APPLIES) TiCKETS ALSO AVAILABLE IN STORE OR BY TELEPHONING THE BOOKSHOP ON 01903 812062
Meet Julia Donaldson at her local bookshop as she celebrates the release of her wonderful new book The Oak Tree – along with illustrator Victoria Sandoy! This is an amazing opportunity to get a first edition hardback copy, signed by both author AND illustrator. ABOUT THE OAK TREE The Oak Tree charts the life of a majestic oak tree, in rich, dramatic verse, with charming, colourful illustrations.
A thousand years ago, a tiny acorn fell to the ground. As the years pass, it grows and GROWS into an enormous oak tree. As the centuries sweep by, children play games around the tree, it gives food and shelter to a host of animals, from squirrels and badgers to birds and beetles, and a fleeing king even hides inside its hollow trunk! After a thousand years, the ancient tree finally falls in a storm – but a new acorn sprouts, and the cycle of life begins all over again.
Julia and Victoria’s previous book together was The Christmas Pine, the story of the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree – copies of this book will also be on sale for signing. Plus, Julia has 2 other new books out in September – a new ‘Acorn Wood’ story, Dormouse Has a Cold, and the paperback edition of The Baddies, and we’ll have plenty of these on sale, too! ABOUT THE BOOK-SIGNING It is essential to book your place in advance. Your £12.99 ticket includes 1 copy of The Oak Tree, and allows entry to 1 family group (of up to 5 people) to the book-signing.
The book-signing will be split into 40-minute time-slots to reduce queue times, with 25 family groups in each time slot, starting from 2pm. As each time slot fills up, we will open the next session. If you want to purchase multiple book copies – don’t buy multiple tickets please! You’ll have plenty of chance to buy more books on the day of the signing, and Julia will sign AND name-dedicate ALL books either pre-ordered or purchased at The Steyning Bookshop that day! We regret that we will not accept books from home for signing. The book-signing will hopefully take place under cover in the beautiful back garden of the Steyning Bookshop, weather permitting! We will provide fun games and craft activities and free biscuits / juice for children while you wait to meet Julia.
Do give us a ring if you have any questions or if the time-slot is full – we can open up the next one!
Click above or HERE to be taken to The Steyning Bookshop Ticketsouce page, and choose your time-slot to book.
We are delighted to welcome best-selling novelist and master storyteller Sebastian Faulks to Steyning for the very first time, to discuss his latest novel The Seventh Son – his most ambitious novel to date.
The Seventh Son is a gripping literary thriller which examines what it means to be human, by way of surrogacy, ethics, and power.
When a young American academic Talissa Adam offers to carry another woman’s child, she has no idea of the life-changing consequences….Behind the doors of the Parn Institute, a billionaire entrepreneur plans to stretch the boundaries of ethics as never before. Through a series of IVF treatments, which they hope to keep secret, they propose an experiment that will upend the human race as we know it….Seth, the baby, is delivered to hopeful parents Mary and Alaric, but when his differences start to mark him out from his peers, he begins to attract unwanted attention.
Sebastian Faulks is the author of Charlotte Gray, Birdsong, Engleby, Human Traces, and Snow Country, to name but a few of his acclaimed, award-winning novels.
Sebastian will be in conversation with novelist, academic, and creative writing tutor Suzanne Joinson , we will also have a few copies of her novel ‘The Photographer’s Wife’ on sale. Sebastian and Suzanne will be happy to sign books at the end.
APOLOGIES – EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO THE NEW DATE OF TUESDAY 17th OCTOBER!
We are delighted to present an evening with Gelong Thubten, a Buddhist monk and one of the UK’s most influential meditation teachers, in which he’ll explore how we can use meditation and mindfulness to provide new perspectives on life’s challenges.
Gelong Thubten trained at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Scotland for over 30 years, and is now a highly sought-after teacher of meditation and mindfulness techniques. He works with Silicon Valley tech giants, Hollywood stars, the NHS and schoolchildren, and in universities, hospitals and prisons. He was asked by Marvel to train Benedict Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton in meditation on the set of their film Doctor Strange. He has even delivered keynote speeches for the United Nations, and collaborated with Ruby Wax for her book and theatre show ‘How to be Human’.
Thubten’s new book – AHandbook for Hard Times: A Monk’ s Guide to Fearless Living – explains how we can use meditation to lead a fearless life; one that is rich in compassion, forgiveness, acceptance and courage. Thubten believes that hard times present an opportunity to discover our true strength. By ‘leaning in ’ to our suffering we can re-frame our thinking and arrive at a deeper level of wisdom. Thubten’s previous book, A Monk’s Guide to Happiness, was a Sunday TImes bestseller.
Our evening with Gelong will take place at the Steyning Methodist Church and will include a talk by Gelong and a guided meditation. Those who purchase the book + ticket option will receive their books upon entry. Additional copies of both Thubten’s books will be on sale on the night and Gelong will be happy to sign your books.
Doors open at 7pm and the talk will begin at 7.30pm.
On Wednesday 9th August at 11am join children’s author / illustrator Vicky Woodgate on a tree-tastic journey through the world of forests as she celebrates her new book The Magic of Forests. This will be a fun, informative event for kids aged 5-10 years. Vicky will share lots of amazing forest facts, lead children in a fun draw-along, help them create some leaf art AND make a super duper twig flag! Ticket holders can get £3 off a copy of The Magic of Forests or one of Vicky’s other books in DK’s beautifully-designed MAGIC OF .. series. (RRP £9.99) If the weather is warm this event will take place under shelter in the beautiful bookshop back garden. Accompanying adults do not need to purchase a ticket.
Tickets can be booked online here or in person at the bookshop / by phone on 01903 812062. We prefer if you book in advance as Vicky needs to know numbers for the craft activities.
Join us as we welcome local thriller-writing legend Elly Griffiths for a very special event on the publication day of her new mystery novel The Great Deceiver. The Great Deceiver is the seventh book in Elly’s Brighton Mysteries series, which are set in the 50’s and 60’s and inspired partly by her grandfather’s life on the stage. The Brighton Mysteries are an engaging blend of colourful period detail, sharp plotting and lively, likeable characters, and we can’t wait to discover the next enigma for Max Mephisto the magician to solve! About Elly Griffiths Acclaimed crime author Elly Griffiths worked in publishing before becoming a full-time writer. She is best known for her award-winning, chart-topping Dr Ruth Galloway series and The Brighton Mystery series, and has also written 3 standalone novels and a best-selling mystery series for children. Elly Griffiths lives near Brighton with her husband, an archaeologist. She is #18 on the list of most borrowed authors from UK libraries and is a hugely in demand for events, regularly holding audiences spellbound. About The Great Deceiver – published by Quercus Books 24/10/23 Magician Max Mephisto, now divorced and living in London, is on his way to visit daughter Ruby and her newborn baby when he is hailed by a voice from the past, fellow performer Ted English, aka the Great Deceiver. Ted’s assistant, Cherry, has been found dead in her Brighton boarding house and Ted is convinced that he’ll be accused of her murder. The inhabitants of the boarding house, most of whom are performing in an Old Time Music Hall show on Brighton pier, are a motley crew, and a sinister radio personality called Pal is also connected to the boarding house. Max agrees to talk to his friend, Superintendent Edgar Stephens, who is investigating the case. When a second magician’s assistant is killed, Edgar suspects a serial killer. He persuades Max to come out of semi-retirement and take part in a summer show….. But who can pose as his assistant? Edgar shocks the team by recommending someone close .. The venue for this event is the beautiful Church of St Andrew and St Cuthman in Steyning. Disabled access is available.
TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED ONLINE HERE or from the bookshop, in person or by phone on 01903 812062.
We look forward to welcoming historical novelist FRANCES QUINN to Steyning to discuss her latest novel That Bonesetter Woman, a heart-warming, uplifting story with an unforgettable heroine, set in Georgian London, inspired by the true stories of two infamous celebrities of the time. This event will be ‘bookgroup style ‘ – we invite audience members who’ve chosen the ‘book with ticket‘ option to pick up their copy of That Bonesetter Woman from the shop in advance of the evening, and come armed with questions / observations for the author. Our bookgroups will be in attendance and will have read the book so we cannot guarantee No Spoilers!
The£14 Book with Ticket option gives you a £1 saving compared to buying the book on the night.
Copies of both Frances Quinn’s books will be on sale at the event and Frances will be happy to sign & dedicateyour books.
About That Bonesetter Woman All the gossip and grime of Georgian London are vividly brought to life in this warm-hearted historical novel which tells the uplifting story of clumsy, plain Endurance (Durie) Proudfoot, who has inherited her father’s gift for ‘bone-setting’. But her father thinks it’s no job for a woman and Durie is sent to London to chaperone her beautiful, flighty sister Lucinda. While Lucinda dreams of fame and fortune on the stage, Durie sets up a bone-setting practice, quickly ascending to undreamt-of heights and becoming the toast of fashionable society! But what goes up must come down… Will Durie endure? An addictive, joyful read, filled with quirky characters and fascinating historical detail!
About Frances Quinn Frances Quinn grew up in London and read English at King’s College, Cambridge, realising too late that the course would require more than lying around reading novels for three years. After snatching a degree from the jaws of laziness, she became a journalist, writing for magazines including Prima, Good Housekeeping, She, Woman’s Weekly and Ideal Home, and later branched out into copywriting, producing words for everything from Waitrose pizza packaging to the EasyJet in-flight brochure! After completing the Curtis Brown Creative novel writing course, her first novel, The Smallest Man, was published to great acclaim in 2021. That Bonesetter Woman is her second novel. She lives in Brighton, with her husband and two Tonkinese cats.
TICKETS: Click the Ticket link or call us on 01903 812062
*STEYNING BOOKSHOP BOOK GROUP MEMBERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR TICKETS IN STORE OR BY PHONE*
Come and meet Julia Donaldson at our fun book-signing event, as she celebrates her new book JULIA DONALDSON’S BOOK OF NAMES. For many years, at every book-signing, Julia Donaldson has scribbled down any unusual names she encounters – she has been squirrelling them away for years, working on including them all in a book – and finally, here it is! Set in a magical transforming bookshop, The Book of Names is a love-letter to bookshops and young bookworms, with cute, charming illustrations by Nila Aye, an award-winning new illustrator. Julia has seamlessly woven the names together thematically, from months of the year, colours and flowers to food, history, and gemstones… “I’ve signed for boys called Romeo, and girls called Juliet . I’ve signed for Roman, Saxon, Dane – though not for Norman yet…” Young readers will enjoy trying to find their own name, and even if your name isn’t included, there is a special dedicated space to add it, or even better, for Julia to sign! How it Works It is essential to buy a ticket for the book-signing. Each ‘ticket’ entitles entry for the purchaser AND THEIR FAMILY GROUP (up to 5 persons, please specify how many adults / children) and includes 1 copy of Julia Donaldson’s Book of Names, in hardback, which you’ll be able to get signed & named by Julia. The book-signing will be split into 40-minute time-slots to reduce queue times, with 20 family groups in each time slot, starting from 2pm. As each time slot fills up, we will open the next time-slot. If you want to purchase multiple book copies – don’t buy multiple tickets please! You’ll have plenty of chance to buy more books on the day of the signing, and Julia will sign AND name-dedicate ALL books either pre-ordered or purchased at The Steyning Bookshop that day! The book-signing will hopefully take place under cover in the beautiful back garden of the Steyning Bookshop, weather permitting! We will provide fun games and craft activities and free biscuits / juice for children while you wait to meet Julia.
You can book your space via Ticketsource by following the link below. Do give us a ring if you have any questions or if the time-slot is full – we can open up the next one!
We are very excited about our first fiction author event of 2023 with novelist Sophie Haydock. Sophie’s debut novel The Flames, about the four muses who posed for the artist Egon Schiele in Vienna in the early 1900’s, won the Impress Prize for New Writers and has received widespread critical acclaim. This will be an ‘open book group’ style event – the ticket price includes a paperback copy of ‘The Flames’ and we encourage members of the public to pop into the shop to claim their free book PRIOR to the event, and come primed with questions / observations for the author! There will be lots to talk about as Sophie opens up about her research into the elusive, provocative figure of Schiele, his real-life muses, how they relate to her fictionalised creations, not to mention all the bohemian glamour of Secessionist Vienna!
About The Flames Vienna, 1912. Behind every painting, there is a story… Vienna is at its zenith, an opulent, extravagant city teeming with art, music and radical ideas. It is a place where anything seems possible… Edith and Adele are sisters, the daughters of a wealthy bourgeois family. They are expected to follow the rules, to marry well, and produce children. Gertrude is in thrall to her flamboyant older brother. Marked by a traumatic childhood, she envies the freedom he so readily commands. Vally was born into poverty but is making her way in the world as a model for the eminent artist Gustav Klimt. Fierce, passionate and determined, none of these women is quite what they seem. But their lives are set on a collision course when they become entangled with the controversial young artist Egon Schiele whose work – and private life – are sending shockwaves through Viennese society. All it will take is a single act of betrayal to set their world on fire…
Event Details
Doors Open at 7:00PM Starts at 7:30PM
Steyning Bookshop Book Group Members £10 (Must be purchased via the shop) (includes your copy of The Flames)
Public tickets £13 includes a copy of The Flames in paperback, please let the bookshop know whether you’d like to collect the book to read before the event or will be picking it up it on the night. Call 01903 812062 or email info:steyningbookshop.co.uk . Ticket price includes a glass of something upon arrival.
An immersive evening of mesmerising melodies, pagan poetry and spoken word in the beautiful ambience of St Andrew’s Church, Steyning. Featuring SWIFT WINGS, a spoken-word and live-music performance by Justin Hopper and Sharron Kraus, based on their album of the same name, and THE CULT OF WATER, a captivating monologue by David Bramwell accompanied by music, animation, the voice of Alan Moore and archive film. ABOUT SWIFT WINGS SWIFT WINGS is a haunting performance piece featuring Justin Hopper reading Victor Neuberg’s Sussex landscape poems, set to Kraus’s original music performed live on recorders, flutes, synths & vocals, with hypnotic visuals by Wendy Pye.
The poet Victor Neuburg is best known for his early, tragic relationship with the infamous Aleister Crowley and, later, for ‘discovering’ Dylan Thomas. But he was also a prolific writer and poet, and ran a small publishing press from his home in Vine Cottage in Steyning during the 1920’s, publishing writers from the Bohemian subculture.
Writer Justin Hopper has long been fascinated by Neuberg, and in 2022 published the book ‘Obsolete Spells‘, which collects Neuberg’s Sussex poems and Vine Press oddities along with essays. Justin is also the author of Old Weird Albion, a psycho-geographical meander along the South Downs Way.
Sharron Kraus is a weaver of musical spells best described as “‘Pagan radiophonica meets medieval balladry”…
ABOUT THE CULT OF WATER David Bramwell will take you on a magical odyssey, in search of the occult secrets of our rivers, and a drowned village which has long haunted his memories. From his roots in Doncaster, Bramwell travels up the river Don and back in time, through the ladybird plague and drought of 1976 to the heavily polluted Don of Sheffield’s steel industry, up into the Pennines and back into a pre-Christian era when rivers and springs were worshipped as living deities. Along the journey Bramwell battles with his own thalassophobia (the fear of ‘what lurks beneath’); learns about hydromancy from magician Alan Moore, and encounters Jarvis Cocker on his own adventures, sailing down the Don on an inflatable inner tube…. His journey finally brings him face to face with the goddess of primordial waters, Danu, who gave her name to the Don.
David Bramwell is a writer, musician, broadcaster and performer who also organises the popular Catalyst Club events in Brighton & elsewhere. Hisother books include The Haunted Moustache, No9 Bus to Utopia, The Odysseum and The Mysterium, and his podcast, Adventures in Nutopia, is well worth a listen! THE EVENING WILL ALSO FEATURE A short talk by Victor Neuberg’s daughter Caroline Neuberg on her father’s life, work & legacy. EVENT INFO: Doors open 7pm. Performance starts 7.30pm. There will be a bar serving local ales, cheap plonk & soft drinks. There is a large car park at Fletcher’s Croft, opposite the church. There is a bus service running hourly buses from Shoreham-by-Seato Steyning.
We are SO EXCITED to have bagged author, broadcaster and zoologist Lucy Cooke for what will be a FASCINATING evening as she discusses her brilliant book BITCH.
BITCH will change how you think about sex, sexual identity and sexuality in animals and also the very forces that shape evolution. What does it mean to be female? Mother, carer, the weaker sex? Think again. In the last few decades a revolution has been brewing in zoology and evolutionary biology… Lucy Cooke will introduce us to a riotous cast of animals, and the scientists studying them, that are redefining the female of the species…. From the female lemurs of Madagascar, our ancient primate cousins that dominate the males of their species physically and politically, to female albatross couples, hooking up together to raise their chicks in Hawaii. How about the meerkat mothers of the Kalahari Desert – the most murderous mammals on the planet? The bitches in BITCH overturn outdated binary expectations of bodies, brains, biology and behaviour. TICKET PRICE of £12 includes a paperback copy of Bitch, a glass of something upon entry, and all the revolutionary de-bunking of gender stereotypes you need!
ABOUT LUCY COOKE
Lucy studied zoology under Richard Dawkins at New College, Oxford where she specialised in evolution and animal behaviour. She left academia to become an award-winning writer, producer and presenter of documentaries for both TV and radio. Lucy is also the author of four books, which have been translated into over 20 languages, and a columnist for BBC Wildlife magazine. She is, at heart, a story-teller with a reputation for mixing rigorous cutting-edge science, in-depth investigation and a wry sense of humour to reveal surprising truths about the natural world.
Tickets available from the bookshop, by phone on 01903 812062 or online via Ticketsource, click below.
Join author and natural navigator Tristan Gooley for an evening exploring the secret life of trees, as he celebrates the release of his new book How to Read a Tree. Tristan Gooley has been instructing people in the art of natural navigation, including reading trees, for two decades. During this fascinating evening, Tristan will share the simple principles that explain the shapes and patterns you can see in trees and what they mean. We will learn rare skills that can be applied every time we pass a tree, and learn why no 2 trees are EVER identical. You’ll never look at a tree the same way again! ‘A mesmerising book … Gooley drops learning as lightly as blossom falls in spring.’ – John Lewis-Stempel ABOUT TRISTAN GOOLEY Tristan set up his natural navigation school in 2008 and is the author of the award-winning The Natural Navigator, The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues & Signs, How to Read Water, and Wild Signs and Star Paths. He has written for the Sunday Times, the New York Times, the BBC, The Financial Times and many other periodicals. Tristan has led expeditions in five continents, climbed mountains in Europe, Africa and Asia, sailed small boats across oceans and piloted small aircraft to Africa and the Arctic. He has walked with and studied the methods of the Tuareg, Bedouin and Dayak in some of the remotest regions on Earth. He is the only living person to have both flown solo and sailed singlehanded across the Atlantic and is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Royal Geographical Society. ABOUT THE EVENT Doors open 7pm. Talk starts 7.30pm. A talk plus Q and A by Tristan Gooley, followed by book-signing. Copies of all Tristan’s books will be on sale. Tickets: £17 book & ticket, includes a hardback copy of How to Read a Tree / £7 Ticket only (option to buy book on the night, ticket gives £7 off book RRP of £20)
with support from local poets’ open-mic, MC’ed by Simon Zec.
Join us for an evening of verse with acclaimed poet Henry Normal reading from his new collection, The Fire Hills.
The poems in Fire Hills reflect the landscapes Henry explored upon moving to Fairlight, in East Sussex, as he wandered the Downs, armed only with a pen and unwarranted optimism. Henry will perform a 30-40 minute reading plus Q and A. Our MC for the evening will be local poet Simon Zec, who’ll also be the ‘selector’ for 30 minutes of so of readings from local poets – please submit poems to Simon if you wish to be included in the open mic. The venue is the beautiful Steyning parish church of St Andrew & St Cuthman. There will be a pay bar serving local beers, cheap plonk and soft drinks.
DOORS OPEN 7pm. Event starts 7.30pm.
About Henry Normal Henry is originally from Nottingham, where he first started writing, performing and touring – even opening for bands including Pulp. (He also became Pulp’s tour bus driver!) He was spotted by Channel 4 and moved into television, co-writing both the award-winning Mrs Merton show and the first series of The Royle Family. In 1990 he set up a production company, producing and script-editing many well-loved films & TV series, including the Oscar nominated film Philomena, Gavin and Stacey, Nighty Night, The Mighty Boosh, Red Dwarf and Alan Partridge. In 2017 he was honoured with a special BAFTA for services to Television. He retired in April 2016, and since then has written and performed several shows combining comedy, poetry, and stories about family life for BBC Radio 4. Henry now lives near Hastings with his wife, the screenwriter Angela Pell, and their son Johnny.
To celebrate their stunning new picture book The Bowerbird, come and meet its author, Julia Donaldson, AND illustrator Catherine Rayner, at the Steyning Bookshop for a special book-signing on Saturday 1st April from 2pm. How it Works The book-signing will be split into 40 minute time-slots to reduce queue times, with 20 family groups in each time slot. Each ‘ticket’ entitles entry for the purchaser AND THEIR FAMILY GROUP (up to 5 persons, please specify how many adults / children) and includes 1 copy of The Bowerbird. If you want to purchase multiple copies – don’t buy multiple tickets please! You’ll have plenty of chance to buy more books on the day of the signing, and Julia will sign AND name-dedicate ALL books either pre-ordered or purchased at The Steyning Bookshop that day! We will provide fun activities and free biscuits / juice for children while you wait to meet Julia.
The first 100 pre-orders for The Bowerbird (whether booked via signing tickets or pre-ordered on our website) will receive a free, limited-edition print by Catherine Rayner. We are sorry, but Julia and Catherine will not sign books purchased elsewhere or brought from home. About the Book The Bowerbird sees Julia Donaldson joins forces with illustrator Catherine Rayner for another exotic avian tale, following their beautiful, best-selling book The Go-Away Bird in 2019. Little Bert, the Bowerbird, is looking for love. Bert has painstakingly constructed the MOST perfect Bower, complete with a pretty purple flower… But Nanette, the lady of his dreams, is FAR from impressed. So Bert flies off finding presents from far and wide… Will it EVER be enough to win Nanette’s heart? Julia Donaldson’s evident delight in the natural world shines through and the illustrations are stunning. A real treat of a picture book for under 6’s.
Click below to buy tickets on our Ticketsource page, alternatively you can reserve your space by phone on 01903 812062.
Join writer, vinyl collector and music buff Jonathan Scott as he takes us on a journey to the very beginnings of recorded sound, to celebrate the release of his new book Into the Groove: The Story of Sound from Tinfoil to Vinyl.. We are really excited about this fascinating music/science blend event, which will hopefully answer that eternal question “Just HOW can discs of bumpy plastic capture sound?” Into the Groove follows the grooves from the first capture of airborne sounds, to steampunk synthesisers, from Thomas Edison’s eureka, to first-wave turntablists, from tin-foil to gold, from cylinder to disc, from swinging shellac to victorious vinyl…
Jonathan’s talk will take us on a whistle-stop tour of his fascinating findings, including audio of the earliest sounds – from the first live performance to the first F-bomb! This is vinyl’s origin story, a format repeatedly written off, threatened by radio, tape, compact disc and download, only to endure and come back stronger. A story which starts in 1877 with grooves of tin foil in a workshop in New Jersey, and ends a century later as the format goes interstellar.
An illustrated talk with slides & audio. Complimentary wine / soft drinks will be served. Doors open 7pm, event starts 7.30pm We regret that the venue is not wheel-chair accessible.
Join the fabulous Sophy Henn for an afternoon of DEADLY fun, as we peek inside an alligator’s jaws, investigate why a lion’s tongue is so dangerous, and learn about the world’s ONLY poisonous primate! *With animal draw-along at the end! This fun, interactive event is based on Sophy’s brand new bookLIFESIZE DEADLY ANIMALS,a fact-filled picture book that’s FULL of the world’s DEADLIEST creatures! Ticket gives £4 off one of Sophy Henn’s LIFESIZE books. AGE GUIDE: for children aged 5-9. FAQS: This event will take place in the bookshop back kitchen, so space in limited, therefore we are only issuing 20 tickets. Accompanying adults do not need to purchase a ticket, but as space is very tight, please keep number of adults / baby siblings to a minimum! Parents of children over 7yrs are welcome to drop n go. The event will last 1 hour.
11th December, 2024, Steyning Bookshop