by Gudrun Bowers | 1, Nov 2019
On Saturday 14th December at 11am we are delighted to welcome author/illustrator Sue Hendra back to the Steyning Bookshop for a fun morning of stories and simple crafting with a Christmassy theme.
Sue Hendra is a firm Steyning Bookshop favourite, having visited us with her partner, Paul Linnet, many times over the years sharing their hilarious and best-selling Supertato books. This time, she will read her festively funny new picture book Oh, Christmas Tree and help children make some Christmassy crafts.
It’s Christmas time and every tree on Sidney Street is beautifully decorated – except for one! This rebellious tree would rather sit at the table and pull crackers on Christmas day than stand in a corner wearing glittery decorations! Bauble, Belle and the Tinsel Snake need the tree to behave, so they can fulfil their decorating destinies, but the argumentative tree just won’t stand still and be decorated….
Tickets are £4 per child, which can be redeemed against the purchase of one of Sue’s books.
Free refreshments will be served – please let us know in advance if your child has any food allergies.
Call 01903 812062 or pop into the bookshop to book your place, or book online here.
by Gudrun Bowers | 1, Nov 2019
On Thursday November 14th from 7pm until 9pm we are really delighted to offer a Christmas Card lino-cut workshop led by Sarah Burns and Alice Garner.
Sarah Burns is a textile designer and woodblock printer who creates beautiful hand printed textiles, runs natural-dye / print-making workshops and has teamed up with Alice Garner as Steyning Imprint, producing delightful lino-cut tea-towels, hand-made notebooks, and other items – you may have seen their lovely Steyning tea-towels on sale in the bookshop. Both of them moonlight from their creative endeavours as part-time Steyning Bookshop staff!
Sarah and Alice will teach participants how to use lino-cut to produce lovely Christmas card designs. No experience is necessary, all levels from beginners up are welcome, and all materials are provided.
Wine / tea / coffee and nibbles will be served to help the creative juices flow.
Places are strictly limited to 14 participants, so please book your place asap. This event is for adults.
£20 per person.
Call 01903 812062 to book, pop into the shop, or book online here .
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by Gudrun Bowers | 12, Sep 2019
On Tuesday 8th October, join us for an evening of confessional girly fun with added gin as we welcome novelist Jane Hoggarth to talk about her ‘Single Mum’ novels.
After her husband walked out on her, leaving her with three young children, Janet Hoggarth teamed up with two single mum friends and formed a ‘mommune’. Three women, six children, in one South London house, living, laughing and sharing together – “Like a marriage, but better”. Sounds like a dream!
Janet turned her memories of this time into a funny, fresh and warm-hearted novel, ‘The Single Mums’ Mansion’, and has now published the follow-up – ‘The Single Mums Move On’.
Janet will share her memories of what led to her forming the ‘mommune’ and what followed, as well as talking about the novels and her literary life.
Tickets are £5 to include a complimentary glass of gin and tonic and a voucher towards book purchase!
Janet Hoggarth has worked on a chicken farm, as a bookseller, children’s book editor, and as a DJ (with her best friend, under the name of Whitney and Britney!). She has published several children’s books, the most recent ones written under the pseudonym of Jess Bright. Her first adult novel, The Single Mums’ Mansion is based on her experiences of living communally as a single parent.
by Gudrun Bowers | 12, Sep 2019
Thursday 3rd October at 7.30pm.
Come celebrate National Poetry Day with us and the good folks of ‘Spoken Steyning’ at the lovely Gluck Studio.
An evening of poetry, wine and music, with local poets including Simon Zec sharing their work, also featuring a poetry ‘free for all’ where anyone can share a favourite poem, whether it be self-penned or written by a pro! Special (non-local?) guest poet to be announced nearer the time! Pleasing folky live music will add to the ambience, and wine will flow.
by Gudrun Bowers | 30, Aug 2019
Very last minute but Julia has just kindly agreed to come for a signing for her brilliant new book The Smeds and the Smoos!
This will take place on Saturday 7th September here at the Steyning Bookshop, from 10.30 am till 12.30 pm. If you wish to attend, you must pre-order and pay for your copy of The Smeds and the Smoos (£12.99) by phoning us on 01903 812062 or popping into the shop. For queue management, we will divide the 2 hour period into 30 minute time slots, and let you know your time slot when you pre-order. As always, all Julia’s other books will be on sale and available for signing, you can shop for these when you arrive. We must ask that you do not bring books purchased elsewhere, or books from home to be signed. If the weather is warm the signing will be in the garden. Free activities and refreshments for children will be provided.
*Local customers who are not able to attend the signing but wish to obtain a signed and dedicated book can pre-order a book to be picked up at a later date*
The Smeds and the Smoos is an out of this world intergalactic love story from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
In a distant galaxy, far far away…The Smeds (who are red) never mix with the Smoos (who are blue), so when a young Smed and Smoo fall in love, their families strongly disapprove. The star-struck lovers elope on a cosmic rocket trip around the universe, meeting all manner of curious extra-terrestrials. Eventually, a bouncing purple baby brings the two tribes together, and love and unity prevail!
This wonderful picture book is a joyous celebration of inclusivity and diversity, with Julia Donaldson’s humorous rhymes exuberantly brought to life by Axel’s colourfully hilarious illustrations. A real treat for bedtimes!
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by Gudrun Bowers | 8, Aug 2019
We are really pleased to welcome the marvellous Camilla Stephens to the Steyning & District Food & Drink Festival. Camilla is the founder of the acclaimed locally based success story Higgidy Pies. She trained as a cook at Leith’s School of Food and Wine and worked for a time as head of food development for Starbucks UK before leaving to follow her dreams and start her own business – Higgidy.
In her first cookery book, Higgidy:The Cookbook, Camilla introduced excitingly delicious recipes for much more than just pies, and now she has produced Higgidy – The Veggie Cookbook: 120 glorious recipes for Vegetarians and Vegans, a mouth-watering and inspiring collection of recipes very definitely not just for vegetarians, but for anyone who enjoys fresh flavours!
This will be a great evening, with scrumptious food cooked by the Sussex Produce Chef followed by an fascinating interview with Camilla, who’ll share anecdotes, tips and stories from her inspirational career.
£30 ticket includes delicious freshly-cooked 3 course meal, author interview, and a book voucher towards purchase of Higgidy – The Veggie Cookbook.
Here is the menu for the evening:
STARTER
Selection plates of: Higgidy Feta & Red Pepper Veggie Rolls, Higgidy Cheddar & Onion Chutney Veggie Rolls, Higgidy Sun lBush Tomato & Cheddar Swirls, Higgidy Mature Cheddar & Pesto Swirls, All served with Beetroot Muhammar, REd Pepper Romesco, and Broad Bean and Mint dip.
MAINS (please make your choice after booking and email / phone / pop in to let us know your choices)
Local Broad Bean & Chives Gnocchi served with shaved parmesan and local pea cress.
OR
Local Smoked Cheddar Tart with Walnut Crumb served with local beetroot quinoa and a salad of local apples, celery and dill.
OR
Buffalo Mozzarella Salad, mixed Nutbourne Tomato and Green Olive Focaccia Salad.
DESSERTS (please make your choice after booking and email / phone / pop in to let us know your choices)
Local Greengage Fool served with fresh berries & homemade shortbread
OR
Local Plum Cobbler served with creme anglaise
OR
Fig & Almond Frangipane Tart served with fresh berries & whipped mascarpone.
Doors open at 7pm, meal begins at 7.30pm. Tickets must be booked in advance and menu choices must be submitted in advance.
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by Gudrun Bowers | 18, Jul 2019
We are so pleased to welcome the wonderful writer/illustrator Sophy Henn to our bookshop garden tent for a fun kids event!
Sophy will get busy with stories plus drawing, cutting, sticking and making activities based around her lovely picture book Super Duper You, a gorgeous rhyming picture book which celebrates the difference and uniqueness of what makes you YOU!
This event is perfect for children aged 4-8. All materials will be provided, free refreshments will be served, and the £4 ticket price is redeemable against a purchase of one of Sophy’s books.
Sophy Henn is a Sussex-based writer/illustrator who is a real rising star! Where Bear?, her first picture book, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in 2015, and she was selected as the official World Book Day Illustrator for 2015 and 2016. Her jolly, bright and charming picture books which include Pass it On, Edie and Almost Anything have earned her widespread acclaim, and now she has branched out into chapter books with her hilarious Bad Nana series!
Wednesday 14th August starting at 10.30am.
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by Gudrun Bowers | 28, May 2019
On Tuesday 16th July, at 7.30 pm we are delighted to celebrate the launch of a new crime imprint from the acclaimed independent publishing house Canongate; Black Thorn, which will be dedicated to publishing compulsive, high quality crime fiction. We are thrilled that Simon Brett and Caro Ramsey, two veteran crime authors from the new Blackthorn imprint, will be joining us at the Gluck Studio to discuss their craft.
Sussex resident Simon Brett is a very well-loved crime writer, who was awarded an OBE for ‘services to literature’ in 2016. In 2014 he won the CWA’s prestigious Diamond Dagger for an outstanding body of work. Simon has written over 100 books and plays, with the Fethering Mysteries series being one of his most popular and enduring creations, so fans will be delighted to learn that now Blackthorn are publishing The Liar in the Library, the most recent instalment of the Fethering series. Filled with eccentric suspects, red-herrings and twists at every turn, and starring much-loved, eccentric, amateur detectives Jude Nichol and Carole Seldon, Simon Brett proves once again that he is the master of the modern who-dunnit.
Meanwhile, Glaswegian author Caro Ramsay is also a seasoned professional – The Suffering of Strangers is the ninth book in her critically acclaimed DI Anderson and DS Costello series. Never fearful of facing sensitive or serious issues head on, Caro tackles topics ranging from violent child abuse and sexual assault to child trafficking. Her novels are informed by her diploma in Forensic Medical Science from Glasgow University and from her own involvement in healthcare as a successful osteopath. The Suffering of Strangers is a tautly plotted and compellingly gritty drama centring around a child abduction case, set amidst the seedy back streets of Glasgow.
We are really looking forward to hearing Simon and Caro discuss the nitty-gritty of crime writing, it promises to be a fascinating evening for curious crime fans!
by Gudrun Bowers | 23, May 2019
On Wednesday July 10th we are thrilled to announce a very special Double Author Supper at the Sussex Produce Company Cafe, welcoming novelists Mike Gayle and Ruth Hogan to Steyning for the first time. A perfect pairing of two very popular novelists known for their heartfelt, moving and uplifting stories.
Mike Gayle was born and raised in Birmingham. After graduating from university with a degree in Sociology, he moved to London to pursue a career as a journalist, features editor and agony uncle. The success of his first novel, My Legendary Girlfriend, meant he could turn to writing full-time, and he has now published 16 novels! Mike’s bestselling novels have taken his millions of readers through every significant occasion for the modern man – friendship, courtship, stag weekends, marriage, work, holidays, infidelity, mid-life crises….all tackled with his trademark wit, warmth and wisdom – supremely readable and more-ish! His latest novel Half a World Away follows single mum Kerry as she begins to search for the sibling who was torn away from her when she was taken into care as a child…a heart-breaking mission which will turn lives upside down and have far-reaching consequences.
Ruth Hogan’s first novel The Keeper of Lost Things was published in 2017, to huge acclaim. Winner of the Richard & Judy Reader’s Award, a Sunday Times best-seller, and one of the Mail on Sunday‘s ‘Best books to read on the beach this summer’, it is a poignant story with vivid and lovable characters. Ruth’s second novel, The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes was a Prima Best Book of 2018, and continued to show Ruth’s gift for creating eccentric characters amidst a heart-rending story. Ruth will discuss her new novel, Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel – a colourful exploration of mother-daughter relationships, set partly in Brighton. Ruth has had a rocky journey to writing; a car accident and a brush with cancer caused her to give up her day job in local government but allowed her to devote more time to the writing she had always loved.
We can’t wait to meet Mike and Ruth and hear more about their writing lives!
Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30 start. Tickets priced £30 include a delicious 2 course hot meal and a signed copy of either Mike’s new novel Half a World Away or Ruth’s latest: Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel.
by Gudrun Bowers | 2, May 2019
Sunday 23rd June at 10.30am. Meet at Chanctonbury Ring Car Park.
Join anthropologist and presenter Mary-Ann Ochota for a 2 hour guided circular walk around Chanctonbury Ring. Mary-Ann will share her knowledge of the man-made landscape features we encounter along the way, and will tell us about all the particular features unique to this fascinating Weald & Downland area, which has a wealth of history.
2 hour walk, not suitable for push-chairs or wheel-chairs. Sensible footwear and clothing advised. The route will follow public footpaths and may include some fairly steep ascents. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome. Start and end point will be the Chanctonbury Ring car park, opposite the Wiston turning on the A283.
