by Gudrun Bowers | 5, Apr 2018
7.30 pm on Tuesday 1st May at the Gluck Studio in Steyning.
Join us for a very special evening as American writer Justin Hopper is joined by folk musician Sharron Kraus and special guests Geraldine Mitchell and Peter Pick, to perform a collaborative composition inspired by Chanctonbury Ring and the Downs around Steyning.
The performance combines readings from Hopper’s book ‘The Old Weird Albion’, a haunting work of psycho-geography tracing myths, memories and forgotten histories from Winchester to Beachy Head, with new folk compositions written and performed by Kraus on recorders, voice, synths and percussion.
Besides performing collaboratively, there will be short performances from Hopper and Kraus individually, as well as pieces from Sussex musician Peter Pick, and the first-ever UK reading by Irish poet Geraldine Mitchell.
Tickets, priced £8, are available at the shop or can be reserved by phoning us on 01903 812062. Tickets include wine/soft drinks, nibbles, and a £3 off voucher towards a copy of ‘The Old Weird Albion’.
Justin Hopper is an American writer of landscape, memory and myth, whose childhood visits to his grandmother’s home in Steyning inspired his life-long love of the South Downs. His journalism, poetry, audio projects and curated exhibitions have appeared in both his native USA and adopted UK home. He now lives in Constable Country with his partner and their son. His book ‘The Old Weird Albion’ is a lyrical and beautifully-written psycho-geographical memoir, charting Justin’s journeys amongst the South Downs, meeting New Age eccentrics, scholars, artists and folk historians in his search for forgotten myths and overlooked histories along the South Downs Way.
Sharron Kraus is a singer of folk songs, a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose solo work and collaborations offer a dark and subversive take on traditional folk music. As well as drawing on the folk traditions of England and Appalachia, her music is influenced by gothic literature, surrealism, myth and magick. She has released 6 albums and has been featured in The Wire, fRoots, and Uncut. She has also appeared on Radio 3’s ‘The Verb’, and recorded sessions for BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Shropshire, and Freakzone on Radio 6.
by Gudrun Bowers | 26, Jan 2018
On Thursday 22nd March at 7.30pm we are very excited to welcome back award-winning novelist Claire Fuller, who’ll be discussing her new novel ‘Swimming Lessons’, in the atmospheric ambience of the Gluck Studio.
Claire’s first novel ‘Our Endless Numbered Days’ was one of our favourite reads of 2015 – a dark, disturbing story with a punchy twist in the tail, beautifully written with a very distinctive voice. It won the 2015 Desmond Elliott Prize and was a 2016 Richard and Judy Book Club Pick. She came to Steyning and talked to our bookshop bookgroups about that novel, so we are thrilled to have her back!
Her new novel ‘Swimming Lessons’, published by Penguin, follows husband and father Gil Coleman, and his turmoil after a sighting of his wife, Ingrid, who has been missing, presumed drowned, for twelve years. His children, Nan and Flora, return home, and together they begin to confront the mystery of their mother. Is Ingrid dead? Or did she leave? And do the letters hidden within Gil’s books hold the answer to the truth behind his marriage, a truth hidden from everyone including his own children?
The Sunday Times described the book as ‘Thrilling, transporting, and delicately realised’.
Tickets are £12 – public / £10 – Bookshop book group members – to include the book, wine/soft drinks, nibbles, and of course, a fascinating evening of literary insights! Call 01903 812062 to book.
by Gudrun Bowers | 8, Jan 2018
Come down to the bookshop at 11 am on Tuesday 13th February for some arty fun!
Author and illustrator Guy Parker-Rees (illustrator of Giraffes Can’t Dance, Never Ask a Dinosaur to Dinner, author/illustrator of Be Brave Little Penguin, Dylan the Teacher and more) will entertain children with stories and live drawing (with audience participation!) and then we’ll get the pencils out and kids can get busy creating our own colourful characters!
Advance booking advised as places limited to 20 children.
£2 per child, ticket entitles bearer to £2 off one of Guy’s wonderful picture books, which he’ll be happy to sign. Age guide 4-8 ish.
by Gudrun Bowers | 8, Sep 2017
Thursday 9th November, 7.30pm at The Gluck Studio.
Guardian journalist, nature writer and Steyning favourite Patrick Barkham will be giving an illustrated talk about his wonderful new book ‘Islanders‘, in which he explores some of Britain’s most remote and beautiful islands, investigating their flora, fauna, and human history.
The British Isles are an archipelago comprised of 2 large islands and 6,289 smaller ones. Some, like the Isle of Man, are large enough to have their own languages and laws, while others are mysterious, remote and abandoned. As Patrick travels to ever tinier outposts, he meets all kinds of islanders, from nuns to puffins, from local legends to rare subspecies of vole, and seeks to discover the magic of islands, what it is like to live on a small island, and what it means to be an islander.
This will be Patrick’s third visit to Steyning, and his friendly demeanor and encyclopedic nature knowledge make him a very engaging speaker, so do book early for this lovely event at the atmospheric Gluck Studio.
Ticket price of £10 includes wine, and entitles bearer to £5 off Patrick’s new book, a beautifully produced hardback which would make a great Christmas present!
by Gudrun Bowers | 21, Aug 2017
We are thrilled to present a fantastic science event with science writer Dr Michael Brooks and TV presenter/writer Rick Edwards. This entertaining and informative show, based on their hit podcast and upcoming book Science(ish) examines the science behind the movies. Illustrating their theories with film clips from iconic movies, Michael and Rick will ponder whether it’s really possible to bring back an extinct species (Jurassic Park), whether we will ever be able to travel back in time and meet our parents (Back to the Future) and if it is possible that we are, in fact, already living in a computer simulation (The Matrix).
Dr Michael Brooks is an author, journalist and broadcaster, holds a PHD in Quantum Physics and is editor-at-large of the New Scientist, as well as writing a weekly column for the New Statesman. He is the author of At The Edge of Uncertainty, The Secret Anarchy of Science and the bestselling 13 Things That Don’t Make Sense.
Rick Edwards is a TV presenter and writer with a particular interest in mathematics and the natural sciences. As a broadcaster Rick has most recently made a foray in to the world of quizzing as the host of BBC1’s daytime show !mpossible which aired in January 2017 and will return for an extended second run in May this year. Amongst his other numerous presenting credits are: ITV2’s comedy roast Safeword, BBC Three’s live current affairs debate show Free Speech and Channel 4’s Paralympic Breakfast Show. He also writes a monthly fashion column for The Observer, and has made forays into stand-up comedy.
Advance booking highly recommended for this event, as it promises to be fantastic fun and very popular!
Start time is 7.30pm, wine and soft drinks will be on sale, and a reduced price of £7 is available for under 18’s.
Booking is available online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/FDFIGM
or by phoning us on 01903 812062.
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