Coronavirus update
We’re working to postpone our events in March, April and May. We will email or text all those who have booked for each event to let them know and advise them of new dates.
If you’re unable to attend an event for whatever reason, please do let us know beforehand. We are very happy to arrange a swap for another event or a credit note to use at any point in the future.
Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley: ‘Falastin’
Monday 30th March, 8pm
Falastin is a love letter to Palestine, the land and its people; an evocative collection of over 110 unforgettable recipes and stories from the co-authors of Jerusalem and Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, and Ottolenghi SIMPLE. Travelling through Bethlehem, East Jerusalem, Nablus, Haifa, Akka, Nazareth, Galilee and the West Bank, Sami and Tara invite you to experience […] See more »
John Carey on ‘A Little History of Poetry’
Tuesday 31st March, 8pm
Professor John Carey is one of our greatest champions of literature, sharing his passionate learning and reading over a long and distinguished career. In his latest book, A Little History of Poetry, he asks what is poetry? If music is sound organised in a particular way, poetry is then a way of organising language. It […] See more »
Round the World – Fiction Reading Group
Wednesday 1st April, 7.15pm
In this monthly reading group we will discuss popular fiction from all over the globe! Perfect for those who want to get a bit more out of what they’re reading, and a chance to talk about it with some like-minded readers. In April we will be discussing Bird Summons by award-winning author, Leila Aboulela. Three Muslim […] See more »
Young Readers Book Group
Sunday 5th April, 11am
Our Young Readers book group is aimed at those aged 8-12yrs. This is a group for young people who have started developing their own reading interests. You will get to talk about what you’re reading, meet other young readers and read new things! There may also be biscuits… Our April book is Lightning Mary by […] See more »
20/20 Vision – Fiction Reading Group
Wednesday 8th April, 7.15pm
The 1920s was an important decade for English literature, with the publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses, Agatha Christie’s first outing for Hercule Poirot and A. A. Milne’s modernist masterpiece, Winnie-the-Pooh, to name only a few innovations. Meeting once a month, this reading group will trace a literary trend from 1920-2020. The first season is six […] See more »
CANCELLED: David Farrier
Wednesday 8th April, 8pm
Unfortunately we have had to cancel some of our events due to Coronavirus. We will email or text all those who have booked to let them know. We are very happy to arrange a swap for another event, a credit note to use at any point in the future, or a refund. Thank you for […] See more »
CANCELLED: Frances Leviston’s Fiction Debut
Thursday 9th April, 8pm
Unfortunately we have had to cancel some of our events due to Coronavirus. We will email or text all those who have booked to let them know. We are very happy to arrange a swap for another event, a credit note to use at any point in the future, or a refund. Thank you for […] See more »
CANCELLED: Patrick Laurie
Tuesday 14th April, 8pm
Unfortunately we have had to cancel some of our events due to Coronavirus. We will email or text all those who have booked to let them know. We are very happy to arrange a swap for another event, a credit note to use at any point in the future, or a refund. Thank you for […] See more »
John Connolly
Tuesday 21st April, 8pm
Witness the beginning of the bestselling Charlie Parker series. It’s 1997, and a killer is targeting young black women in Burdon County, Arkansas. But no one wants to admit there’s a problem, not in the Dirty South – and the killer might just walk free. Meanwhile, in an Arkansas jail cell sits a former NYPD […] See more »
CANCELLED: Sue Lawrence
Wednesday 22nd April, 8pm
Unfortunately we have had to cancel some of our events due to Coronavirus. We will email or text all those who have booked to let them know. We are very happy to arrange a swap for another event, a credit note to use at any point in the future, or a refund. Thank you for […] See more »
James Naughtie
Thursday 23rd April, 8pm
James Naughtie, the acclaimed author and BBC broadcaster, now brings his unique and inquisitive eye to the country that has fascinated him and drawn him across the Atlantic for half a century. In looking at America, from Presidents Nixon through to Trump, he tells the story of a country that is grappling with a dream. […] See more »
Letitia Clark on ‘Bitter Honey’
Friday 1st May, 8pm
In Bitter Honey, chef and writer Letitia Clark invites us into her home on one of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean Sea – Sardinia. From roasted aubergines with mint and salted honey to traditional fresh pastas, the recipes inside this marvelous book transport you to the glittering, turquoise waters and laid-back lifestyle of […] See more »
Gavin Francis
Wednesday 6th May, 8pm
In his bestselling books Adventures in Human Being and Shapeshifters, Scottish physician Gavin Francis guided us through the uncharted territory of the human body. In Island Dreams, he turns his careful eye to our collective fascination with islands, blending stories of his own travels with psychology, philosophy and great voyages from literature. Island Dreams is […] See more »
Maggie O’Farrell
Thursday 7th May, 8pm
Award-winning novelist Maggie O’Farrell celebrates her new novel based on the death of Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, and the writing of the play that bore his name. In a beautiful imagining of the short life of the boy and the untold story of his wife “Agnes” Hathaway, O’Farrell has written a profound exploration of the healing […] See more »
CANCELLED: Tim Parks
Monday 11th May, 8pm
Unfortunately we have had to cancel some of our events due to Coronavirus. We will email or text all those who have booked to let them know. We are very happy to arrange a swap for another event, a credit note to use at any point in the future, or a refund. Thank you for […] See more »
Alastair Campbell
Tuesday 12th May, 8pm
We’re delighted to welcome former spokesman and strategist Alastair Campbell to Edinburgh to present his anticipated memoir, Better to Live. Better to Live is Alastair Campbell’s honest, moving and life affirming account of his lifelong struggle with depression. It is an autobiographical, psychological and psychiatric study, which explores his own childhood, family and other relationships, and examines […] See more »
Michael Peppiatt on ‘The Making of Modern Art’
Thursday 14th May, 8pm
For more than 50 years art historian and critic Michael Peppiatt has written trenchant and lively dispatches from the center of the international art world. In his new volume of key works, he turns his charismatic eye on the making, collection, display, and interpretation of modern art. The Making of Modern Art introduces the artists, […] See more »
Rukmini Iyer on ‘The Roasting Tin Around the World’
Friday 22nd May, 8pm
We’re delighted to welcome the writer behind the hugely popular and bestselling Roasting Tin series. Rukmini Iyer first revolutionised weeknight cooking with her bestselling The Roasting Tin: unfussy, one-tin-fits-all recipes that you can make with just a few supermarket ingredients and a roasting pan. Now she’s back with The Roasting Tin Around the World, a collection of easy, delicious […] See more »
POSTPONED – Adam Rutherford on How To Argue With a Racist
Monday 6th July, 8pm
This event has been postponed and will now take place on Monday 6th July. Race is real because we perceive it. Racism is real because we enact it. Neither race nor racism has foundation in science. But the appeal to science to strengthen racist ideologies is on the rise – and increasingly part of the […] See more »
Stuart Maconie
Wednesday 2nd September, 8pm
This event will now take place on Wednesday 2nd September. In this timely and provocative book, Stuart Maconie tells the story of Britain’s Welfare State through his own history of growing up as a northern working class boy. What was so bad about properly funded hospitals, decent working conditions and affordable houses? And what was […] See more »
Sally Magnusson
Tuesday 22nd September, 9pm
This event will take place on Tuesday 22nd September. Long a familiar face on our TV screens, broadcaster and journalist Sally Magnusson published her debut novel, The Sealwoman’s Gift, to great acclaim in 2018. Now we are delighted to welcome her to Edinburgh to celebrate a new and absorbing tale. The Ninth Child blends fact […] See more »