Children’s event. Strong Brave True: Great Scots Who Changed the World
Sunday 20th October, 11am
Strong Brave True: Great Scots Who Changed the World . . . And How You Can Too by Mairi Kidd and Tom Morgan-Jones. Incredible stories of the great Scots who changed the world we live in. Let the lives of these artists, explorers, poets, philosophers and engineers inspire your children! Did you know that… Williamina Fleming was an […] See more »
Olivia Gatwood
Monday 21st October, 8pm
At times blistering and riotous, at times soulful and exuberant, Olivia Gatwood’s new book, Life of the Party is about what it means to be a girl and a woman in today’s world and the challenge of briefly being both. Join us at one of her tour dates to celebrate its publication this Autumn. Olivia […] See more »
Jung Chang
Tuesday 22nd October, 8pm
The best-known modern Chinese fairy tale is the story of three sisters from Shanghai, who for most of the twentieth century were at the centre of power in China. It was sometimes said that `One loved money, one loved power and one loved her country’, but there was far more to the Soong sisters than […] See more »
Kim-Joy on Baking
Monday 28th October, 8pm
We’re very excited about this: everyone’s favourite Great British Bake Off finalist, Kim-Joy, is coming to talk to us, and bringing tasters! Infuse your baking with a sprinkle of glitter, a rainbow of colours and a menagerie of woodland creatures with the help of this unique baking book. Whether you want to learn how to […] See more »
A C Grayling
Tuesday 29th October, 8pm
A C Grayling needs little introduction: he is a prolific writer, having written and edited over 30 books on philosophy and other subjects; he has been a columnist for the Guardian and The Times; and, he is currently Master of the New College of the Humanities in London. He is, in short, an exceptionally intelligent […] See more »
Photographer David Yarrow
Friday 1st November, 8pm
“I am not a wildlife photographer; I am a photographer… I am subject agnostic with just one caveat – the subject must interest me or challenge me. I want this book to showcase the breadth and magnificence of life on our planet by taking readers on an evocative and immersive journey that is distinctive.” For […] See more »
Rick Stein
Friday 8th November, 8pm
Over fifty years ago Rick Stein first set foot in France. Now, he returns to the food and cooking he loves the most – and makes us fall in love with French food all over again. Rick’s meandering quest through the byways and back roads of rural France sees him pick up inspiration from Normandy […] See more »
Paul Murton on The Viking Isles
Monday 11th November, 8pm
Paul Murton has long had a love of the Viking north – the island groups of Orkney and Shetland – which, for centuries, were part of the Nordic world as depicted in the great classic the Orkneyinga Saga. Today this fascinating Scandanavian legacy can be found everywhere – in physical remains, place-names, local traditions and […] See more »
Charles Moore on Margaret Thatcher
Tuesday 12th November, 12.15pm
With this the final third volume of his biographies on Margaret Thatcher, Charles Moore has written the definitive account of Britain’s first female Prime Minister. How did Margaret Thatcher change and divide Britain? How did her model of combative female leadership help shape the way we live now? How did the woman who won the […] See more »
José Pizarro on Andalusian Cookery
Tuesday 12th November, 8pm
Our leading Spanish chef, José Pizarro appears on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen and Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch and has an award-winning collection of restaurants in London. His gorgeous new cookbook focuses on the mouth-watering dishes from the Andalusia region of southern Spain. Join us for a glass of something, in the lovely surroundings of the bookshop, […] See more »
Tom Holland
Wednesday 13th November, 8pm
Christianity is the most enduring and influential legacy of the ancient world, and its emergence the single most transformative development in Western history. Even the increasing number in the West today who have abandoned the faith of their forebears, and dismiss all religion as pointless superstition, remain recognisably its heirs. Seen close-up, the division between […] See more »
Julian Barnes on the Belle Époque
Thursday 14th November, 8pm
The Man Booker Prize-winning author of The Sense of an Ending takes us on a rich, witty tour of Belle Epoque Paris, via the life story of the pioneering surgeon Samuel Pozzi. In the summer of 1885, three Frenchmen arrived in London for a few days’ shopping. One was a Prince, one was a Count, […] See more »
Gaia Vince
Wednesday 20th November, 8pm
Humans now live longer and better than ever before, and we are the most populous big animal on earth. Meanwhile, our closest living relatives, the now-endangered chimpanzees, continue to live as they have for millions of years. We are not like the other animals, yet we evolved through the same process. What are we then? […] See more »
Erin Morgenstern
Monday 25th November, 8pm
The magical new novel from the bestselling author of The Night Circus. When Zachary Rawlins stumbles across a strange book hidden in his university library it leads him on a quest unlike any other. Its pages entrance him with their tales of lovelorn prisoners, lost cities and nameless acolytes, but they also contain something impossible: […] See more »
Flora Shedden
Monday 25th November, 8pm
Flora Shedden is best known for competing in the Great British Bake Off in 2015. She finished as the competition’s youngest ever semi-finalist, going on to present food programmes for BBC Radio Scotland and write a weekly baking column for the Sunday Telegraph. She joins us to celebrate Aran, her second cookbook. Taking its name […] See more »
Salley Vickers
Tuesday 3rd December, 8pm
The new novel from Salley Vickers, Grandmothers is the story of three very different women and their relationship with the younger generation: fiercely independent Nan, who leads a secret life as an award-winning poet when she is not teaching her grandson Billy how to lie; glamorous Blanche, deprived of the company of her beloved granddaughter […] See more »
Alexander McCall Smith
Thursday 5th December, 8pm
We are delighted to welcome Alexander McCall Smith, the master chronicler of modern life and manners, for an evening celebrating his writing. Alexander is a gifted storyteller, who spins intriguing and hugely enjoyable tales. This year’s have included The Second Worst Restaurant in France, The Peppermint Tea Chronicles (a new installment in the 44 Scotland […] See more »