 SIMON MAYO
Mad Blood Stirring Monday 23rd April
12 Noon (doors 11.15am)
Wynnstay Hotel, Oswestry
Join much loved radio presenter Simon Mayo as he talks about his debut historical novel, Mad Blood Stirring – an astonishing fictional account of an explosive piece of neglected history. The Anglo-American conflict of 1812 is one of history's forgotten episodes, but as well as The White House being torched by British troops, many Americans were taken prisoner and shipped back to Britain, where they were incarcerated within the iconically grim granite walls of Dartmoor Prison. 1815: The war is over but for the inmates at Dartmoor Prison, peace – like home – is still a long way away. On the eve of the year 1815, the American sailors of the Eagle finally arrive at Dartmoor prison; bedraggled, exhausted but burning with hope. They've only had one thing to sustain them – a snatched whisper overheard along the way. The war is over. Joe Hill thought he'd left the war outside these walls but it's quickly clear that there's a different type of fight to be had within. The seven prison blocks surrounding him have been segregated; six white and one black. As his voice rings out across the courtyard, announcing the peace, the redcoat guards bristle and the inmates stir. The powder keg was already fixed to blow and Joe has just lit the fuse. Elizabeth Shortland, wife of the Governor looks down at the swirling crowd from the window of her own personal prison. The peace means the end is near, that she needn't be here for ever. But suddenly, she cannot bear the thought of leaving. Inspired by a true story, Mad Blood Stirring tells of a few frantic months in the suffocating atmosphere of a prison awaiting liberation. It is a story of hope and freedom, of loss and suffering. It is a story about how sometimes, in our darkest hour, it can be the most unlikely of things that see us through. We're delighted to be hosting this lunchtime event with Simon – don't miss this chance to meet him and hear about the inspiration for his novel.
Tickets: £10 (Without book - £5 redeemable against a signed copy of Mad Blood Stirring) or £15 (With book - includes a signed copy of Mad Blood Stirring) . Tickets available from the bookshop, or purchase online (with booking fee) here
If you can't make the event but would like a signed and dedciated copy of the book, please let us know. You can also pre-order a signed copy online here |  AJ PEARCE
Dear Mrs Bird Thursday 10th May
7.30pm (doors 7.00pm)
Booka
Dear Reader – join us for an evening in the company of AJ Pearce as she talks about her irresistable debut novel, Dear Mrs Bird, sure to be one of the most loved and talked about debuts of 2018.
London, 1940. Emmeline Lake and her best friend Bunty are trying to stay cheerful despite the Luftwaffe making life thoroughly annoying for everyone. Emmy dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent and when she spots a job advertisement in the newspaper she seizes her chance – but after a rather unfortunate misunderstanding, she finds herself typing letters for the formidable Henrietta Bird, the renowned agony aunt of Woman's Friend magazine. Mrs Bird is very clear: letters containing any form of Unpleasantness must go straight into the bin. But as Emmy reads the desperate pleas from women who may have Gone Too Far with the wrong man, or can't bear to let their children be evacuated, she decides the only thing for it is to secretly write back . . . Irresistibly funny and enormously moving, Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce is a love letter to the enduring power of friendship, the kindness of strangers and the courage of ordinary people in extraordinary times. We're delighted to be welcoming AJ to Booka as part of our 'Discover a Debut' season of events, bringing some of the very best new writers to Oswestry. Tickets: £6 (£5 redeemable against a signed copy of Dear Mrs Bird) Includes a glass of wine/soft drink on arrival. Tickets available from the bookshop or purchase online (with booking fee) here
If you can't make the event but would like a signed and dedciated copy of the book, please let us know. |  AN EVENING WITH JON SOPEL
Notes from Trump's America Friday 1st June
7.30pm (doors 7.00pm)
Wynnstay Hotel Oswestry Join us for an evening with the one of Britain's best known political journalists, Jon Sopel, as he lifts the lid on Trump's America and paints a fascinating and insightful portrait of American life and politics seen through British eyes. In the time it has taken for a reality star to go from laughingstock to leader of the free world, the BBC's North America Editor Jon Sopel has travelled the length and breadth of the United States, experiencing it from a perspective that most of us could only dream of: he has flown aboard Air Force One, interviewed President Obama and has even been described as `a beauty' by none other than Donald Trump. Through music, film, literature, TV and even through the food we eat and the clothes that we wear we all have a highly developed sense of what America is and through our shared, tangled history we claim a special relationship. But America today feels about as alien a country as you could imagine. It is fearful, angry and impatient for change. Jon Sopel lifts a lid on the seething resentments, profound anxieties and sheer rage that found its embodiment in a brash, unpredictable and seemingly unstoppable figure. Jon's book, If Only They Didn't Speak English, is our guide to this new America and is published in paperback on 31st May. It includes an extensive new chapter charting Trump's first year in power. In it he sets out to answer our questions about a country that once stood for the grandest of dreams but which is now mired in a storm of political extremism, racial division and increasingly perverse beliefs. We're delighted to welcome Jon to Oswestry and look forward to an evening full of insight as he provides his unique perspective of Trump's America. Tickets: £10 (without book - £3 redeemable against book purchase) or £15 (with book - includes a signed copy of book RRP £9.99) Tickets available from the bookshop or purchase online (with booking fee) here
If you can't make the event but would like a signed and dedciated copy of the book, please let us know. |  LITTLE BOOKWORMS
with Maisy & Hannah Butler We'll be hosting our next Little Bookworms with Hannah Butler and special guest Maisy Mouse on Monday 30th April at 10.00am.
Suitable for young ones aged 2-4 years , these popular sessions explore stories through craft activities, sensory experiences, music making, rhythmic language, play and early phonics for reading. Come and join the fun - the session costs £12 and includes a copy of the featured book plus tea/coffee for the parent/carer! | |  KATE MOSSE
The Burning Chambers Wednesday 2nd May
7.30pm (doors 7.00pm)
Wynnstay Hotel, Oswestry
Join us for an evening in the company of international bestselling author Kate Mosse as she talks about her highly anticipated new novel, The Burning Chambers.
Bringing sixteenth-century Languedoc vividly to life, The Burning Chambers is a gripping story of love and betrayal, mysteries and secrets; of war and adventure, conspiracies and divided loyalties. . . . Carcassonne 1562: Nineteen-year-old Minou Joubert receives an anonymous letter at her father's bookshop. Sealed with a distinctive family crest, it contains just five words: SHE KNOWS THAT YOU LIVE. But before Minou can decipher the mysterious message, a chance encounter with a young Huguenot convert, Piet Reydon, changes her destiny forever. For Piet has a dangerous mission of his own, and he will need Minou's help if he is to get out of La Cit̩ alive. Toulouse: As the religious divide deepens in the Midi, and old friends become enemies, Minou and Piet both find themselves trapped in Toulouse, facing new dangers as sectarian tensions ignite across the city, the battle-lines are drawn in blood and the conspiracy darkens further. Meanwhile, as a long-hidden document threatens to resurface, the mistress of Puivert is obsessed with uncovering its secret and strengthening her power . . . We're delighted to be hosting this event with Kate to celebrate the publication of The Burning Chambers Рthe first novel in a major new trilogy. Come and meet Kate and discover the inspiration for her novels.
Tickets: £10 (without book - £7 redeemable against a signed copy of The Burning Chambers) or £20 (with book - includes a signed copy of The Burning Chambers). Tickets available from the bookshop or purchase online (with booking fee) here
If you can't make the event but would like a signed and dedciated copy of the book, please let us know. You can also pre-order a signed copy online here |  WHITNEY BROWN
Between Stone and Sky: Memoirs of a Waller Thursday 24th May
7.30pm (doors 7.00pm)
Booka Join us for an evening with Whitney Brown as she talks about her memoir Between Stone & Sky: Memoirs of A Waller. At the age of twenty-six, Whitney Brown was midway through her Masters thesis and on track for an exciting position at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington when a chance meeting with a Welsh dry-stone waller at a Festival changed the course of her life. Within weeks she was out on the hill with him in Wales, learning the language of dry-stone walling. Far away from the pressures of her old life, she found deep satisfaction in working with her hands, in the age and heft of the stones, and the ring of the hammer. Out under the open sky, Whitney relished every sore muscle and smashed finger, opportunity to stand atop a wall she'd just built and feel like the strongest woman alive. Between Stone and Sky is a celebration of the raw and rugged splendour of the Welsh countryside and the enduring beauty and relevance of traditional craftsmanship. It is an unflinchingly honest account of the emotional struggle to become and belong. Most of all, it is an empowering story of female friendship, accepting uncertainty and risk, and crossing oceans in pursuit of dreams. We're delighted to be hosting this event with Whitney as part of our 'Great Outdoors' season of events.
Tickets: £6 (£5 redeemable against a signed copy of Between Stone and Sky). Includes a glass of wine / soft drink on arrival. Tickets available from the bookshop, or purchase online (with booking fee) here. If you can't make the event but would like a signed and dedciated copy of the book, please let us know.
|  CHRISTIE WATSON
The Langauge of Kindness: A Nurses Story Monday 4th June
7.30pm (doors 7.00pm)
Booka
Join us for an evening in the company of Christie Watson as she talks about her memoir The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story – a tender, informative and unflinching account of what it means to be a nurse. Christie Watson was a nurse for twenty years. Taking us from birth to death and from A&E to the mortuary, The Language of Kindness is an astonishing account of a profession defined by acts of care, compassion and kindness. We watch Christie as she nurses a premature baby who has miraculously made it through the night, we stand by her side during her patient's agonising heart-lung transplant, and we hold our breath as she washes the hair of a child fatally injured in a fire, attempting to remove the toxic smell of smoke before the grieving family arrive. In our most extreme moments, when life is lived most intensely, Christie is with us. She is a guide, mentor and friend. And in these dark days of division and isolationism, she encourages us all to stretch out a hand. The Language of Kindness is a remarkable paean to nurses, in which Watson reminds us not only how special they are, but also that, one day or other, we will all — as the loved ones of patients, or as patients ourselves — come to rely on the kindness of such strangers. Christie Watson has written a timely, moving and unforgettable book about a profession under enormous strain. Don't miss this chance to hear her story as she shares the tragedies and joys of her career capturing the very essence of nursing today. Tickets: £6 (£5 redeemable against a signed copy of The Language of Kindness). Includes a glass of wine / soft drink on arrival. Tickets available from the bookshop, or purchase online (with booking fee) here
If you can't make the event but would like a signed and dedciated copy of the book, please let us know. |  A MORNING WITH JACQUELINE WILSON Saturday 9th June
11.00am (doors 10.15am)
Lion Quays Hotel
Oswestry, SY11 3EN
Join us for a morning with bestselling children's author, Jacqueline Wilson, as she talks about her writing career, her best loved characters and her new book, Rose Rivers. Former Children's Laureate, Dame Jacqueline Wilson has written over 100 books and has created some of the most loveable and memorable characters in modern children's literature, including Tracy Beaker and Hetty Feather. Beautifully illustrated by Nick Sharatt, Rose Rivers is a wonderful new story starring old friends and new from the much-beloved Victorian world of Hetty Feather. Every book by Jacqueline Wilson is very special. So is this event… We're thrilled to be bringing Jaqueline to Oswestry – don't miss this unique opportunity to see her! Please note – there will be no book signing after this event but printed bookplates with Jacqueline's signature will be included with every book. There will be plenty of time for children to ask questions. Copies of some of Jacqueline's other books will be available to purchase on the day. Tickets: £15 with book (Includes a copy of Rose Rivers) & £7 Accompanying Adult/Additional Child (£3 redeemable against book purchase. Tickets available from the bookshop, or purchase online (with booking fee) here | |
