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'TWISTS IN THE TALE' - HARRIET TYCE & JENNY BLACKHURST
Thursday 14th March
7.30pm (doors 7.00pm)
Booka Love the suspense of a good psychological thriller and looking for your next compulsive read? Then join us for an evening 'in conversation' with Harriet Tyce and Jenny Blackhurst as they come together to talk about their new books 'Blood Orange' and 'The Night She Died' Blood Orange is the electrifying debut thriller from Harriet Tyce. Utterly addictive it explores the power of desire, jealousy and betrayal. Full of dark drama and unexpected twists, The Night She Died is the latest psychological thriller from bestselling Shrewsbury based author Jenny Blackhurst. If you love dark, domestic noir with sharp prose, compelling characters and gloriously twisted plots then both these books are for you. Come and meet Harriet and Jenny, hear how they started their writing careers, trade stories of their craft and discuss how they create those gripping storylines. Harriet & Jenny will be interviewed by fellow author Adam Hamdy. Tickets: £5 (redeemable against a signed copy of either author's book). Includes a glass of wine / soft drink on arrival. Tickets available from the bookshop, or purchase online (with booking fee) HERE | 
JOHN LEWIS-STEMPEL
Still Water
Friday 22nd March
7.30pm (doors 6.45pm)
Booka Join us for an evening with the award winning and bestselling nature-writer, John Lewis-Stempel, as he talks about his new book Still Water: The Deep Life of the Pond. The Pond. Nothing in the countryside is more humble or more valuable. It's the moorhen's reedy home, the frog's ancient breeding place, the kill zone of the beautiful dragonfly. More than a hundred rare and threatened fauna and flora depend on it. Written in gorgeous prose, Still Water tells the seasonal story of the wild animals and plants that live in and around the pond, from the mayfly larvae in the mud to the patrolling bats in the night sky above. It reflects an era before the water was polluted with chemicals and the land built on for housing, a time when ponds shone everywhere like eyes in the land, sustaining life for all, from fish to carthorse. Still Water is a loving biography of the pond, and an alarm call on behalf of this precious but overlooked habitat. Above all, John Lewis-Stempel takes us on a remarkable journey – deep, deep down into the nature of still water. Widely regarded as one of the best nature-writers of his generation and twice winner of the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing we're delighted to welcome John Lewis-Stempel back to Booka. Tickets: £5 (redeemable against a signed copy of Still Water). Includes a glass of wine or soft drink on arrival. Tickets available from the bookshop or purchase online (with booking fee) HERE | 
KATE SPICER
Lost Dog
Tuesday 9th April
7.30pm (doors 7.00pm)
Booka Join writer and journalist Kate Spicer as she talks about her life-affirming tragicomic memoir Lost Dog, a tender true story of one woman and her dog, both lost and rescued by love. Kate Spicer is a middle-aged woman trying to steer some order into a life that is going off the rails. When she adopts a lurcher called Wolfy, the shabby rescue dog saves her from herself. But when the dog disappears, it is up to Kate to hit the streets of London and find him. Will she save him, as he has saved her – or will she lose everything? Trying to find her dog tests her relationship, and her sanity, to its limits – and gets her thinking about her life, and why things have turned out as they have for her. Lost Dog is a book like no other about both the myth of modern womanhood, and the enduring mystery of the relationship between human and canine. Come and hear Kate and Wolfie's heartwarming story and meet Wolfie too! Tickets: £5 (redeemable against a signed copy of Lost Dog). Includes a glass of wine or soft drink on arrival. Tickets available from the bookshop or purchase online (with booking fee) HERE | 
JESS KIDD
Things in Jars
Tuesday 16th April
7.30pm (doors 7.00pm)
Booka Join us for an evening in the company of Costa award winning author Jess Kidd as she talks about her enchanting Victorian detective novel Things in Jars. London, 1863. Bridie Devine, the finest female detective of her age, is taking on her toughest case yet. Reeling from her last job and with her reputation in tatters, a remarkable puzzle has come her way. Christabel Berwick has been kidnapped. But Christabel is no ordinary child. She is not supposed to exist. As Bridie fights to recover the stolen child she enters a world of fanatical anatomists, crooked surgeons and mercenary showmen. Anomalies are in fashion, curiosities are the thing, and fortunes are won and lost in the name of entertainment. The public love a spectacle and Christabel may well prove the most remarkable spectacle London has ever seen. We were big fans of Jess Kidd's debut novel 'Himself' and her follow up 'The Hoarder'. Now we can't wait to welcome Jess to Booka and introduce us to the fearless Bridie Devine! Tickets: £5 (redeemable against a signed copy of Things in Jars). Includes a glass of wine / soft drink on arrival. Tickets available from the bookshop, or purchase online (with booking fee) HERE | | 
ANGELA CLUTTON - THE VINEGAR CUPBOARD
Wednesday 20th March
7.30pm (doors 7.00pm)
Booka You can use it to make a salad dressing, pickle with it, marinade meat or fish, or toss through roasted vegetables or fruits but there is so much more to vinegar than shaking on your chips. Join award winning food writer and historian Angela Clutton as she talks about her fascinating and unique book The Vinegar Cupboard and demonstrates the many great ways vinegars can be used to balance and bring flavour. The range of vinegars on the market are expanding rapidly, and you can easily find fruit, herb, sherry, cider, malt, rice, balsamic and many types of red and white wine vinegars (from rioja through to champagne) on your supermarket shelves. There aren't too many ingredients which manage to bring flavour and adaptability to recipes and are actively good for you. Tipped to be the hottest cooking ingredient of 2019, this event will encourage all you home cooks out there to work with the many varieties of vinegar in your kitchen and highlight how we can all benefit from vinegar in our diet! Tickets: £5 (redeemable against a signed copy of The Vinegar Cupboard). Includes a glass of wine or soft drink on arrival. Tickets available from the bookshop or purchase online (with booking fee) HERE | 
A MORNING WITH FRANCESCA SIMON & HORRID HENRY
Saturday 23rd March 11.00am (doors 10.15am) Lion Quays Hotel, Oswestry Join us for a morning with international bestselling children's author Francesca Simon as we celebrate 25 years of Horrid Henry with the publication of Horrid Henry Up, Up and Away. Number One for fiendish fun! Horrid Henry is back and naughtier than ever in this brand-new book from Francesca Simon. There are four brand-new stories, featuring Horrid Henry wreaking havoc on an airplane, being forced to write an essay about the Tudors, sabotaging the school play and sneaking on to a forbidden rollercoaster. Illustrated by Tony Ross, these timeless stories offer an irresistible introduction to reading for pleasure, featuring one of the best-loved characters in children's fiction. Since it was first released in 1994, Horrid Henry has gone on to become an internationally bestselling phenomenon, with translations into 31 languages and over 21 million copies sold. Horrid Henry Up, Up and Away will be the 25th book in the series and contain the 100th Horrid Henry story – the perfect way to round off Henry's gleeful, devil-may-care adventures! We're thrilled to be bringing Francesca to Oswestry as part of the 25th birthday celebrations – don't miss this opportunity to see and meet her! Horrid Henry himself will be making a guest appearance too! Tickets: £12 Admits One Child & One Adult with signed book (Includes a copy of Horrid Henry Up, Up & Away) & £6 Additional Adult/Child (£3 redeemable against other Horrid Henry book purchase. Tickets available from the bookshop, or purchase online (with booking fee) HERE | 
ERIN KELLY
Stone Mothers
Wednesday 10th April
7.30pm (doors 7.00pm)
Booka Join Erin Kelly, the bestselling author of He Said She Said, as she returns to Booka to talk about her gripping new suspense novel Stone Mothers. You can't keep the secret.
You can't tell the truth.
You can't escape the past… Marianne grew up in the shadow of the old asylum, a place that still haunts her dreams. She was seventeen when she fled the town, her family, her boyfriend Jesse and the body they buried. Now, forced to return, she can feel the past closing around her. And Jesse, who never forgave her for leaving, is finally threatening to expose the truth. Marianne will do anything to protect the life she's built; the husband and daughter who must never know. Even if it means turning to her worst enemy… But Marianne may not know the whole story – and she isn't the only one with secrets they'd kill to keep. In Stone Mothers, Erin Kelly has written another cleverly crafted and thrillingly addictive novel full of unexpected twists and turns. Following the success of He Said She Said we're delighted to welcome her back to Oswestry! Tickets: £5 (redeemable against a signed copy of Stone Mothers). Includes a glass of wine or soft drink on arrival. Tickets available from the bookshop or purchase online (with booking fee) HERE | 
MORGAN McGLYNN
The Modern Cheesemaker
Thursday 2nd May
7.30pm (doors 7.00pm)
Booka Calling all cheese lovers! Join us for an evening of tastings and an insight into the craft of artisan cheesemaking with Morgan McGlynn as we celebrate the publication of her new book The Modern Cheesemaker. Morgan McGlynn is one of the youngest women in the business; she runs Muswell Hill Cheeses in London and is Channel 4's Sunday Brunch resident cheese expert as well as the cheese adviser for Harrods, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason and an expert judge at the World Cheese Awards. The Modern Cheesemaker shows you how to make 18 cheeses, from the rich and gooey, to the wonderfully stinky, and all the cheeseboard favourites – including simple, fresh cheeses such as mozzarella and ricotta, working up to salty and versatile halloumi, feta and paneer, perfect, melting Swiss cheese, through to aged Cheddar and Brie. Starting from the very basics of the making process, with a guide to milk types and the seasonal nature of cheese, The Modern Cheesemaker will deepen your understanding of this essential ingredient and its production. Morgan will give us a peak at the cheesemaking process and pass on her expert tips – from making, storing and ageing to tasting, slicing and hunting out new cheeses. We're delighted to be partnering with Appleby's, Cheesemakers from Hawkstone Abbey Farm, Marchamley, Shrewsbury for this event. Sarah Appleby will also be on hand to showcase their cheeses which you'll have a chance to taste and savour with a glass of wine. What better way to spend an evening! Tickets: £10 (£5 redeemable against a signed copy of The Modern Cheesemaker). Includes cheese tasting & a glass of wine/soft drink. Tickets available from the bookshop, or purchase online (with booking fee) HERE | | Booka News World Book Day - 7th March World Book Day £1 Book Tokens can now be redeemed! All you need to do is bring your token to Booka and swap it for one of the TWELVE (exclusive, new and completely FREE) World Book Day books. Or, if you'd prefer, you can use your book token to get £1 off any full price book instead. Tokens are valid Sunday 31st March. Signed Copies - Available to Pre-Order Keep an eye on our website for all the latest signed copies we have in stock. A number are also available to pre-order ahead of publication, including: The Go-Away Bird - Julia Donaldson & Catherine Rayner (Independent Bookshop Exclusive Edition with print) I Talk Too Much: My Autobiography - Francis Rossi Lanny - Max Porter Book Clubs Book Chat Book Club - Currently reading: Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Renni Eddo-Lodge. Next Meeting Wednesday 6th March, 7.30pm at Booka (NB This Book Club is currently fully subscribed) Book & a Beer Book Club - Currently reading: Dissolution by C.J. Sansom Next meeting Thursday 7th March, 7.30pm at Booka Cosy Crime Book Club - Currently reading: Force of Nature by Jane Harper Next meeting Tuesday 12th March, 2.30pm at Booka (NB This Book Club is currently fully subscribed) Cosy Elevenses Book Club - Currently reading: Miss Jane by Brad Watson. Next Meeting: Tuesday 12th March, 11.00am at Booka Children's Book Club (Year 3/4) - Currently reading: Max Champion and the Great Race Car Robbery by Alexander McCall Smith Children's Book Club (Year 5/6 - Groups A & B) - Currently reading: The Midnight Hour by Benjamin Read & Laura Trinder Teen Book Club - Currently reading: Asha & the Spirit Bird by Jasbinder Bilan YA Book Club - Currently reading: Outwalkers by Fiona Shaw Crossover Book Club - Currently reading: Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge | | | | |
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