Come and join the author and illustrator of the Waterstones Children’s Illustrated Book of the Year! Lauren & Jenny will be reading, drawing and signing copies. To give it an extra family hometown feel, Swansea-born Lauren is the daughter of our very own Lynne!
Friendship is the fifth character in this beautiful story that charts the lives of four girls. This winning combination of Ace’s purposeful text and Lovlie’s charming illustrations provide a story that is brimming over with character and compassion. The overarching theme of inspiration is underpinned with a sweetness that encourages children and adults to return to and share this story again and again.
Lauren Ace is from South Wales, studied drama at the University of Exeter, and now lives in London, where she has worked in publishing for ten years. An award-winning publicist, Lauren looked after Julia Donaldson during her tenure as Children’s Laureate and has managed World Book Day campaigns and the announcement of Chris Riddell as Children’s Laureate. The Girls is her debut picture book. You can follow her on Twitter at @LaceyPR.
Jenny Løvlie is an illustrator and bird enthusiast from Ekkerøy, in northern Norway. She graduated with a BA in illustration and animation from Kingston University London in 2014. She draws a lot of inspiration from the Arctic landscape, flora, and fauna. Jenny is based in Cardiff, Wales.
Come and join senior historian and local oracle Gerald Gabb for the launch of his latest book: Swansea And Its History, Volume II. Resplendent in three parts and housed in a handsome slipcase, this as close to exhaustive as will ever exist,
Gerald will talk us through its creation and contents.
Come and enjoy a literary lunch with the wonderful Ann Cleeves.
Ann Cleeves is the author of over thirty critically acclaimed novels, and in 2017 was awarded the highest accolade in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger. She is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez who can now be found on television in ITV’s Vera and BBC One’s Shetland. The TV series and the books they are based on have become international sensations, capturing the minds of millions worldwide.
Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook, and auxiliary coastguard before she started writing. She is a member of ‘Murder Squad’, working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. Ann is also a passionate champion for libraries and was a National Libraries Day Ambassador in 2016. Ann lives in North Tyneside near where the Vera books are set.
The Long Call is the captivating first novel in a brand new series from Sunday Times bestseller and creator of Vera and Shetland,
Ticket includes a glass of wine, a two-course buffet and a copy of The Long Call (rrp £16.99)
We’re delighted to launch shop-friend and writer Jane’s first collection: The South Westerlies. Based in Llangennith, ‘Jane Fraser’s dark and unsettling debut collection of short stories explores the windswept Gower Peninsula of South Wales: a place of folklore and myth, birth and death, envy and revenge.’
‘Fraser’s stories are compellingly told and carefully crafted. She shares a heightened, acute sense of language with Annie Proulx and the right to comparison with such a prose stylist is properly won. And just as Proulx claims the lodgepole pines and wide-skied landscape of Wyoming as her own so too does Jane Fraser take the wind-flensed land’s edge of north Gower and make it hers. She has given this reader, at least, what he so often desires, namely the tang and sharpness of savouring language seemingly newly minted.’ —Jon Gower
‘The South Westerlies is obviously the work of a serious, committed and thoughtful writer, open to both inner and outer realms, the quivering sensitivities of the self, and the tactile, textured world outside, a kind of aesthetic elision between character and place.’ —Alan Bilton
‘The South Westerlies illustrate a landscape depicted with great specificity and detail, interfusing an exploration of place with the lives and perceptions of the characters who inhabit it… The stories display a sure grasp of the short story form and the techniques and processes of prose fiction… The collection is an original and valuable contribution to the literature of Gower and Wales.’ —Tristan Hughes
Come and join the amazing Ed Clarke for the launch of The Secret Dragon: a heartwarming story of friendship and adventure – perfect for young explorers aged 8+. Readings, activities and more!
Mari Jones is desperate to be a real scientist, even though she’s only eleven. So when she discovers a tiny dragon while fossil hunting on the beach, she’s sure she can find a good scientific explanation – as long as she can keep it hidden long enough to study it.
Unfortunately for Mari, this is one secret that doesn’t want to be kept. And as she starts to form a deeper bond with the mischievous dragon, she might have to admit that, when it comes to friendship, science might not have all the answers…
‘Utterly enchanting’ – Cat Doyle, author of The Storm Keeper’s Island.
‘Seamless storytelling interwoven with fascinating science . . . perfect for reading aloud!’ – Piers Torday, author of The Lost Magician
Come and meet Alis Hawkins – author of the Teifi Valley Coroner
historical crime series – on her 27 date tour of Independent Bookshops. Alis will be chatting and signing copies.
Come and join the wonderful Kate Hamer for the launch of her latest novel: Crushed.
Kate’s third novel CRUSHED is published in May 2019 (Faber & Faber). She is the author of THE DOLL FUNERAL (Faber & Faber 2017) which was a Bookseller book of the month and an editor’s pick for Radio 4’s Open Book. Her first novel THE GIRL IN THE RED COAT has been translated into 18 different languages. It was shortlisted for The Costa First Novel Prize, the British Book Industry Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year, The John Creasy (New Blood) Dagger and the Wales Book of the Year. It was a Sunday Times bestseller. She grew up in the west country and rural Pembrokeshire and now lives with her husband in Cardiff.
“Kate Hamer’s gripping debut novel immediately recalls the explosion of similarly titled books and movies, from Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels, to The Girl on the Train to Gone Girl … “―Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
Come and join presenter, chef, skateboarder, and BBC star for the launch of his new book: Dirty Vegan. Matt will be in conversation, signing and chatting. Vegan menu available on the night and a skate session is included in price.
As a big thank you to all our customers and supporters for sticking by us when we had to shut for a few months last year, we’re hosting a whole day of activities, readings and fizz here in the shop.
10.30am Tom & Helen Docherty. Children’s storytelling, live drawing and book signing with international bestselling local authors Helen and Thomas Docherty.
2pm Katie Cottle. Children’s doodling, storytelling and signing with the Batsford Prize winner, author of The Green Giant.
4pm Owen Sheers. Award-winning Welsh poet, author, playwright, and Professor of Creativity at Swansea University, Owen will be reading from a selection of his recent works.
5pm Dan Llywelyn Hall and Robert Minnhinick. Book launch/discussion. The Dunes is a collaboration by artist Dan Llywelyn Hall and poet, Robert Minhinnick. A collection of new drawings and poems inspired by the Merthyr Mawr Sand Dunes of South Wales.
