Events
‘The Storyteller’s Monsters’
with Jan Williams
11am Sunday 1st April
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Join us with Jan Williams, author, storyteller and grand talker for a morning of traditional Essex tales for children aged 7 – 11.
You’ll hear of dragons, Vikings, pirates, smugglers, ghostly ladies, and highwaymen, all from the furthest corners of Essex.
This is a free event!
Meet the Author with Tom Lee
6.30pm Friday 17th November
Wivenhoe Bookshop
It is a great pleasure to welcome writer Tom Lee back to the bookshop. His last visit was for the launch of his acclaimed debut short story collection, Greenfly. This time he’ll be talking about his new novel, The Alarming Palsy of James Orr.
Three Poets from Mica Press
Book Launch
6.30pm Friday 13th October
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Join us for this spoken word extravaganza to mark the launch of Mica Press’s Autumn Titles. Poets Angela Livingstone and Margaret Eddershaw will be reading from their work, and Julian Flanagan will be represented in a a video link.
‘The East Country’
with Jules Pretty
Friday 20th Oct 7.30pm
Nottage Institute
Wivenhoe Quay
Entry £5 – tickets on sale at the bookshop
or call 01206 824050/book by email
Ticket includes drink & book discount
Join us for a talk and audio-visual presentation with Professor Jules Pretty on his new book ‘The East Country – Almanac Tales of Valley and Shore’.
The East Country is a work of creative nonfiction in which acclaimed nature writer Jules Pretty integrates memoir, natural history, cultural critique, and spiritual reflection into a single compelling narrative.
Ancient Wonderings
Meet the Author with Dr. James Canton
6.30pm Friday 1st September
Wivenhoe Bookshop
‘Creel III’ Launch
5pm Saturday 9th September
Wivenhoe Bookshop
A Wivenhoe ArtSea Festival event
Join us to raise a glass to Creel III, the third anthology of short stories, nature writing and poems by postgraduate students from the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre studies at the University of Essex.
The book is published by Wivenbooks, the Wivenhoe Bookshop’s imprint, and has been beautifully designed by John Wallett. The event will include readings by the contributors.
MEET THE AUTHOR – WITH SALLEY VICKERS
6.30pm Friday 22nd September
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Tickets are £4 and include a drink.
Wivenhoe Bookshop are delighted to present an evening with Salley Vickers, author of seven highly acclaimed novels, including Miss Garnet’s Angel and The Cleaner of Chartres.
PREVIOUS EVENTS BELOW
Books Change Lives – Bookshop Takeover!
3 – 5pm Saturday 10th June
Bookshop Shed
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Tickets £4.00
Which book changed your life? Join us for an afternoon of readings, open mic sessions and tea and biscuits, organized by local student Angelica Krikler and friends to raise funds for the Global Book Alliance.
Local authors, including M R Bewick will be speaking about the books that have been most prominent to them. Bring along a book which was pivotal in your life and share it with us.
Call on 01206 824050 to book
Albion Sheaf
Book Launch with Simon Pettet
6.30pm Weds 8th March
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Join us for the launch of this excellent new collection from Wivenhoe’s Mica Press. Simon Pettet is an English-born poet, now a long-time resident of New York.
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‘
The Rise of Athens’
Book Launch with Anthony Everitt
6.30pm Fri 10th March
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Join us for a Book Launch, reading and signing with New York Times bestselling author Anthony Everitt.
Anthony’s latest book The Rise of Athens tells the story of the modest city-state that would become the birthplace of democracy.
‘Refugees and Peacekeepers’
A Patrician Press Anthology
6.30pm Weds 15th March
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Tickets £4.00
Profits from this event will be donated to ‘Help Refugees’. This is an Essex Book Festival event.
To book your tickets call us on 01206 824050 or send an email
‘Scarecrow’ by M W Bewick
Book Launch
from 6.30pm Friday 17th March
Wivenhoe Bookshop
All are welcome to join us for the launch of and readings from a new offering from the splendid Dunlin Press.
‘Discovering England’
Book Launch with Adrian May &
Face Furniture & the Extensions
Friday 24th March
Royal British Legion
Wivenhoe Quay
Tickets £5.00
To book your tickets call us on 01206 824050 or send an email. This is an Essex Book Festival event.
‘The Witchfinder’s Sister’
Meet the Author – with Beth Underdown
6.30pm Friday 31st March
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Join us with Beth Underdown, author of ‘The Witchfinder’s Sister’, a powerful re-imagining of the terror of the 1640s witch-hunts voiced by Matthew Hopkin’s sibling Alice.
Praise for ‘The Witchfinder’s Sister’
‘At once a feminist parable and an old-fashioned, check-twice-under-the-bed thriller’ Patrick Gale
‘Creel 2’
Book Launch
4pm Saturday 20th August
Wivenhoe Bookshop
A Wivenhoe ArtSea Festival event
Join us at Wivenhoe’s ArtSea Festival for the launch of the second volume of the ‘Creel’ anthology .
‘Creel 2’ is a unique collection of short stories and poems by postgraduate students from the University of Essex showcasing the varied approaches currently being undertaken by Essex students from all over the globe.
The book is published by Wivenbooks, the Wivenhoe Bookshop’s imprint, and has been beautifully designed by John Wallett. We are indebted to artist James Dodds for permission to use his linocut ‘Fish in a Basket’ as the cover image.
Book Launch with Anthony Clavane
‘A Yorkshire Tragedy’
7pm British Legion
Friday 9th September
Wivenhoe Quay
Join us for the launch of Anthony Clavane’s new book ‘A Yorkshire Tragedy’ , the final part of his triptych examining belonging, identity and the rise and fall of tightly knit sporting communities through the prism of the author’s own personal experience.
Anthony will be in conversation, reading from, and signing the book at the British Legion, Wivenhoe Quay from 7pm on Friday 9th September. Each of Anthony’s previous books were launched at the Wivenhoe Bookshop at events attended by large and appreciative crowds – don’t miss this one!
Bookshop Unplugged
Darrel Mayhead & Mike Trim
Darrel and Mike
7.00pm Friday 26th February
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Join us as ‘Bookshop Unplugged’ returns with another intimate evening of beautiful music between the bookshelves with two superb guitarists.
We’re delighted to welcome Darrel for his Bookshop debut. He is an excellent guitarist who specialises in jazz and funk but can turn his hand to most styles. He co-leads a jazz quintet and gigs with kora player Josh Doughty.
When Darrel and Mike started playing together last year the chemistry was there right away. Expect sparks to fly in a warm, intimate setting. This one’s not to be missed!
Tickets £7.00 – to book yours call us on 01206 824050, or reserve by email. Early booking is advisable due to limited availability.
Readings from the Patrician Press
Essex Book Festival Event
6.30pm Weds 16th March
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Established in 2012 by Patricia Borlenghi, the Patrician Press is a small, courageous independent which aims to encourage and promote high-quality fiction and poetry written by authors whose original literary talent is being neglected by mainstream publishers and agents.
Three of their authors, Suzy Norman, Martin Johnson and Danielle Wrayton will be joining us to read from their latest works.
This is a free event, but you can reserve a place in advance.
To book call us on 01206 824050 or book by email
‘All the Rage’
An Evening with A. L. Kennedy
8pm Friday 5th December
Upstairs at the Greyhound
High Street
Wivenhoe
We are delighted that A. L. Kennedy, Dundee-born, prize-winning novelist, dramatist, stand-up comic and Guardian blogger, will soon be heading this way.
Join us at the Greyhound to hear ALK reading from her works, including the collection All the Rage (described as ‘laugh-out-loud sad’ stories that ‘may break your heart’). There will also be an opportunity to ask our wondrous guest some interesting questions.
Tickets £7 from the Wivenhoe Bookshop – call to book on 01206 824050
“When she reads her stories she lights up the room with the rhythm of her sentences, the reach of her insight.”
Bookshop Unplugged Extra
Chris Allard & John Turville
from 7pm Thurs 18th December
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Tickets £12
We’re mightily privileged to be hosting an extra special ‘Bookshop Unplugged’ with two world class jazz musicians, Chris Allard and John Turville.
Chris will be on electric and acoustic guitars, accompanied by one of the finest pianists in the country, John Turville.
This duo cover a lot of ground stylistically, and will be featuring a varied selection reflecting their passion for lots of different music, including some of each of their original compositions, some jazz standards, contemporary Argentine tangos, and some Bach violin music (on the guitar!).
Tickets £12, early booking advisable. To reserve your ticket, phone the bookshop on 01206 824050, or email.
Dante’s Inferno
Book Launch with Philip Terry
6.30pm Fri 11th July
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Philip Terry joins us to read from his extraordinary re-telling of Dante’s Inferno, which shifts the action from the twelfth century to the twenty first.
The seven circles of hell are relocated to the modern ‘walled city’ of the University of Essex, where contemporary political figures and celebrities replace Dante’s damned.
‘Graphologies’ by Phil Cohen & Jean McNeil
Book Launch
6.30pm Friday 18th July
Wivenhoe Bookshop
‘Graphologies’, a new book from Mica Press, takes a line of thought for a walk across poetry and the visual arts, autobiography and fiction, and cultural and literary studies, exploring the emotional and narrative hinterlands of the commonplace.
Join us for the book launch and reading at the Wivenhoe Bookshop.
RSVP to Wivenhoe Bookshop
‘Comedy of Masculinity’ Book Launch
& performance by Adrian May
7.30pm Friday 2nd May
British Legion
Wivenhoe Quay
Adrian May’s ‘Comedy of Masculinity’ was premiered at an evening of song and poetry at the Wivenhoe Bookshop last summer.
Wivenbooks, the Wivenhoe Bookshop’s publishing imprint have published the book, complete with CD. ‘Comedy of Masculinity’ takes a wry look at men and masculinity in songs and poems, from ‘all men are bastards’ to ‘sometimes it’s hard to be a bloke’ to the plea to ‘tenderise not genderise’ and beyond.
Join us as we launch the book with an performance of it’s rousing song and poetry .
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS, AND OTHER ‘Wivenbooks’ TITLES.
The Well-tempered Lute: Poems from Poland’s Golden AgeBook Launch with Anita Jones Debska
From 6.30pm Thursday 10th April
Wivenhoe Bookshop
This anthology of verse translations introduces 17 highly individual poets from the golden age of Polish 16th and 17th century culture. It’s published by Wivenbooks, the Wivenhoe Bookshop’s publishing imprint, and has been nominated for the Polish Book Institute’s prestigious ‘Found in Translation Award 2014.’
This selection includes witty ‘trifles’ to entertain, anguished sonnets on the strivings of the soul, poems of love both passionate and ironical, and calm meditations on the mutability of all things.
Join us to raise a glass to the book’s success. Anita will be reading from the book, and Polish delicacies will be served.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS, AND OTHER ‘Wivenbooks’ TITLES.
Brief Encounter – Jung and Joyce
Taster Session
With Giovanni Colacicchi
Saturday 15th March 3.00 – 5.00pm
CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS AND TO BOOK
O S Introductory Navigation Workshop
7pm Monday 27th Jan 2014
Nottage Institute
Wivenhoe Quay
Walking is one of the most popular recreational activities in Britain – and understandably so, as it’s free, great for your health, requires no equipment and most people can do it.
Simon Rose from the Ordnance Survey will be joining us for an Introductory Navigation Workshop designed to help walkers to get more from their maps.
Since it’s foundation in 1791 the Ordnance Survey, Britain’s national mapping agency, has been creating and maintaining maps, and their ‘Landranger’ scale 1:50 000, and ‘Explorer’ scale 1:25 000 series are a fantastic resource for walkers.
Our ‘Navigation Workshop’ will cover basic map and compass skills relating to the National Grid, and how to take a bearing. Each attendee will given a Map Board, Map Legend, Map skills booklet and compass to use during the session, which is normally around an hour long.
We will also use a series of short films made by the OS with the naturalist Simon King to accompany Simon’s presentation.
Book Launch
‘Reading Room Only’ & ‘On the Wrong Side of the Track’ by Phil Cohen
From 6.30pm Friday 10th May
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Join us for a double book launch with Phil Cohen, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of East London.
‘Reading Room Only – Memoir of a Radical Bibliophile’ traces his career from Blitz kid to public school drop-out, hippy squatter to cultural theorist, and urban ethnographer to poet, through his obsession with books.
‘On the Wrong Side of the Track ? East London and the Post Olympics’ explores the rhetoric and reality of regeneration and the legacy of the 2012 Olympics.
We’ll also be screening ‘Lights On For the Territory’, a short film featuring John Wallett discussing his narrative map of East London commissioned for ‘On the Wrong Side of the Track?’
Meet the Author
‘My Pale Tulip’ by John Muckle
From 6.30pm Fri 1st Feb
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Writer and editor John Muckle is the author of three works of fiction and a book of poetry.
His latest novel, My Pale Tulip takes a scenic route across low countries to the beautiful cities of Delft and Utrecht—where darkness lies in ambush. It is a classic tale of flight and crash-landing: poignant, sharp-witted, with a voice all its own.
John will be reading from the book, and refreshments will be provided – do come along and join us.
‘Migrant Birds’ Book Launch
With translator Anita Jones Debska
From 6.30pm Friday 18th January
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Join us as we launch another superb poetry title published by our own Wivenbooks press.
Polish national bard Adam Mickiewicz wrote passionate, visionary, and intense poetry.
‘Migrant Birds’ is a selection of his poems, with particular emphasis on the lyric poems, beautifully translated into English by Anita Jones Debska.
Anita will be reading from the book, and refreshments will be provided.
Do come along for what promises to be a fascinating evening.
‘Archipelagos’ Book Launch
With poet Leslie Bell
From 6.30pm Friday 21st December
Wivenhoe Bookshop
‘Archipelagos’ is a diverse collection of poetry written over the years by Leslie Bell, a Scot living in Wivenhoe. The poems gathered here are insightful, topical, and often personal. Leslie will be here to read from his work – do come along and join us to toast the success of the book.
Cover design is by John Wallett.
To reserve your copy of the book, give us a call on 01206 824050, or order by email.
MEET AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR
ANTHONY CLAVANE
AT THE WIVENHOE LAUNCH OF
‘Does Your Rabbi Know You’re Here?
The Story of English Football’s Forgotten Tribe’
From 6.30pm on Tuesday 2nd October
Following the prodigious success of his last book, ‘Promised Land – the Reinvention of Leeds United’, award-winning writer and sports journalist Anthony Clavane will be joining us for an exclusive Wivenhoe launch of his latest book, ‘Does Your Rabbi Know You’re Here?’
Clavane’s meticulously researched new book unearths the incredible history of Jewish involvement in English football from the trail-blazing Jewish footballers to the legendary businessmen who transformed the game from a largely working class pursuit to today’s global entertainment industry.
Join us for what promises to be a a fascinating evening. Refreshments will be served.
To reserve your copy of the book, call us on 01206 824050, or order by email.
Working the Landscape
Justin Partyka in conversation with Simon Carter
6.30pm Friday 25th May
Wivenhoe Bookshop
Tickets £2.50
www.justinpartyka.com
Simon Carter is from Essex. His paintings have been exhibited at various galleries in the UK and beyond, including the Royal Academy, Firstsite, Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery, Gainsborough’s House, the British Lime Gallery Los Angeles, and regularly at Messums Gallery in London. In July 2012 a selection of his Constable inspired work will be shown at Flatford.
www.simoncarterpaintings.co.uk
To book, call us on 01206 824050, or reserve tickets by email.
BOOK LAUNCH EVENING!
Fri 16th December from 6.30pm at the Bookshop
‘Ballads of Bohemian Essex’
by Adrian May
Ballads of Bohemian Essex is an incredible collection of songs, recitations (story-poem-songs) and Adrian’s poem-essay-paper reclaiming the first English poet, Caedmon, as a wise, inspired father of native song.
Join us for wine, nibbles, reading and song.
UNPLUGGED RETURNS!
‘Out in the Blue’
Friday Oct 28th 7pm – Tickets £5 from the bookshop
‘Out in the Blue’ are guitarist Tim Whitnell, and Jay Nicholls on vocal and harmonica.
For the past ten years Tim has been writing and recording guitar music for film and television. Via his publisher in Germany, his music is used in productions around the world.
Tim released two CDs prior to becoming involved with a publisher: ‘Rex’s Day’ and ‘In a Mind To’, both available from the bookshop, which are now included in his works and licensed for use in film and TV.
Tim writes spontaneously, as an event or situation arises, grasping the moment and fixing it into musical form.
Jay was lead singer of NuBlues who sold over 15,000 albums of their debut CD ‘Dreams of a Blues Man’ and became the first UK blues band to sign with an American label since John Mayall.
He has supported the likes of ‘Blind Boys of Alabama’ and Eric Burdon on European tours.
Catch them, live, as duo ‘Out in the Blue’.
