Bring the children along to meet the characters from three heartwarming tales by bestselling children's author Onjali Raúf: The Boy at the Back of the Class; The Night Bus Hero; and The Letter With the Golden Stamp. Suitable for age 7–11.
Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Accompanying adults need to purchase a ticket for this event.
Event Date | Sat 22 Feb 10:00am |
Individual Price | £8.00 |
Location | The Almshouses Chapel |
Categories | Children & Family Events, Sat 22 Feb, Children / Family, Culture & Diversity |
British Bengali-born writer Tasneem Abdur-Rashid talks to author Maggie Brookes about her uplifting, laugh-out-loud story, The Thirty Before Thirty List, which confronts the choices that a young woman has to make between forging an exciting, independent life or accepting a life defined by family and tradition.
Event Date | Sat 22 Feb 12:30pm |
Individual Price | £5.00 |
Location | The Guildhall |
Categories | 2025, Sat 22 Feb, Culture & Diversity, Fiction |
The lives of two east London teenage boys become fatally entwined in this assured debut addressing themes of the online 'targeting' and 'recruiting' of teenagers, masculinity and marginalisation, Britishness, and the pernicious pull of extremist politics. Darkly humorous and highly topical, this is an Observer Best Debut Novel 2024; and shortlisted for the prestigious Gordon Burns Prize.
Event Date | Sat 22 Feb 3:00pm |
Individual Price | £8.00 |
Location | The Mayor's Parlour |
Categories | 2025, Sat 22 Feb, Culture & Diversity, Fiction |
A sharp, funny, heartbreaking debut novel that explores the journey of self-discovery of a young woman who as a child was diagnosed with a condition that would alter the course of her life. With author and disability campaigner Chloe Timms.
Event Date | Sat 22 Feb 4:30pm |
Individual Price | £8.00 |
Location | The Almshouses Chapel |
Categories | 2025, Sat 22 Feb, Fiction, Culture & Diversity |
A well-researched, carefully crafted and lovingly told LGBTQ+ tale of the brutalities of love and war, about two men’s fight for survival against the backdrop of the emotive Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. With host Graeme Bosley.
Event Date | Sun 23 Feb 12:00pm |
Individual Price | Free event |
Location | The Mayor's Parlour |
Categories | Free Events, Sun 23 Feb, Culture & Diversity, Free Events, Historical |
A nostalgic coming-of-age tale, The Lost Past of Billy McQueen follows a young man drawn back to his native Ireland, on a quest to find out about the unexplained disappearance of his secret schoolboy sweetheart 30 years earlier. With host Graeme Bosley.
Event Date | Sun 23 Feb 2:00pm |
Individual Price | £5.00 |
Location | The Mayor's Parlour |
Categories | 2025, Sun 23 Feb, Culture & Diversity |
Former Poet Laureate for Scotland Jackie Kay reads from her new collection and shares stories from decades of involvement in political activism, from Reclaim the Streets to Gay Pride to Greenham Common to Black Lives Matter. Woven through the collection are poems reflecting on the loss of her parents and profound change, love and celebration. Jackie will be in conversation with poet Joelle Taylor.
Event Date | Sat 1 Mar 3:00pm |
Individual Price | £15.00 |
Location | St Mary of Charity |
Categories | 2025, Sat 01 Mar, Culture & Diversity, Performance, Poetry / Spoken Word, Politics |
We are delighted to welcome Jamaican reggae poet, performer, activist and critic Linton Kwesi Johnson to perform a selection of his poetry and to talk about his latest book, Time Come, in conversation with author Jacqueline Crooks. One of the greatest writers and poets of our time, as well as a hugely respected activist, Linton's writerly output is prolific and profound, his career having begun in the 1970s when he first emerged as a revolutionary reggae poet.
Event Date | Sat 1 Mar 7:00pm |
Individual Price | £15.00 |
Location | St Mary of Charity |
Categories | 2025, Sat 01 Mar, Poetry / Spoken Word, Performance, Biography & Memoir, Art & Music, Culture & Diversity, Politics |