As Spring approaches, Dulwich Books are delighted to share their calendar of upcoming events. This season they truly have something for every member of the family – from special story times with children’s authors, to Peter Bazalgette talking about empathy, to Lisa McInerney on her new novel The Blood Miracles, to A.C. Grayling on war… the list goes on.
One highlight is sure to be the Spring Literature Showcase with a trio of outstanding writers – Elif Shafak, Gwendoline Riley and Ayobami Adebayo.
Tuesday 28 February: Pancake Day Party with Chetna Makan
15.00 – 16.30. We’ll be celebrating Pancake Day with a special celebration featuring Great British Bake Off finalist Chetna Makan. This event will be an opportunity to taste some of Chetna’s homemade treats, to ask her for baking tips, to have a fresh pancake, and to buy a signed copy of her bestselling recipe book The Cardamom Trail: Chetna Bakes with Flavours of the East.
On the Bake Off Chetna became known for her bold use of Eastern flavours. Her bestselling recipe book Cardamom Trail gives you all the info you need to recreate her bakes at home.
This event is free but attendees must register for a place here. This event will take place at Dulwich Books, 6 Croxted Road SE21 8SW.
Tuesday 28 February: Jon Newman on River Effra
7pm. On the evening of 28th February local author and historian Jon Newman will be giving a talk about his South London bestseller River Effra. Jon’s book has been a sensational bestseller in the shop and demand for this event has reflected that. There are only a couple of tickets left. Full details and remaining tickets here. This event will take place at Dulwich Books, 6 Croxted Road SE21 8SW.
Thursday 9 March: Spring Literature Showcase with Elif Shafak, Ayobami Adebayo and Gwendoline Riley
7pm. We are incredibly lucky to be able to announce an evening with three of the finest writers publishing books this Spring: Elif Shafak (Three Daughters of Eve), Adebayo Ayobami (Stay With Me) and Gwendoline Riley (First Love). There books are united by a concern for issues of identity, gender, of confronting the past, and of trying to understand who you are. Each book considers marriage, and in paticular where marriage can go wrong or become a site of abuse. This event will take place at Dulwich Books, 6 Croxted Road SE21 8SW.
Elif Shafak is is the acclaimed author of ten novels and an internationally renowned public speaker. Her new novel is Three Daughters of Eve. Set across Istanbul and Oxford, from the 1980s to the present day, it is a sweeping tale of faith and friendship, tradition and modernity, love and an unexpected betrayal.
Ayobami Adebayo was born and studied in Nigeria before moving to the UK to study creative writing at UEA. Her debut novel is Stay With Me. Set in 1980s Nigeria, it is a devastating story about the fragility of married love, the undoing of family, and the all-consuming bonds of motherhood.
Gwendoline Riley grew up on the Wirral and is the author of five acclaimed novels. Her latest – First Love – is the story of Neve, who is married to an older man. Drawing the reader into the battleground of her relationship, Neve spins a story of helplessness and hostility, an ongoing conflict in which both husband and wife have played a part.
Tickets £10 including wine bookable here
Tuesday 28 March: Sir Peter Bazalgette on The Empathy Instinct
7pm. We return to Dulwich College’s brand new George Farha Auditorium to hear from Sir Peter Bazalgette, former Chair of Arts Council England and author of The Empathy Instinct. Sir Peter’s book presents revolutionary new ideas about what empathy is and how it can transform society. It concludes with a Charter for Empathy, where challenges such as religious conflict and racism, decent health and social care, effective and humane criminal justice and even artificial intelligence are addressed by this new thinking. There is a full press release for the book in the dropbox folder (see above).
This event will take place in the George Farha Auditorium, Dulwich College, SE21 7LD
Tickets £7.50 bookable here
Saturday 22 April: Lisa McInerney and David Keenan in conversation
Save the date! Two of our very favourite new writers will be in conversation for a one-off event on the evening of 22nd April. Lisa is the author of Baileys Prize winning The Glorious Heresies and will be talking about her brilliant new book The Blood Miracles. David is a music critic and the author of ground-breaking novel This is Memorial Device, out with Faber this month.
More details will be announced shortly and you’ll be the first to hear.
Tuesday 2 May: A.C. Grayling on War: An Enquiry
At 19.00 on the 2nd May we’ll hear from A.C. Grayling – leading philosopher and public intellectual – presenting the arguments of his new book War: An Enquiry. In this original and deeply considered book, A. C. Grayling examines, tests, and challenges the concept of war. He proposes that a deeper, more accurate understanding of war may enable us to reduce its frequency, mitigate its horrors, and lessen the burden of its consequences. In a profoundly wise conclusion, the author envisions “just war theory” in new moral terms, taking into account the lessons of World War II and the Holocaust and laying down ethical principles for going to war and for conduct during war.
This event will take place at Dulwich Books, 6 Croxted Road, SE21 8SW. Tickets £10 including wine bookable here