Author Talk

Lizzie will be interviewing Noreen Masud as part of Clifton LitFest 2024, organised by the Friends of the Clifton Centre and Library.

Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year award 2024, Noreen Masud’s A Flat Place has been described as raw and radical, strange and beguiling - a love letter to Britain's breathtaking flatlands, from Orford Ness to Orkney, and a reckoning with the painful, hidden histories they contain.

We are delighted to support this event organised by the Bristol Humanists. Tracking deep into our evolutionary history, anthropological science has begun to unravel one particular feature that sets us apart from the many, many animals that came before us – our uniquely long childhoods. In the Darwin Day lecture Brenna Hassett will look at how we have diverged from our ancestral roots to stay 'forever young' – or at least what seems like forever – and how the evolution of childhood is a critical part of the human story. Full details and tickets: https://wegottickets.com/event/643698

Heron Books is delighted to support this event organised by the Bristol Humanists.

Full details and tickets: https://www.meetup.com/bristol-humanists/events/305649303/ 

In our post-pandemic online world are we becoming more and more socially isolated? If so, what does that mean for us humans, the most social of all animals? We have evolved and are genetically pre-disposed to live in large social groups. Social interaction and cooperation is key to our 'success' and flourishing as a species. In this talk, based on a recent article in New Humanist, Marie le Conte will make the case that the pandemic, and near universal access to the internet, has just speeded up a fundamental long-term shift in our social patterns, leading to reduced social interaction.

Andrew Harding will speak about his book, A Small, Stubborn Town In Ukraine.

The Russians are invading. But the locals have a plan.

It's March 2022 and Russian tanks are roaring across the vast, snow-dusted fields of Ukraine. Their destination: Voznesensk, a town with a small bridge that could change the course of the war. The heavily-armed Russians are expecting an easy fight - or no fight at all. After all, Voznesensk is a quiet farming town, full of pensioners. But the locals appear to have other ideas. Svetlana, a grandmother with arthritis, reacts in fury when Russian troops turn her cottage into their blood-soaked headquarters.
Andrew Harding is a British journalist and author. He has been living and working abroad as a foreign correspondent for the past 3 decades.

We are delighted to support this event taking place at St George's Bristol.

In a brand-new talk for 2025 David examines some of history’s missing chapters to uncover how and why some events and some people are remembered and others forgotten. Taking examples from the world wars, the Industrial revolution and other pivotal moments in global history David uncovers history’s missing persons.

The University of Bristol is hosting a day of talks, discussion and workshops for new and established writers. We are thrilled to support the event with a book stall throughout the day. Full details and link to register: https://bristol.ac.uk/english/study/part-time/short-courses/writers-day/

We will be providing a book stall at this fascinating event organised by Bristol Talks: Join us for what promises to be an enlightening and enriching conversation between Bruce Hood (Professor of Developmental Psychology in Society at the University of Bristol) and Andrew Kelly (former Director of Bristol Ideas and visiting professor at the University of the West of England) about happiness. In The Science of Happiness, Bruce drew on decades of neuroscience and developmental psychology research to show that the key to happiness is not self-care but connection. Bruce and Andrew will be discussing these insights along with many others as they explore the roots of wellbeing in today’s world. It is a conversation that promises lessons for Bristolians of all ages plus practical actions that we can all take to promote collective wellbeing in our local community.