EVENTS 
Upcoming: * Clare Mackintosh * Tracy Borman * Liz Earle * Jane Harper *
We run a vibrant series of high profile author events in favourite local venues. These are jolly social occasions and Tickets make great presents. For advance notice sign up to our Newsletter on the Home page.
Tickets from the bookshop, or by telephone 01253 796 958.
If you would like a Signed Book from an Event please visit the Signed Books page to pre-order or pop into the bookshop.
An afternoon with bestselling author
Clare Mackintosh
It’s Not What You Think
Mon 30th March 2026
at The Clifton Arms Hotel, Lytham 1.30pm (doors 1pm)
Tickets £25 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, authors talk and signed Hardback
We are delighted to welcome back bestselling author Clare Mackintosh with her new pacy thriller.
‘I always see the twists coming – but not this time’ LEE CHILD
‘Madly twisty and super pacy and so so clever’ LISA JEWELL
‘A nail-biter of a thriller’ SHARI LAPENA
He has a secret. She knows he’s lying. Nadeeka is certain Jamie is having an affair. She knows the tell-tale signs.
She’s been here before. When Jamie claims to be at work late, she knows he’s lying. He’s with another woman, and she’s determined to catch him in the act. But when Nadeeka arrives home to confront him, Jamie can’t explain himself. The house has become a crime scene… Jamie is dead.
‘I finished it in a day unable to put it down … jaw-dropping twists’ CLAIRE DOUGLAS
‘An extraordinarily clever plot, this was one of my favourite books of the year’ ANDREA MARA
‘Clare Mackintosh has done it again with another unguessable twist’ ERIN KELLY
‘The book everyone will be talking about … more twists and turns than an episode of Line of Duty’ C.L.TAYLOR
‘This book is so addictive it should come with a warning’ ALICE FEENEY
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: The Clifton Arms Hotel, West Beach, Lytham FY8 5QJ
Tickets: from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
An afternoon with historian and broadcaster
Tracy Borman
The House of Boleyn
Tues 14th April 2026
at The Clifton Arms Hotel, Lytham 1.30pm (doors 1pm)
Tickets £30 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, authors talk and signed Hardback
Tracy Borman OBE has recently been named Chief Historian at the Historic Royal Palaces, a role which she previously shared with Lucy Worsley. She’s a regular broadcaster and public speaker, and was a key expert in the recent Channel 5 documentary, Princes in the Tower, which explored new discoveries relating to Richard III’s nephews and their uncertain fate. Tracy was last with us in 2025 with her Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction book The Stolen Crown and we are delighted to welcome her back with her new novel.
‘Masterful and hugely impressive’ – Alison Weir
HEVER CASTLE HOLDS ALL THE BOLEYN SECRETS … When nobleman Thomas Boleyn, lord of Hever Castle, is called to London in 1509 to present himself to a newly anointed King Henry VIII, he sets in train events that ensure the Boleyn name will never be forgotten. Years later, as Henry VIII relentlessly pursues Thomas’ daughter Anne Boleyn to be his queen, Hever Castle becomes her escape, a place where her trusted attendants and her father must advise, protect and support her.
Lavish gifts are sent by the King and the Boleyn family is given ever greater prominence at court, their glory shining over everything and everyone. Until ambition turns the family on itself, enemies outside the castle circle closer and danger begins to stalk the corridors of Hever. And as Henry’s gaze moves elsewhere when Anne cannot give him the heir he so desperately seeks, the family faces a terrible, bloody fate.
But as long as Hever still stands, hope still exists. Combining drama, danger and passion, Tracy Borman brings the Boleyn family’s three-decade rise and precipitous fall to vivid life using their world at Hever, family and servants alike, as never written before. The result is a powerful and emotional novel of family, fate and history.
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: The Clifton Arms Hotel, West Beach, Lytham FY8 5QJ
Tickets: from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
An afternoon with bestselling author, TV presenter, entrepreneur & wellbeing guru
Liz Earle
How To Age
Tues 21st April 2026
at The Clifton Arms Hotel, Lytham 1.30pm (doors 1pm)
Tickets £30 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, authors talk and signed Hardback
Liz Earle MBE is a famed figure in the beauty and wellbeing industries, widely known for her esteemed brand Liz Earle Beauty. With a highly successful career as a bestselling writer, TV presenter and entrepreneur to her name, Liz is an inspiring voice and we are delighted to welcome her to Lytham with her new book How To Age.
‘In one lifetime I believe you stumble across a handful of books capable of inspiring a sense of awe so profound they alter your life. How to Age is one of them.’ Dr Camilla Stokholm, GP and bestselling author
‘Liz is a real inspiration – we can all learn so much from her personal journey to optimise our health as we age’ – Dr Louise Newson, founder of Newson Health
Ageing is happening to all of us, all of the time. The secret is learning how to do it better. Join Liz as she shares all the latest scientific research which informs her unique approach to age well; never anti-ageing, always in the best way possible.
So much of what we have been told about ageing – especially as women, is wrong. We’re not here to spend our later years in silent decline. We have just never been shown the full picture of what is possible – or how we can take control of it. Liz offers the very best evidence-based biohacks and practical, easy-to-implement, daily plans to improve and boost your energy as you age. She has used these same protocols to turn back her biological age by decades and she now feels stronger, happier and more purposeful in her 60s than in any other decade of her life.
In How To Age, and at this special event, she shares her findings so you can, too. Learn how to:
- Strengthen your body at a cellular level to improve your healthspan.
- Understand the primary power of sunlight, water, vibrational energy on your circadian rhythms
- Optimise your body on a cellular level no matter your age
- Become more resilient to chronic disease and modern viruses
- Look and feel more youthful in both appearance and outlook
- Use the daily plans in each chapter to achieve your goals
Women are living longer but often in poorer health, so grab the reins and add abundant health to your years.
.Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: The Clifton Arms Hotel, West Beach, Lytham FY8 5QJ
Tickets: from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
An afternoon with Australia’s No 1 bestseller THE DRY, FORCE OF NATURE, and SURVIVORS
Jane Harper
Last One Out
Thurs 23rd April 2026
at The Clifton Arms Hotel, Lytham 1.30pm (doors 1pm)
Tickets £30 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, authors talk and signed Hardback
We are thrilled to welcome the bestselling Australian author Jane Harper – the author of The Dry, Force of Nature, The Lost Man, The Survivors and Exiles.
‘Utterly brilliant … I could not put it down’ – Marian Keyes
‘A book to get lost in’ – Ann Cleeves
‘I was glued to it for days’ Jennie Godfrey
‘Jane Harper delivers unbearable tension’ Val McDermid
He had been here, that was clear from the marks in the dust.
And he had been alone. In a dying town, Ro Crowley waits for her son on the evening of his twenty-first birthday. Sam never comes home.
His footprints in the dust of three abandoned houses offer the only clue to his final movements. One set in. One set out.
Five long years later, Ro returns to Carralon Ridge for the annual memorial of Sam’s disappearance. The skeletal community is now an echo of itself, having fractured under the pressure of the coal mine operating on its outskirts. But Ro still wants answers.
Only a few people remain. If the truth is to be found in that town, does it lie among them?
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: The Clifton Arms Hotel, West Beach, Lytham FY8 5QJ
Tickets: from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
PREVIOUS EVENTS
We have run lots of fantastic events over the years – a huge thankyou to everyone for coming and making them so successful! Here are some of our recent previous events:
An afternoon with Loose Women’s
Ruth Langsford
Feeling Fabulous
Tues 24th February 2026
at The Clifton Arms Hotel, Lytham 1.30pm (doors 1pm)
Tickets £30 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, authors talk and signed Hardback
So excited to welcome Ruth Langsford to Lytham with her first book – Ruth Langsford is one of the UK’s most recognised and loved television presenters, with a career spanning over 30 years, including Loose Women. A long-time fashion lover, she’s built a successful clothing brand on QVC and is a champion of midlife confidence in women, promoting positivity and self-belief.
This is a wonderful joyful behind the scenes look at Ruth’s life – particularly the times when ‘Feeling Fabulous’ had to be her mantra, pep talk and affirmation!
Ruth knows about the ups and downs of life: in her job she meets people who have been through the most astonishing highs and lows. Now, in her first ever book, she’s opening up about her own life, sharing the experiences that have shaped her and the lessons that she’s learned along the way.
As Ruth reflects on the moments that lifted her up and the challenges that taught her just how resilient she could be, she shares the simple changes that helped her feel more like herself again and carry on with confidence. With her trademark humour and honesty, her book invites you to reflect on your own journey and ask yourself what does feeling fabulous mean to you?
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: The Clifton Arms Hotel, West Beach, Lytham FY8 5QJ
Tickets: from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
An afternoon with bestselling author of Dr Ruth Galloway series
Elly Griffiths
The Killing Time
Wed 18th February 2026
at The Clifton Arms Hotel, Lytham 1.30pm (doors 1pm)
Tickets £30 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, authors talk and signed Hardback
We are delighted to welcome back the bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway series with a new book in her new series with Ali Dawson.
A pleasure from finish to start’ Anthony Horowitz
‘A new book by Elly Griffiths is always a cause of delight, and this series promises to broaden our horizons. Ali Dawson will capture readers’ hearts the way Ruth Galloway did’ Mick Herron
‘Elly Griffiths brilliantly makes the unbelievable believable – a tour de force’ Peter James
Join Ali Dawson and her cold case team for another thrilling case. Ali Dawson is a police detective who leads a unit that investigates cases so cold her team must travel to the distant past to solve them. But Ali and the team haven’t been allowed to time-travel ever since their technical expert, Jones, got stuck in Victorian London, never to be seen again.
To distract herself from meaningless tasks, Ali decides to look into a present-day case – an apparent suicide of a young man who fell to his death from a high building. She believes the death is linked to a psychic medium called Barry Power, who convinced the boy he could fly. Ali goes to one of Power’s shows where he claims to be in contact with Jones.
When Ali notices that evening that her cat, Terry, has gone missing, she decides to go back in time just long enough to prevent Terry from escaping through his open cat flap. A dangerous plan which backfires, and she finds herself once more in Victorian London, where she meets Jones, as well as Power, and the darkly mysterious Cain Templeton with whom Ali has unfinished business from her previous visit to the past . .
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: The Clifton Arms Hotel, West Beach, Lytham FY8 5QJ
Tickets: from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
An afternoon with the extraordinary
Kate Barron
Wilderness Mum
Fri 13th Feb 2026
at The Clifton Arms Hotel, Lytham 1.30pm (doors 1pm)
Tickets £30 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, authors talk and signed Hardback
Ever wondered what it’s like to live in the wild? Join us to hear Kate Barron (aka @wilderness.mum and @wildernessfamilyuk on instagram). She met Christian Lewis (Finding Hildasay and Hildasay to Home) on his epic walk around the UK – this is her story and her inspiring account of what happened next in their wild adventure.
‘A truly inspiring story of courage, resilience and the call of the wild. Wilderness Mum is a testament to the extraordinary things we are capable of’ Tim Peake
But Kate’s biggest challenge was yet to come. Choosing to have a baby without pausing their journey, she navigated pregnancy, childbirth and the realities of new motherhood while living completely outdoors.
Wilderness Mum is the extraordinary true story of what happens when you refuse to follow the script. It’s a love letter to the wild, a testament to the strength of the human spirit and an inspiring guide to embracing motherhood without sacrificing the adventure of a lifetime.
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: The Clifton Arms Hotel, West Beach, Lytham FY8 5QJ
Tickets: from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Lunch with bestselling author Netflix No 1 HIS & HERS
Alice Feeney
My Husband’s Wife
Fri 30th January 2026
at Fylde Rugby Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £35 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, 1 course lunch, authors talk and signed Hardback
We are excited to welcome the fantastic Alice Feeney to Lytham – and just as her bestselling book His & Hers hits No 1 on NETFLIX ! The Sunday Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ugly is back with a psychological masterpiece that will leave you questioning everything you know about love, identity, and revenge.
‘My Husband’s Wife was nonstop thrills from the first page and kept me guessing until the end! The best Feeney book yet!’ Freida McFadden, author of The Housemaid
Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, an enchanting old house in Hope Falls, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife.
One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying.
Six months earlier, a reclusive Londoner called Birdy, reeling from a life-changing diagnosis, inherits Spyglass. This unexpected gift from a long-lost grandmother brings her to the pretty seaside village of Hope Falls. But then Birdy stumbles upon a shadowy London clinic that claims to be able to predict a person’s date of death, including her own. Secrets start to unravel, and as the line between truth and lies blurs, Birdy feels compelled to right some old wrongs.
My Husband’s Wife is a tangled web of deception, obsession, and mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page. Prepare yourself for the ultimate mind-bending marriage thriller and step inside Spyglass – if you dare – to experience a story where nothing is as it seems.
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Fylde Rugby Club, Blackpool Rd, Lytham FY8 4EL
Tickets: from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
Lunch with bestselling creator of ROY GRACE
Peter James
The Hawk Is Dead
Tues 14th Oct 2025
at Fylde Rugby Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £40 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, 1 course lunch, authors talk and signed Hardback
Join us for a fantastic event with Peter James – the number one bestselling author and creator of TV’s Roy Grace with a fantastic new book. With sales topping 23 million this is one of the UK’s best selling and best loved detectives and Queen Camilla’s favourite detective! Praised by critics and much-loved by crime and thriller fans for his fast-paced page-turners full of unexpected plot twists, sinister characters, and accurate portrayal of modern-day policing, he has won more than 40 awards for his work.
‘What a fool I’ve been not to have read Peter James until The Hawk is Dead. A great story.’ – James Patterson
‘Peter James is one of the best British crime writers and therefore one of the best in the world’ – Lee Child
‘Ruthlessly efficient entertainment. Pedigree fun’ – The Times
Roy Grace never dreamed a murder investigation would take him deep into Buckingham Palace . . .
Her Majesty, Queen Camilla, is aboard the Royal Train heading to a charity event in Sussex when disaster strikes – the train is derailed. A tragic accident or a planned attack? When, minutes later, a trusted aide is shot dead by a sniper, the police have their answer. Despite all the evidence, Roy Grace is not convinced The Queen was the intended target.
But he finds himself alone in his suspicions. Fighting against the scepticism of his colleagues and the Palace itself, Grace pursues his own investigation. But when there is a second murder, the stakes rise even higher, and Grace is at risk of being embroiled in a very public catastrophe – and in mortal danger.
Failure at this level is not an option. But time is running out before a killer in the Palace will strike again … Roy Grace is back with his most difficult case yet.
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Fylde Rugby Club, Blackpool Rd, Lytham FY8 4EL
Tickets:from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
Lunch with bestselling Queen of Domestic Noir
Adele Parks
Our Beautiful Mess
Wed 29th October 2025
at Fylde Rugby Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £35 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, 1 course lunch, authors talk and signed Hardback
We are excited to welcome Adele Parks to Lytham for the first first time! Her 25th novel in a 25 year career of Number One bestsellers including Just Between us and One Last Secret. Her new thriller is an explosive and deeply emotional family drama which explores the lengths a parent will go to protect a child; for there’s nothing stronger than a woman whose family is under threat.
‘Adele Parks consistently writes banger after banger, and Our Beautiful Mess might just be her best yet. Addictive and brilliant’ Lisa Jewell
‘Had me gripped from beginning to end. Masterfully written with gut-punching twists and brimming with tension this is Adele Parks’ best book yet. Absolutely outstanding’ Claire Douglas
‘Unforgettable’ Gillian McAllister
‘A truly brilliant and shocking family drama, tense, explosive and tender. I think this might be Adele’s best yet’ Elly Griffiths
Connie can’t wait to have all her daughters back home for Christmas. It’s not just the excitement of the girls being together under one roof; uni student Fran is bringing a new boyfriend to stay. The empty nest will once again be full of friends, family and young love. Yet from the moment she sees Zac, Connie feels a deep unease. Zac reminds her of the worst mistake she has ever made: a man whose charm and good looks nearly destroyed her marriage. Then, Fran announces she’s pregnant.
Reeling from Fran’s news and terrified that her past might threaten her family’s future, Connie desperately tries to navigate a path forward. But there’s a much greater menace looming, because she’s not the only one who has something to hide. Someone in the house has another devastating secret. A deception which will put everyone Connie loves in shocking danger, and one of them will pay the ultimate price.
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Fylde Rugby Club, Blackpool Rd, Lytham FY8 4EL
Tickets: from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
Lunch with bestselling creator of VERA and SHETLAND
Ann Cleeves
The Killing Stones
Fri 3rd Oct 2025 **Sold Out**
**This event is sold out but you can still join our waiting list or order a signed book**
at Fylde Rugby Club, Lytham 12 noon (doors 11.30am)
Tickets £40 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, 1 course lunch, authors talk and signed Hardback
Ann Cleeves returns with a new Detective Jimmy Perez – beloved star of her Shetland series! Ann Cleeves is the author of 37 critically acclaimed novels, an international bestseller translated into over 20 languages worldwide. In 2017 was awarded the highest accolade in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger. She is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez and Matthew Venn, who can be found on television in
ITV’s Vera, BBC One’s Shetland and ITV’s The Long Call respectively. The TV series and the books they are based on have become international sensations, capturing the minds of millions worldwide.
‘Jimmy is back, in Orkney now instead of Shetland and Ann Cleeves is a stone cold genius’ Marian Keyes
‘Expertly plotted and mesmerizing” – Mick Herron
‘Bold and dramatic, with a restless love of landscape” – Val McDermid
‘Unmatched elegance, ingenious plots, and deep characters.Worth every minute’ – David Baldacci
When a violent storm descends upon Orkney, the body of Archie Stout is left in its wake. An unusual murder weapon, a Neolithic stone bearing ancient inscriptions, is found discarded nearby.
Archie was a popular, larger-than-life character, and his death is a shocking blow to the community. Detective Jimmy Perez, no stranger to the complexity of human nature and the darkness it can harbour, is soon on the scene. He counted Archie as a childhood friend, so this case is more personal than most.
Now living in Orkney with his partner, Willow, and their son, Perez is soon drawn into the lives of the islanders, many of whom hold secrets. Dark secrets, which could have led to the man’s murder. Here, in these ancient lands where history runs deep, Perez must discern the truth from legend before a desperate killer strikes again.
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Fylde Rugby Club, Blackpool Rd, Lytham FY8 4EL
Tickets: from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
Lunch with beloved broadcaster & author
Julia Bradbury
Hack Yourself Healthy
Tues 16th Sept 2025
at Fylde Rugby Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £40 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, 1 course lunch, authors talk and signed Hardback
We are thrilled to be welcoming back Julia Bradbury with another inspirational book on personal health.
Julia is best known as a well-loved television presenter, author, nature advocate, charity campaigner and Sunday Times bestselling author of Walk Yourself Happy. She turned her lifelong passion for walking into prime-time TV with shows including Britain’s Best Walks and Wainwright’s Walks in the Lake District. We know her from her time fronting Countryfile, Top Gear and Watchdog.
Following her own battle with cancer, Julia has embarked on a rigorous journey to reclaim her health. In Hack Yourself Healthy Julia set out to test, trial, and discover medically-backed ways to improve her healthspan by optimising her wellbeing – which led her to discover a benign cyst “smack bang” in the middle of her brain.
Lots of her has been examined and analysed in this journey, from her brainwaves to her breasts: She has been poked, prodded and stuck with needles; she has given a lot of blood and shared her poo for the purposes of science; saliva test enabled specialists to decode her DNA – to work out what diseases she was susceptible to; and even her emotional health and psychological resilience – both surprisingly significant in human healthspan – have been
picked apart.
Hack Yourself Healthy draws from all the research, interviews with world-renowned experts and personal experiments that Julia has carried out during the last two years.
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Fylde Rugby Club, Blackpool Rd, Lytham FY8 4EL
Tickets: from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
Lunch with renowned historian
Tracy Borman
The Stolen Crown
Mon 1st September 2025
at Green Drive Golf Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £45 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, lunch, author talk and signed Hardback
Tracy Borman OBE has recently been named Chief Historian at the Historic Royal Palaces, a role which she previously shared with Lucy Worsley. She’s a regular broadcaster and public speaker, and was a key expert in the recent Channel 5 documentary, Princes in the Tower, which explored new discoveries relating to Richard III’s nephews and their uncertain fate. She is a renowned author and we are delighted to welcome her to Lytham to talk about her new book The Stolen Crown.
In March 1603, Queen Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch, lies dying at Richmond Palace. The queen’s ministers cluster round her bedside, urging her to name her successor – something she has stubbornly resisted throughout her reign. Almost with her last breath she whispers that James VI of Scotland should succeed her. She diesshortly afterwards and the throne of England passes peacefully from Tudor to Stuart.
OR SO WE’VE BEEN LED TO BELIEVE
Thrilling new research reveals this is not what happened. James Stuart seized the throne illegally, and history itself was re-written under his orders. The truth is Elizabeth went to her grave without formally naming an heir.
The notion of an approved succession from Tudors to Stuarts is little more than an elaborately constructed fiction – a fiction that went on to have devastating consequences. The Stuart regime rapidly descended into turbulence and uncertainty, conspiracy and persecution, witchcraft and gunpowder. With a combination of rigorous research and brilliant storytelling, The Stolen Crown takes us behind palace doors to reveal the secret history of the Tudor succession, iconic women, history makers, espionage, conspiracy and power.
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Green Drive Golf Club, Ballam Rd, Lytham FY8 4LE
Tickets: from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
Lunch with award winning writer walking the Coast to Coast
Jenn Ashworth
The Parallel Path: Love, Grit and walking the North
Tues 5th August 2025
at Green Drive Golf Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £40 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, lunch, author talk and signed Hardback
We are delighted to welcome back novelist Jenn Ashworth with a brilliant new book about walking the Coast to Coast. An award winning writer and a Professor of Writing at Lancaster University this is her first non-fiction book.
‘Reading The Parallel Path feels like going on a long walk with an old friend: Jenn Ashworth is exceptionally good company. I loved it’ Mark Haddon
‘Touching, thoughtful and frank – Jenn Ashworth is a wonderful writer’ David Nicholls
‘A seriously gifted writer’ Irish Times
.
Burnt out and longing for an escape, Jenn Ashworth emerged from lockdown with a compulsive need to walk – and to walk away.
Armed with little more than the knowledge imparted by a two-day orienteering course and a set of maps, she embarked on the most epic of English walks: Wainwright’s Coast to Coast. Guided not just by Wainwright’s writing but also by daily letters from her friend Clive – facing an epic journey of his own – Jenn’s pilgrimage soon becomes more than just walking: a chance to reconnect and excavate, to re-engage with the act of caring for others and for oneself. But the walk’s tricky terrain is not the only thing standing in Jenn’s way.
As days go by, her balance begins to fail her and the act of putting one foot in front the other becomes a new exercise in caution. When a vicious heatwave forces her to pause her expedition and gives her an opportunity to investigate the new limitations of her body, Jenn is confronted with a life-altering diagnosis – and a new path of self-discovery.
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Green Drive Golf Club, Ballam Rd, Lytham FY8 4LE
Tickets from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
Lunch with award winning broadcaster
Steph McGovern
Deadline
Wed 9th July 2025
at Fylde Rugby Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £40 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, 1 course lunch, authors talk and signed Hardback
Steph McGovern is an award-winning broadcaster who currently presents The Rest Is Money podcast with Robert Peston. Steph has worked in journalism for over twenty years, eight of them as part of the BBC Breakfast family. She went on to present her own BAFTA-nominated live daily show, Steph’s Packed Lunch, on Channel 4 and is a regular Have I Got News for You panellist and host. We’re delighted to welcome her with Deadline her first novel.
‘A pacy, witty, engaging thriller, entertaining and delightfully authentic, but hard-hitting and thought-provoking too. I can’t wait for you all to read it’ – Ann Cleeves
‘Fascinating and authentic peek behind the scenes .. . Steph McGovern lifts the lid and hooks us in with an irresistible set up.’ Val McDermid
Your child has been kidnapped. You’re live on television.
Going live in 10, 9, 8 . . .
Today is a huge day for TV reporter Rose’s career. A live interview with one of the most powerful men in the country, on one of the nation’s biggest TV shows. 7, 6, 5 . . . But, when she hears an unfamiliar voice in her ear, she knows something is very wrong. 4, 3, 2 . . .
Her earpiece has been hacked. She’s live on air in the middle of the interview. They tell her they have kidnapped her family. 1 …..And, in order to protect them, Rose must do exactly what the hijacker says. They are in control now
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Fylde Rugby Club, Blackpool Rd, Lytham FY8 4EL
Tickets: £40 from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
Lunch with internationally bestselling author of ONE DAY
David Nicholls
You Are Here
Mon 7th July 2025
at Fylde Rugby Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £30 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, 1 course lunch, talk and signed book
THE LOVE STORY OF THE YEAR and winner of multiple awards and accolades we are delighted to welcome David Nicholls to Lytham with his fifth novel You Are Here. You will undoubtedly know Nicholls as the author of One Day – the globally loved bestseller which launched a blockbuster movie and recently a series which almost broke Netflix! His first bestseller was Starter For Ten and Nicholls is also a BAFTA award winning screenwriter.
‘A triumph, a real gift of a novel’ Sunday Times’
Romantic, funny and hopeful’ Dolly Alderton
‘It makes you want to tell someone – anyone – that you love or care about them’. Independent
‘Such a lovely book!’ Nigella Lawson
‘You become so invested in the outcome of this romance that it makes the whole world shimmer with a kind of secret possibility’ Observer
‘The irresistible feel of a classic romance’ Mail on Sunday
‘One of the most astute chroniclers of England as it is now’ Financial Times
‘An uncanny ability to make us laugh out loud, but also care passionately about his characters’ Daily Telegraph
‘No one else writes novels that are both relatable and revelatory in the way he does’ Evening Standard
Sometimes you need to get lost to find your way… Marnie is stuck. Stuck working alone in her London flat, stuck battling the long afternoons and a life that often feels like it’s passing her by.
Michael is coming undone. Reeling from his wife’s departure, increasingly reclusive, taking himself on long, solitary walks across the moors and fells. When a persistent mutual friend and some very English weather conspire to bring them together, Marnie and Michael suddenly find themselves alone on the most epic of walks and on the precipice of a new friendship. But can they survive the journey?
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Fylde Rugby Club, Blackpool Rd, Lytham FY8 4EL
Tickets: £30 from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
Lunch with crime bestseller
Mark Billingham
What The Night Brings
Tues 17th June 2025
at Fylde Rugby Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £40 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, 1 course lunch, authors talk and signed Hardback
Mark Billingham returns with a new Tom Thorne novel. Originally bursting on to the crime fiction scene in 2002 with the international bestseller Sleepy Head, Mark has since published 17 bestselling books featuring Thorne. Last in Lytham with his series set in Blackpool (The Last Dance, The Wrong Hands), this visit is not to be missed.
‘Billingham only gets better’ MICHAEL CONNELLY
‘Sensational, masterful, sharp and shocking’ CHRIS WHITAKER
‘The best Tom Thorne novel yet’ MICK HERRON
‘One of crime fiction’s finest’ KARIN SLAUGHTER
“Three dead coppers, Tom, maybe four by lunchtime.”The targeted murder of four officers is only the first in a series of attacks that leaves police scared, angry and, most disturbingly of all, vengeful. As Tom Thorne and Nicola Tanner dig into the reasons for the violence, a deeper darkness begins to emerge: the possibility that these murders are payback. The price paid for an unspeakable betrayal.
To uncover the truth, Thorne will be forced to question everything he stands for. He can trust nobody, and the shocking secrets revealed by one terrible night will fracture his entire world.
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Fylde Rugby Club, Blackpool Rd, Lytham FY8 4EL
Tickets: £40 from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
Lunch with internationally bestselling novelist
John Connolly
The Children of Eve
Tues 6th May 2025
at Green Drive Golf Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £40 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, lunch, author talk and signed Hardback
We are delighted to welcome back John Connolly with a brand new Charlie Parker thriller. With over 30 award winning and bestselling published works, John has now published more Sunday Times Top 10 hardback bestsellers than any other Irish writer. Whether you’re a long standing fan or discovering John for the first time you are in for a treat!
‘One of the best thriller writers we have’ Harlan Coben
‘John Connolly is the creator of a unique blend of thriller and horror who receives rave reviews every time’ Sunday Telegraph
‘Dark and dangerous … but where there is also kindness, loyalty, love’ Irish Examiner
‘To my mind, Connolly is Ireland’s Stephen King’ Matt Nixson, The Express
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Wyatt Riggins, the boyfriend of rising Maine artist Zetta Nadeau, has gone missing, leaving behind a cell phone containing a single-word message: RUN. Private investigator Charlie Parker is hired to find out why Riggins has fled, and from whom.
Parker discovers that Riggins, an ex-soldier, has been involved in the abduction of four children from Mexico: three girls and a boy, all belonging to the cartel boss Blás Urrea – except Urrea’s family is safe and well in Mexico, which means the abductees cannot be his children. Yet whoever they are, Urrea wants them back, and has dispatched his agents to secure them, even if it means butchering everyone who stands in their way. One of those agents is Eugene Seeley, a clever, ruthless solver of other men’s problems.
The other is an unknown woman. Every child has a mother. Now Charlie Parker will face one unlike any other, and learn the terrifying truth about the Children of Eve.
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Green Drive Golf Club, Ballam Rd, Lytham FY8 4LE
Tickets from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
Lunch with bestselling romantic novelist
Veronica Henry
One Night At the Chateau
Tues 11th March 2025
at Green Drive Golf Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £37 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, lunch, author talk and signed Hardback
Join us for an escape to beautiful Provence with the dazzlingly romantic new novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Veronica Henry. Her writing career began at The Archers, and she has been a scriptwriter for hundreds of hours of our most watched tv drama – including Heartbeat, Holby City and Crossroads! She is now the author of over twenty bestselling novels, translated into 25 languages over 30 territories and we can’t wait to welcome her to Lytham.
‘‘A delight from start to finish, being swept away to Provence, like sipping wine on lazy summer days, a perfect summer read’ CAROL KIRKWOOD
‘All my favourite things, Provence, a château, lavender and rosé wine. A gorgeous slice of French life and now I want to go and live there!’ JO THOMAS
‘Utterly enchanting! I was spellbound from the very first page. A gloriously romantic read!’ HEIDI SWAIN
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One night to fall in love. One summer to change everything… Over the last few months, Connie’s whole world has fallen apart. Her husband’s run off with an older woman, the magazine she works for has gone bust and she’s having to sell the family home.
So when her beloved godmother, Lismay, begs her to help run the beautiful Château Villette, it couldn’t come at a better time… No one knows the château quite like Connie. She spent a blissful summer there in her twenties, learning to cook delicious French food for the guests, ironing the lavender-scented sheets – and trying to resist the very handsome neighbour, Remy.
As soon as she arrives, it’s clear that the château is close to crumbling and Connie knows she’s going to have her work cut out. Could it be the fresh start she didn’t even know she needed – and will she find a way to save the château, before it’s too late?
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Green Drive Golf Club, Ballam Rd, Lytham FY8 4LE
Tickets from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
Lunch with international bestseller
Clare Mackintosh
Other People’s Houses
Thurs 6th March 2025
at Green Drive Golf Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £37 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, lunch, author talk and signed Hardback
We are thrilled to welcome back Clare Mackintosh – bestselling author of the jaw-droppingly twisty I Let You Go, andLet Me Lie. Her crime series, set on the English Welsh border, was an instant Sunday Times bestseller and The Last Party and A Game of Lies are currently being adapted for television. Other People’s Houses is the third in the series. Her books have spent a combined 64 weeks in the Sunday Times bestseller lists.
The Hill is the kind of place everyone wants to live: luxurious, exclusive and safe. But now someone is breaking and entering these Cheshire homes one by one, and DS Leo Brady suspects the burglar is looking for something, or someone, in particular.
Over the border in Wales, DC Ffion Morgan recovers the body of an estate agent from the lake. There’s no love lost between Ffion and estate agents, but who hated this one enough to want her dead – and why? As their cases collide, Ffion and Leo discover people will pay a high price to keep their secrets behind closed doors . .
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Green Drive Golf Club, Ballam Rd, Lytham FY8 4LE
Tickets from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
Lunch with the bestselling Queen of feel good fiction
Milly Johnson
Same Time Next Year
Tues 4th March 2025
at Green Drive Golf Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £37 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, lunch, author talk and signed Hardback
We are delighted to have a return visit from the absolute Queen of feel good fiction – she is a Sunday Times bestseller and one of the Top 10 female fiction authors in the country with millions of copies of her novels sold worldwide.
Welcome to Spring Hill, home to a parade of independent shops and cafes and a thriving local community. Amanda is primary carer to her elderly mother and one of the only women employed by a male-dominated company. Used to being second-best all her life, is this her time to finally break ranks and shine? Sky works at the repair shop, patching up old teddy bears, and their owners’ hearts. But her heart beats only for the one man who is strictly off-limits.
Mel has been a loyal and loving wife to Steve for thirty years. But when he goes to his old school reunion, life as she knows it will never be the same again. Erin is trying to get over a traumatic loss where her guilt weighs more than her grief. Unable to move forward, can she find the first step to healing lies in sharing an hour with strangers once a week? Astrid is feeling unsettled, lonely and in need of change and challenge. But when a fantastic opportunity presents itself to her that would bring her what she wants, who is around to convince her she is worthy enough to take the risk?
These five women of different ages and backgrounds are drawn together in a friendship group in the back room of Ray’s Diner every Tuesday. Over a cup of something warming, could they find the answers to their worries, acceptance, courage, support – and laughter here…?
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Green Drive Golf Club, Ballam Rd, Lytham FY8 4LE
Tickets from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
A Literary Lunch with international bestselling author
Jojo Moyes
We All Live Here
Fri 14th Feb 2025
at Fylde Rugby Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £40 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, 1 course lunch, authors talk and signed Hardback
We are thrilled to be welcoming back he international bestselling Jojo Moyes to Lytham! Best know for her novels ‘Someone Else’s Shoes’, ‘The Giver of Stars’ and ‘Me Before You’ which was made into a blockbuster film, her novels have been translated into forty-six languages, have hit No 1 in twelve countries and have sold over 51 million copies worldwide.
The #1 Sunday Times bestselling author, whose books so many love, brings us a fresh, contemporary story of a woman and her unruly blended family
‘The best book she has ever written’ Marian Keyes
‘Wise, funny and glorious. She never ever disappoints’ Lisa Jewell
”Her latest novel proves that there is no time like the present to rewrite one’s own story’ Jodi Picoult
“Warm, witty and wonderful. The kind of book you smile at whilst reading’ Chris Whitaker
“So funny, touching and full of wisdom: Jojo Moyes at her very best’ Sophie Kinsella
Welcome to the Kennedy household. Lila wrote a bestseller about keeping your marriage alive, before discovering her ex was playing happy families with another woman. A woman she sees everyday at school pick-up. Bill, her stepdad, moved in after Lila’s mum died. He’s kind, old-fashioned and driving her absolutely nuts. Celie, Lila’s eldest, hates school. Hates it so much she’s stopped going. Her mother’s fine with that – because she doesn’t know yet. Violet is nine and sings age-inappropriate rap songs, laughs at fart jokes and Lila dearly hopes she’ll never, ever change. And Truant the dog has just bitten the American actor who’s suddenly landed on the Kennedys’ doorstep. This is Gene – Lila’s estranged father, and no one’s idea of a role model. He walked out on Lila and her mum years ago – and wherever he goes domestic discord follows. Because Gene’s presence changes things in unexpected ways. Soon the girls discover a kindred spirit in a man always chasing life’s joy.
Bill even loosens up. And Lila finds herself, astonishingly, dating. Something is happening to the Kennedy household – but what is it? And will it break, or save, their family?
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Fylde Rugby Club, Blackpool Rd, Lytham FY8 4EL
Tickets: £40 from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
Lunch with international bestseller & creator of BBC’s Scrublands
Chris Hammer
The Broken River
Tues 14th January 2025 at Green Drive Golf Club, Lytham 12.30pm (doors 12 noon)
Tickets £37 from the bookshop
include welcome drink, lunch, author talk and signed Hardback
We are delighted to welcome Chris Hammer to Lytham for the first time on a rare visit from Australia. Chris is the internationally bestselling author of Scrublands (adapted by the BBC), winner of the prestigious CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award, and The Times Crime Book of the Year 2023. Chris was previously a journalist for more than 30 years and reported from more than 30 countries for SBS TV. The Broken River is a masterclass of crime writing and as Ann Cleeves says ‘An almost perfect crime novel’.
‘Epic. Shakespearean in depth. Fierce, gripping and spine-chilling.’ Daily Mail
‘A top-notch Aussie Noir with real heat coming off the pages.’ Christopher Fowler
‘Shimmers …A tortured tale of blood and loss.’ Val McDermid
‘An epic and immersive read’ The Guardian
‘Hammer is a great writer- a leader in Australian noir’ Michael Connelly
A body has been discovered on the riverbanks of The Valley, a remote community in the hills of New South Wales. The gold mine at the heart of The Valley was once the life blood of this region, but it has been flooded for decades.
Over the years, many have tried and failed to bring it back to life. Now, most believe the mine is barren. The victim is Wolfgang Burnside, deputy mayor – a champion of change or local schemer, depending on who you ask. He had been working on plans to take the Valley off-grid with hydro-power using the lake surrounding the abandoned mine. Until he was poisoned, his body dumped in the river.
Detectives Nell Buchanan and Ivan Lucic are dispatched to investigate. The warning is clear – there are secrets lurking in the depths of this Valley, secrets worth more than their weight in gold. What price will this town have to pay to ensure that they never see the light of day?
An epic, atmospheric mystery spanning generations set against a luscious backdrop and the twisting veins of gold that lurk beneath.
Format: Welcome drink & Signed book on arrival, followed by lunch, author talk and audience Q&A
Venue: Green Drive Golf Club, Ballam Rd, Lytham FY8 4LE
Tickets from the bookshop at 87c Clifton St, Lytham FY8 5ER, or by telephone 01253 796 958
Seating: Our lunches are lively social occasions – seating is pre-planned and you will be seated with the other members in your party on shared tables – if you are coming alone, we will make sure we seat you with other solo diners.
