EVENTS 
Upcoming: * David Nicholls * Steph McGovern * Jenn Ashworth *
We run a vibrant series of high profile author events in favourite local venues ~ including our bestselling Literary Lunches. 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.
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 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 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
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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.
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:
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.
