Location: London, W11 1PZ, United Kingdom

Whether you’re a fan of Star Wars, Doctor Who or Douglas Adams, pop along and celebrate International Geek Day with us! There are some great geeky prizes to be won including exclusive proof copies of terrific new books. Keep an eye on our Twitter account for more info.

Further details:
Saturday, 25 May 2013, 10:15AM - 8:00PM
020 7836 6757 (Sylak)… (more)

Saturday 25th May 2013 10.30-1.30

Bitter-Sweet

Scents and smells for character, atmosphere and inspiration

…what soft incense

(Keats)

Explore writing using all the senses, but particularly smell, with Cherry Potts, author of Mosaic of Air and Tales Told Before Cockcrow, editor of London Lies, Stations and Lovers’ Lies and owner of Arachne Press.

Bring a large notebook and lots of pens, and expect to write. Weather permitting a stroll about the garden may be included. If you have a scent that means a lot to you, (and it is portable) bring it with you!

Suitable for all levels of experience, and for fiction writers and poets.

How to book:

Keep an eye on the Keats festival event page but basic info seems to be

Book by phone: 020 7332 3868 (arachnepress)… (more)

Saturday 25th May 3-4pm

As part of the Keats Festival we are reading from Lovers’ Lies, and Weird Lies (which is due out in September 2013)

Focusing (loosely!) on the elements of Keats’ life not directly involved in poetry: science, medicine, and nature, Arachne Press bring you stories of the Garden of Eden, conversations with tadpoles, a meeting of minds across disciplines, and love, repression and an old-fashioned approach to doctoring.

From Lovers’ Lies:
The Painter and the Physicist Tania Hershman (read by the author)
Mirror Cherry Potts (read by Will Everett)
Something Missing Bobbie Darbyshire (read by the author)

From Weird Lies
What does H2O feel like to the Tadpoles? Tom McKay (read by Cliff Chapman)

Not sure whether you will need to book, so keep an eye on the Keats festival event page but basic info seems to be

Book by phone: 020 7332 3868 (arachnepress)… (more)

The annual BD Passion festival celebrating some of the best in European, British and North American comics culture is coming up very soon, and the website has been updated now with the full programme of events (talks, workshops, signings and films for all ages). The guest list has been updated too and includes Patrick Sobral, Ian Culbard, Posy Simmonds, Marc-Antoine Mathieu, Regis Loisel, David Zane Mairowitz, Hunt Emerson, Pascal Garray, Etienne Davodeau, Francois Boucq, Pénélope Bagieu, Glen Baxter and more. The BD Passion festival runs from the 30th of May to the 2nd of June. (ngoldfdf)… (more)

1st June 1-4 pm. A walk and site-specific workshop for writers of all levels of experience. Come and explore The Old Vinyl Factory site in Hayes
Blyth Road
Hayes
UB3 1HA

The factory was home to EMI from the 1900's right through to the 1970's, though most of the buildings date from the 20's: everything from Caruso to The Beatles was pressed here.

Compare old and new, derelict and refurbished, crowded and empty, sound and silence. Use the site as inspiration for writing. Work with all your senses to develop atmosphere, character and plot - we might even throw in some music.

There will be a brief introduction in the Vinyl Lounge:

Followed by a guided walk (roughly 45 minutes) around the interior of the refurbished Shipping building (including archive exhibition) and the currently derelict Cabinet building; and the exterior of the power house (if weather fair). Followed by a two-hour writing workshop back in the colourful Vinyl Lounge.

Workshop run by Cherry Potts, author of Mosaic of Air and Tales Told Before Cockcrow, editor of Stations short stories inspired by the Overground, co-editor of London Lies and Lovers' Lies, and owner of Arachne Press.

Bring a notebook suitable for make notes in on the move, and pens. More technically advanced writing gear is welcome once we settle in for the workshop, but might not be suitable while we are walking.

Caution: Some walking surfaces in the derelict areas are very uneven with varying surface materials, and there are one or two steps and thresholds to get over, and other potential tripping hazards. Sensible shoes essential! If you have mobility issues please get in touch before booking.

Part of the Hillingdon ArtsWeek. Booking essential as places are limited. £14. tickets from: Compass Theatre http://www.compasstheatre.co.uk/index.php/events/writing-on-the-move/

Ample parking on site, Hayes & Harlington Station 10-15min walk. Buses locally. (arachnepress)… (more)

WATERSTONE'S BLUEWATER WEST

Come and meet bestselling children's author Cathy Cassidy, twice voted the 'Queen of Teen', who will be making a welcome return visit to the store to sign her new book 'Coco Caramel', the latest in her 'Chocolate Box Girls' series.

Further details:
Saturday, 1 June 2013, 2:30PM - 4:00PM
01322 624831 (Sylak)… (more)

Dr Havi Carel is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Bristol and also teaches at Bristol Medical School. She is currently a British Academy Fellow, writing on a monograph for Oxford University Press, provisionally entitled Phenomenology of Illness . Her research examines the experience of illness and of receiving healthcare. She has written on the embodied experience of illness, wellbeing within illness and patient-physician communication in the Lancet, BMJ, Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, Philosophia and in edited collections.


Dr Carel is the author of Illness (Acumen 2008), shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize, and of Life and Death in Freud and Heidegger (Rodopi 2006). She is the co-editor of Health, Illness and Disease (Acumen 2012) and of What Philosophy Is (Continuum 2004). She also uses film in teaching and has co-edited a volume entitled New Takes in Film-Philosophy (Palgrave 2010). She recently co-edited a special issue of Philosophy on Human Experience and Nature (Cambridge University Press 2013). In 2009-11 Havi led an AHRC-funded project on the concepts of health, illness and disease and in 2011-12 she was awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship for a project entitled ‘The Lived Experience of Illness’. She currently holds a British Academy Fellowship.


A £5 registration fee is applicable to attend this event. (Cumberland_Lodge)… (more)

Dominic Sandbrook is one of Britain's best-known historians. His books on post-war Britain - Never Had It So Good, White Heat, State of Emergency and Seasons in the Sun - have been widely acclaimed. Dominic is a columnist for the Daily Mail and BBC History, reviews books for the Sunday Times and has presented numerous Radio 4 documentaries, notably a 15-part history of the Post Office. His BBC Two television series The 70s, adapted from his books, was broadcast in 2012, and his new series on Britain in the Cold War will be screened in 2013. He is currently working on a new book on the early 1980s, and is a visiting professor at King's College London. He will discuss his latest book Seasons in the Sun: The Battle for Britain, 1974-1979. Tickets are free of charge. Email writerofthemonth@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk to book your place now. (Cynfelyn)… (more)

A unique opportunity to hear from authors, enjoy the vibrant atmosphere and explore innovations shaping the publishing world of the future; incl. over 300+ Love Learning seminars and events.
The London Book Fair covers the broad spectrum of the publishing industry so there really is something for everyone no matter what your area of interest be it Rights, Digital, Children's, Emerging Markets. Translation, Film & TV or Academic. (Sylak)… (more)