Welcome
books on the walls: where stories, sounds and spirits intertwine in the heart of Chester.
Nestled within Chester's historic city walls, books on the walls is more than just a bookshop – we're a haven where stories come alive and individuals connect.
Our carefully curated space brings together a perfect blend of contemporary culture and timeless traditions.
Discover Your Perfect Reading Companion
Step into our welcoming space and explore our thoughtfully selected collection of books spanning every genre.
Whether you’re seeking your next literary adventure, diving into challenging histories or browsing for the perfect Chester gift, our friendly staff are here to guide you through our selection.
You’ll discover the unexpected as well as revel in familiar favourites.
We’re also always happy to source your own requests.
More Than books
Banish your phone and immerse yourself in our unique atmosphere where literature meets lifestyle:
Artisanal Coffee Bar: Start your day with lovingly nurtured and locally roasted coffee while enjoying your latest read
Craft Beer, Cider and Fine Martinis: Unwind with our handpicked selection of local beers, ciders and spirits
Vinyl & Music Collection: Spin some grooves from our record collection on our in-house turntable and peruse our treasury of new vinyl, cds and cassettes for sale
Daily Press: Stay informed with our wide range of local and national newspapers and periodicals
Art Space: Explore contemporary works by local artists, available to purchase
Board Game Library: Make a new connection over a game of Chester Monopoly
Salty and Sugary Snacks: Graze upon our small but perfectly formed range for our canine as well as human visitors
Our Local Suppliers Include:
Bread Together, Chester
Providence Gin, Chester
The Ice Cream Farm, Tattenhall
Orchards Farm, Tattenhall
Adams and Russell Coffee Roasters, Birkenhead
Hafod Brewing Company, Mold
Nicaragua, The Tierre Madre Women's Co-operative
From Bristol, Zuma
Costa Rica, San Jorge produced by Coopeagri Cooperative
Sophia Shaw, Art & Illustration, Chester
Find Us in Historic Chester
Located at 2 City Walls, Chester, Cheshire CH1 2JG, we’re proud to be part of the fabric of this fantastic city.
Our incredible location on Chester’s famous walls makes us the perfect destination for both locals and visitors seeking a unique experience.
Whether you’re searching for your next favourite book, the perfect album or simply a peaceful spot to enjoy quality coffee and good company, books on the walls welcomes you.
Our friendly team is ready to help you discover something special and truly social.
Don’t Miss Out on Local Events
Want to hear about upcoming books on the walls events and other exciting happenings at your local bookshops?
Sign up at National Book Tokens to get updates on author visits, community events, and bookstore news — all straight to your inbox.
CraftTea on the walls
Wednesdays, 2 – 3pm
A relaxed, chatty crafting hour. Bring along some bits and bobs and get creating with a pot of tea and good company at books on the walls.
Drop-in.
books on the walls, 2 City Walls, Chester CH1 2JG
Games Night on the walls
Thursday 21st August 2025
6-7.30pm
You are invited to a new games night which will take place on the third Thursday of the month. Play one of the board and table-top games at books on the walls or turn up with a favourite from home.
Inspired by the Middle East, France and Italy, we will serve some Bread Together specials, hand-made slow fermented pizza slices with a variety of toppings. A glass of wine or non-alcoholic alternative will also be included in your ticket price.
There are 10 places available in the group.
Please book tickets with books on the walls, in person or via email hello@booksonthewalls.com
Tickets £5
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (September)
In Conversation with Jill Hawkins, Co-Founder of Muceum Magazine
Saturday 6 September 2025
2 - 2.30pm
Free, drop-in
Jill is co-founder of Muceum, a new magazine that aims to change the relationships we have with fashion, style and materials. Muceum was created between Denmark and the UK by Sanne Moth, a fashion designer, and Jill, a trend researcher / stylist / psychologist, two creatives who want to help people fall back in love with fashion’s creativity, artistry, craft and meaning.
Muceum focuses on the beauty of materials and processes, challenging ingrained ways of thinking about fashion and clothing, shifting the emphasis to healthier, more considered relationships and experiences with what we wear and how it’s made.
Combining beautiful visuals with articles, essays and poetry on issues that surround fashion and creativity, issue #1 explores the concept of generosity in design. It looks at bioactive materials (a milk yarn dress!); clothing for self-care and neurodiversity; relationships with nakedness and movement; and even the concept of ‘pyntesyg’ – an untranslatable Danish word that means ‘adorning yourself sick / too much’.
Jill will be here to talk about the magazine, its formation, process and intention, and her work as a trend researcher and a creative who wears many ‘hats’. Jill is fun and friendly, so this will be a lovely event!
CraftTea on the walls
Wednesdays 3rd September 2025
2-3pm
A relaxed, chatty crafting hour. Bring along some bits and bobs and get creating with a pot of tea and good company at books on the walls.
Drop-in.
books on the walls, 2 City Walls, Chester CH1 2JG
Author Event with Giada Nizzoli
Saturday 13 September 2025
2.00pm – 2.30pm
Free, drop-in
Giadia is an author, poet, marketing message mentor and strategist, born in the 90s with an inexplicable obsession for the 80s. She’s Italian but moved to the UK when she was nineteen, and after living in London and graduating in Creative & Media Writing in Portsmouth, she now considers Chester her adoptive hometown.
She self-published her first poetry book, Will-o’-the-Wisps, in 2020 and a magical realism short story collection, Set in Marble, in 2021.
In 2023, Querencia Press published her poetry pamphlet, Ghost Hometowns. Steeped in nostalgia and memorable imagery, it takes you from sunny but decadent Italian landscapes to the cold streets of London, full of unseizable possibilities. Ghost Hometowns explores the disorienting feeling of not knowing where you belong.
Written from a migrant's perspective, it's a doomed quest for a home in your birth country, abroad and even with family sharing opposite views. Let it guide you through your own, unescapable journey.
Women’s Book Swap Club
Wednesday 24 September or
Thursday 25 September (SOLD OUT)
6-7.30pm
at Amblongus (venue alternates between Amblongus and books
on the walls)
You are invited to this book swap club which will take place on the last
Wednesday and Thursday of September. Bring along a book to discuss and
then swap with another participant.
Inspired by the Middle East, France and Italy, we will serve some Bread
Together specials, hand-made slow fermented pizza slices with a variety of
toppings. A glass of wine or non-alcoholic alternative will also be included in
your ticket price.
There are only 9 places available at the session on Wednesday 24 September 2025.
Please book tickets with either Amblongus or books on the walls, in person
or via email hello@booksonthewalls.com or amblongusbooks@gmail.com
Tickets £5
Author Event with Chris Fozzard
Saturday 27 September 2025
2 - 2.30pm
The Chester Book Club, 1824
Chris Fozzard is a Chester-based local historian and writer. He’s also a regular speaker at venues in and around the city, including at this year’s Chester Literature Festival.
He’s had two books published to date and will talk to us about the most recent of these, The Chester Book Club, 1824, which shines a light on a little-known society and the world they inhabited two centuries ago.'
sunday tunes on the walls
In Conversation with Paul Brand, author of Kick It! The Definitive Football Mixtape (2024) followed by a World Music Showcase with Dave Sheekey from their station Circl8 Radio
Sunday 28 September 2025
2 – 4pm
Free, drop-in
Paul Brand lives in Chester's Garden Quarter but grew up on the Essex/East London borders, lumbering him with a life sentence supporting West Ham.
His first book, Fortune's Always Hiding: From Stratford to Seville (2023), chronicles the club's modern history from a fan's eye-view, while his second book, Inside the Academy: The Hopes, Highs and Heartbreaks of West Ham United's Youth (2024), reveals the journeys of those who had the potential but didn't quite make the step up from academy to Premier League.
His hat-trick effort is one for the neutral fans. Kick It! The Definitive Football Mixtape (2024) explores the synergy between the football and music industries and tells the stories behind the songs, including how 'You'll Never Walk Alone' nearly became an Old Trafford favourite. David Baddiel has called it "A brilliant ride through the idiosyncratically British sub-culture that is the football pop song", although he also took the author to task for describing 'World in Motion' as sonically superior to 'Three Lions'!
Paul will be playing and talking about some of the international hits featured in the book, so come along to have your life enriched by Los Ramblers' original World Cup anthem 'El Rock del Mundial', Super Furry Animals' brilliantly bonkers 'Bing Bong', and a USA '94 mash-up between the Village People and Die Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft.
Circl8 Radio began during the lockdown of 2020, and by June, Circl8 Radio was on the webwaves, dedicated to showcasing regional music talent.
Circl8, stands for Chester Internet Radio Community Live, with the ‘8’ emphasising round-the-clock commitment to broadcasting. Co-chaired by Dan Schott and the well-known music fan and DJ Kenny Cunningham, their station thrives with the support of approximately 30 passionate volunteers.
Dave Sheekey is one of the passionate volunteers, and you can listen to him playing The Music of Five Continents and Half A Dozen Small Islands once a month, on a Tuesday night at 9pm.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (October)
Samantha Maxwell, author of CP Isn’t Me and Disabling Ableism is delivering a talk alongside her publisher Allan about her newly released third book, SILENCED.
Saturday 4th October 2025
2 - 2.30pm
Free, drop-in
Samantha grew up in Wrexham with her family who always encouraged her to succeed. She decided to begin writing during the pandemic after her own mental health deteriorated significantly due to past trauma of being discriminated against from having a disability.
SILENCED. (released Saturday 27th September 2025), looks deeper into disability's relationship to mental health and whether this connection is due to environmental, personal or social factors, with kind contributions from Lesley Griffiths, MS for Wrexham and Counsellor Beryl Blackmore, Wrexham Mayor 2024-2025 alongside many others.
Samantha's first two books, CP Isn’t Me and Disabling Ableism shine a spotlight on disability and how perceptions of disability need to change for the better.
CP Isn’t Me was released in December 2022, and is part autobiographical, part factual and speaks about her own personal experiences of living with mild Cerebral Palsy and the discrimination that she has faced from people in society because of her disability.
Disabling Ableism is a generalised view of disability through the eyes of society with kind contributions from Lesley Griffiths, MS for Wrexham and Kerry Evans, Disability Liaison Officer at Wrexham AFC alongside many others.
Both CP Isn’t Me and Disabling Ableism are available nationally including in books on the walls, Chester.
Follow Samantha Maxwell on social media:
Facebook: Samantha Maxwell Author
Instagram: @samanthamaxwellauthor
X: @AuthorSamMax
YouTube: @SamanthaMaxwellAuthor
Bookshop Day
Louise Foster will be reading from her debut book The Last Little Pumpkin
11th October, 2.00 - 2.30pm
Having lived in Cumbria and now Chester, Louise has constantly been inspired by her surroundings.
Her first children's book, 'The Last Little Pumpkin', features the famous Shot Tower in Great Boughton.
With the help of her young daughter's imagination, she has brought to life a charming autumnal tale.
@L.FILLUSTRATION
Bookshop Day
Local Author Event with David Atkinson
11th October, 3.00 - 4.00pm
Local author David Atkinson is a writer, speaker and Green Badge Tourist Guide to Chester and North Wales.
He leads the Dark Chester tour, shining a flickering candlelight into the shadows of Chester’s 2000 years of dark-tourism heritage. The tour is suitable for both adults and children, and was recently named as the Small Tourism Business of the Year at the Marketing Cheshire Tourism Awards.
His new book, A Dark History of Chester, is published this autumn by Amberley — just in time for Halloween. Based on the tour, the book collects stories from Chester’s dark side, mixing expert accounts with folk tales and social history.
David will be telling stories from his home city’s dark past and signing copies of the new book as part of this local-author event.
Join us on Saturday, October 11 at 3 and, together, let’s take a walk on the dark side!
Later that afternoon, David will lead a Dark Chester tour from outside the Visitor Information Centre on Town Hall Square at 5.30
Stuart Robinson Photography ©️
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (November)
An Evening with Marc Burrows - The Story of the Christmas No.1, Mistletoe and Vinyl
Thursday 6 November 6 – 7.30pm
Join Marc for a launch party for his latest book, Mistletoe and Vinyl (published 2 October 2025). Marc will be delivering some specially written stand up on Christmas music along with a reading from his book, a chance for conversation and a book signing.
Mistletoe and Vinyl explores the peculiarly British cultural phenomenon of the Christmas singles chart. The festive top spot was something that, prior to 1973, wasn’t particularly important but has since become a cornerstone of the December news cycle and, for years, an annual cultural moment … that may have reached the end of its life.
Marc Burrows is an award-winning author, comedian and musician, currently residing in Bristol. His 2020 biography of Sir Terry Pratchett won the Locus Award and became the basis for a stand-up show that received rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe. He plays bass in the cult punk band The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, writes regularly for The Independent, Big Issue, and The New Statesmen. He is generally quite tired.
His last book, NIRVANA: A detailed guide to the band that changed everythingwas published in November 2024.
Free, festive refreshments, 20 tickets available.
In Conversation with Local Artist Sophia Shaw
Saturday 8 November 2025
2 - 2.30pm
free, drop-in
Local artist Sophia creates detailed and colourful paintings and quirky illustrated maps. Working from a canalside studio and narrowboat home, she is inspired by countryside, waterways and gardens seen on boat journeys and bike rides.
Author Event
Marie Anne Cope
Saturday 15 November 2025
2 - 2.30pm
About Marie Anne Cope
Marie Anne Cope is a captivating voice in supernatural and thriller fiction, known for blending dark, provocative themes with storytelling that hooks readers from the very first page. Originally from Manchester and now living in the picturesque landscapes of North Wales with her three feline companions—Jasmine, Texas, and Stoker—Marie’s work takes readers into shadowy worlds where suspense, fear, and emotion collide.
Marie burst onto the literary scene in 2013 with her debut novel, Bonds, the first in her acclaimed supernatural series. With follow-up instalments—Broken Bonds, Bonds Re-Bound, and Eternal Bonds—Marie has firmly established herself as a tour de force in supernatural fiction, seamlessly blending romance, danger, and the dark unknown.
Marie’s talent for complex characters and razor-sharp tension took a new turn with The Ellie Lawrence supernatural crime thriller series. Ellie is a private investigator and werewolf who tackles both real-world crimes and supernatural mysteries, blending suspense with dark, paranormal intrigue. Fans of supernatural thrillers and gripping crime stories will find themselves captivated by Ellie’s journey.
Beyond long-form fiction, Marie has earned a reputation for delivering bite-sized horror with her Tales From A Scarygirlshort story collections. In 2024, she surprised her fans by venturing into contemporary romance with Chasing Rainbows, a heartfelt tale of Jessie Ellis rebuilding her life and finding an unexpected second chance at love.
Writing under the pen name M A Cope, Marie has also created The Misfits, an enchanting series for younger readers, where a quirky group of supernatural friends embark on life-affirming adventures.
Awards & Achievements
- Winner, Murder Mystery Competition, Wrexham's Carnival of Words (2025) - One Haunted Night
- Finalist, Golden Stake Literary Award at the International Vampire Film & Arts Festival (2020) for Bonds
- Winner, Short Story Competition, Wrexham’s Carnival of Words “2017) – Two Days (Romance)
- Quarter-Finalist, Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (2012) for Bonds
Author Event with Lea Knowles
Saturday 22 November 2025
2-2.30pm
Lea Knowles is a former teacher based in Wirral who has been writing poetry since his student days, long ago.
Now basking in retirement which he has found hard to adapt to, Lea has done a stint of voluntary work in Nigeria as a teacher-trainer and also taught English as a Foreign Language in Poland, Greece and El Salvador. He has recently been a member of a team of volunteer teachers working with refugees and asylum seekers on Merseyside.
Lea’s poetry if frequently inspired by nature, by his home region and by places visited, home and abroad. He has recently completed his trilogy ‘Ripples Over the Mersey’ – a collection of poems and reflections on the Merseyside region. He has also somehow managed to compose a poem about every country in the world (‘National Spirit’ - as yet unpublished).
All proceeds from both these projects will go to a local cancer charity.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (December)
Author Event with Chris Fozzard
Saturday 6 December 2025
2-2.30pm
A Short History of Newton Hall, Chester
Chris Fozzard is a Chester-based local historian and writer. He’s also a regular speaker at venues in and around the city, including at this year’s Chester Literature Festival.
He’s had two books published to date and will talk to us about the first of these, A Short History of Newton Hall, Chester, which traces the story of this fine suburban dwelling from its origins through several centuries of occupancy. '
Author Event with Courtney-Amanda
Saturday 20 December 2025
2-2.30pm
Courtney-Amanda is an author based in Cheshire. Sheldon The Snail Loses His Shell is her first self-published novel.
Her creativity decided to flow one night whilst spending time with her mum, telling each other improvised stories and having lots of fun.
She hopes her book will bring joy and laughter, and portrays a message of friendship, sustainability and how asking for help can go a long way.
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