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:
Our Local Suppliers Include:
- Adams and Russell Coffee Roasters, Birkenhead
- Bread Together, Chester
- Costa Rica, San Jorge produced by Coopeagri Cooperative
- em in stitches designs, Chester
- From Bristol, Zuma
- Hafod Brewing Company, Mold
- Honduras, Amprocal Women's Cooperative
- Lesley Mayné, Chester
- ngazi coffee, Chester and the Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda
- Nicaragua, The Tierre Madre Women's Co-operative
- Nikki Pinder, Liverpool
- Orchards Farm, Tattenhall
- Peru produced by Lambayeque Women's Cooperative
- Providence Gin, Chester
- Quinteassential Fine Teas, Chester
- Sophia Shaw, Art & Illustration, Chester
- The Cheese Shop, Chester
- The Ice Cream Farm, Tattenhall
- Worgan Games, Nantwich
- Weetwood Ales, 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.
books on the walls Poet in Residence: Andy Porter
books on the walls is delighted to announce the residency of Andy Porter. Andy will be busy unearthing the poet in those who visit the bookshop and developing the poetic opportunities on offer – with the support of a velvety stream of cappuccino froth.
Andy is a Cheshire based poet He has been writing poems since 2020 after working for over 30 years as an advertising scriptwriter, copywriter and director.
Andy’s debut poetry collection, “Neighbour’s Got a New Hot Tub” was launched in July 2025 by independent Irish publisher, Luain Press.
The following month Andy was invited to appear with Rising Tide Events at Electric Picnic, Ireland’s biggest music festival. He performs regularly at Spoken Word nights and is just as happy performing in front of an audience of a handful of people as he is in front of a theatre or festival audience of 150. Andy's work has featured on several podcasts and his poem "You Can't Take it with You" is in The Poetry's Dead's second anthology (published January 2026). His second full collection will be published later this year. Andy lives with his wife Kathy in the village of Great Barrow, where he is surrounded by lunatics, most of whom are his friends.
“These entertaining, high-spirited poems are packed with humour and crafted rhyme. Andy Porter has a natural facility for memorable words, phrases and titles to make you smile” Greg Freeman, Write Out Loud
“Funny, fab images, joyous juxtapositions” Neil Mullarkey, Co-founder,
The Comedy Store
“A bloody great poet!” Leon Dunne, All Ireland Poetry Slam Champion 2022
“Your book is an amazing achievement (& very funny) - well done mate!”
Mike Garry
Tik Tok: @andyspangles
Insta: @andyporterpoet
CraftTea
Weekly Event
Wednesdays 2-3pm
A relaxed, chatty crafting hour. Bring along some bits and bobs and get making with a pot of tea and good company at books on the walls
National Book Tokens Award
We’re delighted to share that books on the walls was awarded National Book Tokens Bookshop of the Month for August 2025!
We are also proud to be both a supplier and redeemer of National Book Tokens – the perfect gift for book lovers.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (October 2026)
Local Author Event
Chris Fozzard – Old News: Tragedy and Comedy in the Early Chester Press
Saturday 17th October 2026
2-2.30pm
Local historian and author of The Chester Book Club 1824 is returning with a curated distillation of interesting and bizarre stories from local Chester newspapers published in the mid to late 18th century, mostly featuring ordinary people involved in extraordinary events. There may be a book to follow.
Free, drop-in.
A Gig with Barney Lines-Hembrey
Saturday 17 October 2026
6.30 - 8.30pm
Fingerstyle guitarist Barney Lines-Hembrey hails from the Jurassic coastlines and rolling hills of Dorset and has been based in the North-West for the past six years. His original music takes inspiration from the quiet and storied county he grew up in, utilising its rural folklore and mythical landscapes to build stories through his lyrics. He draws from legends of folk music such as Nick Drake, Jackson C. Frank, Bob Dylan and Dick Gaughan as well as the traditional folk songs of Dorset. Barney is currently working on his debut EP, due to be released later this year.
The books on the walls bar and barista service will be in operation for the duration of the event.
Please book your free ticket on Eventbrite or with books on the walls – hello@booksonthewalls.com
Women’s Book Swap Club
Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 October 2026
6-7.30pm
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 will also be included in your ticket price.
Tickets £5
Please book tickets with either Amblongus or books on the walls, in person or via email hello@booksonthewalls.com or amblongusbooks@gmail.com
At books on the walls
Author Event and Book Launch with Dave Haslam: Creative Journeys
Tuesday 27 October 2026
6-7.30pm
books on the walls is thrilled to welcome legendary DJ, music journalist and author Dave Haslam to celebrate the launch of Creative Journeys (Manchester University Press).
Creative Journeys is a collection of conversations that Dave has had with creative trailblazers. Over forty years the DJ, writer and broadcaster has interviewed some of the most fascinating figures in music, literature, film and art. The book gathers revelatory conversations with creative characters including Neneh Cherry, Maxine Peake, Lemn Sissay, Andrew Weatherall, Raymond Carver and Jeremy Deller.
From politics and performance to art, fame and addiction, Haslam's interviewees speak with honesty about their creative journeys. Viv Albertine discusses ‘Typical Girls’ and Paddy Considine recalls Dead Man’s Shoes. Jarvis Cocker goes deep into ‘This is Hardcore’. Terry Hall and Miki Berenyi speak about childhood trauma. Bernard Sumner recalls the loss of Ian Curtis. Jonathan Franzen talks about torturing his characters. There’s darkness but much humour too.
The interviews provide fascinating stories of unorthodox, creative artists navigating negativity and personal setbacks to become celebrated cultural icons
Dave Haslam has been described as a ‘genius’ by Courtney Love and an ‘exceptional writer’ by Olivia Laing. He has worked as a journalist, broadcaster, DJ and interviewer. In the mid-1980s he was running a fanzine, writing for the NME and beginning a 450 night DJ residency at the Haçienda. He has gone on to DJ internationally, curate art events across Europe and write five full-length books, including the acclaimed memoir Sonic Youth Slept on My Floor (2018). books on the walls always has a Dave book on the shelves.
Dave will be talking about his book and answering questions from the audience, followed by a book signing and a chance for a chat. The books on the walls bar and barista service (Literary Cocktail of the month included) will be operating for the event.
Book your free ticket on Eventbrite or with books on the walls.
Photography by Chris Payne
Wednesday 28 October 10am-1pm and 2:30pm-4:30pm
Thursday 29 October 10am-1pm and 2:30pm-4:30pm
“two’s poetry”
AN ON-THE-SPOT POETRY DUET
Two poets in the shop
Swapping stanzas on a rota
They form a Poet Phalanx
One’s from Minnesota…
Pick an emotion, a weather word, and an animal.
Receive unique poems written just for you, on-the-spot, at your request by TWO talented poets: Andy Porter (books on the walls Poet in Residence) and Molly Ovenden.
First come, first served
£10 per request. Payment by Cash (or Card--via QR code)
Want a poem? Talk to Molly and Andy
books on the walls is proud to a host an original interactive event with two published poets - Molly Ovenden and our own poet in residence, Andy Porter.
Molly Ovenden is from Minnesota but has made Yorkshire her home. She is a “typewriter poetry busker” and a creative coach, bringing her art to people in public spaces such as festivals, cafes, bookshops and community centres.
Molly is the author of Cold Wet Windy, a remarkable collection of 100 poems. Each poem was written, typed on her trusty vintage portable Smith Corona, and read out within the course of twenty minutes or so, in response to a conversation. The poems are rich in imagery, playful and profound. Each is an individually commissioned work. Both personal and universal, the poems reach far beyond the confines of the page.
Molly’s “intern” across the two days will be Andy, whose two collections, Neighbour’s Got a New Hot Tub and Sourdough in Stilettos are packed with humour, wit and affection. Andy will be shadowing his bardic mentor Molly to create bespoke poems for visitors to books on the walls in his own distinctive, humorous style.
It promises to be a fun couple of afternoons of rhythm, rhyme and wonder, so bring your stories and see them brought to life in words.
*Join Andy & Molly and special guests on Thursday 29th October 6-8pm. Come along to experience the poems they wrote together whilst in books on the walls - and more!
Get your hands on a copy of Andy's collections, Neighbour’s Got a New Hot Tub and Sourdough in Stilettos; and Molly's Cold Wet Windy. Books will be for sale from books on the walls and the poets will be available after the performance, for book signing with anyone who would like to purchase their poetry collections.
Book your free ticket on Eventbrite or with books on the walls. The books on the walls bar and barista and bar service will be in operation for the event.
Plant Club with Diane - Folklore, Witches & Druids:
Between History and Myth
(Halloween Edition)
Friday 30 October 2026
6-8pm
Together, you’ll explore the curious relationship between plants, people and the supernatural, and how healing herbs, poisonous plants and old remedies became entangled with witchcraft, folklore and strange beliefs.
Drawing from history, folklore and modern research, you’ll untangle fact from fiction and discover the many roles plants have played in healing, ritual and altered states, and the stories and legends that grew around them.
Expect a relaxed, chatty evening with drinks and nibbles, curious plant lore and plenty of book recommendations for anyone wanting to delve deeper.
Find the list of recommended titles on bookshop.org – on the books on the walls page. These books will also be available for purchase at books on walls.
About Diane - currently in her 2nd year of Ethnobotany studies, she is a professional pastry chef by trade. She loves sharing her passion for wild edible plants and teaching local communities how to incorporate them into their everyday lives. She runs various workshops on foraging, fermentation, and reducing food waste.
Book your ticket on Eventbrite - £11.55
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (November 2026)
Author Event with Sophie Oliver: What the Dresses Know – a women’s history of modernism told through clothes (Manchester University Press)
Tuesday 10 November 2026
6-7.30pm
books on the walls is stoked to host Sophie Oliver for the launch What the dresses know: A women’s history of modernism told through clothes.
Pioneering women were at the heart of the movement known as modernism. Sophie offers a new account of their radical experiments and extraordinary lives, told through the clothes they made and wore.
From a dress Vanessa Bell rescued from the London Blitz to Frida Kahlo’s huipiles and a waistcoat embroidered for Gertrude Stein by Alice B. Toklas, these special objects tell a story of artists seeking transformation. But getting dressed is rarely straightforward. Modernist women used clothes to think through the contradictions of the modern world: the inequalities of industrialisation, the terrible conformities demanded by fascism and racism and the call of feminists, socialists and avant-gardists to act differently and take up new forms of art.
What the dresses know is an exhilarating account of women’s bold attempts to make history during years of tumultuous change. A distinctive new voice in cultural criticism, Sophie uses clothes to explore the challenges modernist women faced – and to understand her own impulses in writing about them.
Sophie Oliver is a critic, curator and academic at the University of Liverpool, where she teaches modernism and feminism. An AHRC/ BBC New Generation Thinker, she writes for the Times Literary Supplement, Literary Review and Art Review and has curated exhibitions at the British Library, the National Poetry Library and the Harry Ransom Center.
Book your free ticket on Eventbrite or with books on the walls. The books on the walls bar and barista service will be in operation for the event.
books on the walls × Chester Ceramics Fair
An Evening with the Makers
Saturday 14 November | 6–7.30pm
The night before the main Chester Ceramics Fair, we’re doing something a little different.
Join us at books on the walls for an intimate evening celebrating the people behind the pots – their work, their inspiration and the stories that make each piece unique.
Each Chester Ceramics Fair exhibitor will be displaying one special ceramic piece in the two weeks prior to The Storyhouse event.
And this isn’t simply an exhibition.
Our makers will have one minute to stand up, introduce themselves and tell us a little about the piece they’ve chosen.
It’s a chance to hear the stories behind the ceramics, meet the makers before the main fair and spend an evening with a small local audience who are curious about clay and the creative people who work with it.
The books on the walls bar and barista service will be in operation for the event.
Book your free ticket on Eventbrite or with books on the walls.
Games Night
Thursday 19 November 2026
6-7.30pm
You are invited to a cosy games night which usually takes place on a Thursday, once a 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 vegan specials, hand-made slow fermented pizza slices with a variety of toppings. One books on the walls beverage of your choice is also included in the ticket price.
Please book tickets on Eventbrite or with books on the walls
Tickets £5
Author Event with Guy Jenkin: The Quill and Dagger Series
Friday 20 November 2026
6-7.30pm
Discover the dark and witty Shakespearean murder mysteries penned by the multi-award winning screenwriter, Guy Jenkin.
The Quill and Dagger Series follows William Shakespeare as he becomes a literary great, but he must solve a few murders in the process...From the murder of Christopher Marlowe to a conspiracy involving King James I, Will finds himself wrapped up in a world of superstition and witchcraft, where no one can be trusted. The Wodehouse Prizenominated Quill and Dagger series is Shakespeare at his wittiest-and bloodiest- best.
Guy is a multi BAFTA, RTS and Emmy award-winning writer, director and producer. His television series include Outnumbered, Kate & Koji and Drop the Dead Donkey, all co-written with Andy Hamilton. He also wrote and directed a number of TV films including A Very Open Prison and Crossing the Floor, and two feature films, The Sleeping Dictionary
and, with Andy Hamilton, What We Did on Our Holiday. His first novel, Murder Most Foul, was nominated for the Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction in 2025 and has sold over 10k copies to date.
A delightful cross between Wolf Hall and Blackadder
The Express
The books on the walls bar and barista service will be in operation for the event.
Book your free ticket on Eventbrite or with books on the walls.
Martyn Howe: The Coast Is Our Compass (March 2026, Bradt)
Saturday 21 November 2026
2-2.30pm
Why do we walk? Why do we like to be beside the sea? And what happens when you infuse these questions into a journey around the coast of England – a pilgrimage in search of art, culture, community and glorious natural wealth along the world’s longest managed coastal path? Extending well beyond the confines of a walking memoir, The Coast is our Compass addresses all this and more.
Free, drop-in
Sunday 22 November 2026
11-12am
Meet Local Author Dr Atousa Goudarzi
Join local children's author Dr Atousa Goudarzi for a special event centred around the theme of her latest book, A Cheshire Cat in Chester Row?
Rather than simply reading from the book, Atousa will explore the inspiration behind the story and lead a thought-provoking discussion about immigration, one of its central themes. Discover how a children's story can open the door to conversations about belonging, identity, kindness, and the world we share.
Known for writing imaginative children's books that weave together science, philosophy, and politics, Atousa believes that even the biggest ideas can be explored through stories that captivate readers of all ages.
There will also be an opportunity to meet the author, ask questions, and have copies of the books purchased on the day personally signed.
Whether you're a parent, educator, book lover, or someone who enjoys thoughtful conversations inspired by literature, this promises to be an engaging and memorable event.
Free. Book with books on the walls or Eventbrite
Author Event with Brigid Lowe: Shiver - The Lessons of the Lochs
Monday 23 November 2026
6-7.30pm
books on the walls is over the moon that Brigid is back with her new, award winning publication. In this exceptional and joyous memoir, she swims her way back to life by seeking to plunge into every one of Scotland’s thirty thousand ice-cold lochs.
After Brigid Lowe’s life is upended, she turns to Scotland’s wild waters for refuge and for reckoning. Drawn deeper by their bone cold comfort, she set herself a challenge: to swim a thousand lochs.
Shiver is a love-letter to Scotland – its flowers and rocks, myths and legends, highlands and islands – and to its chill waters, which swept Brigid off her feet only to carry her back home again.
Brigid grew up in a remote Welsh-speaking community on Ynys Môn, with her younger sister and Irish immigrant parents. She now lives with her children in that part of Scotland known as Yr Hen Ogledd – The Old North – formerly joined with Wales in one Cumbric nation. She studied literature at Bangor, completed a doctorate at Oxford, and went on to teach and research at Sheffield and Cambridge Universities. We first met Brigid earlier on in the year, with her debut novel, The Bloody Branch, the first in a sequence of retellings of the founding Welsh myths of the Mabinogion.
As clear and magical as the Highland lochs and as filled with colour as the Hebridean seas in which she swims. Annie Worsley, author of Windswept
Luminous, graceful, and immersive... its greatest gift lingers long after the final page is closed, like a long-forgotten call to return to the watery world of our wild selves. Victoria Bennett, author of The Apothecary By the Sea
Winner of the RSL Giles St Aubyn Award for non-fiction
Featured on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour
Book your free ticket on Eventbrite or with books on the walls.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (December 2026)
Christmas Rag Wreath Workshop with Lexi
Saturday 5 December 2026
2.30 - 4pm
Join Lexi (maker of the Handmade Book Sleeve) for a festive and creative afternoon at books on the walls. Embrace the holiday spirit by crafting your very own charming rag wreath, perfect for decorating your home or gifting to loved ones.
Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to get hands-on with holiday décor and celebrate the season in style.
Book with Lexi on Eventbrite: Christmas Rag Wreath Workshop Tickets, Saturday, December 5 • 2:30 PM - 4 PM | Eventbrite
@LoveLexiCrafts
Author Event with Clare Clark: Adder Stone
Wednesday 9 December 2026
6-7.30PM
The members of an uprooted Welsh family go their own ways in a brutal clash over land, belonging and identity. Driven by love and anger, they must decide what – and whom – they can bear to lose.
Thoroughly enjoyable, vivid and evocative - Margaret Drabble
It is 1963 and in North Wales the Jones family are being forcibly ejected from the land they have farmed for generations. Their valley is to be drowned, turned into a reservoir for the people of Liverpool. While her husband Dai is grief-stricken, Olwen Jones privately sees it as a blessing, an unforeseen chance to escape the narrow confines of the valley. But for her teenage son Emyr, Liverpool’s careless arrogance is proof that Wales will never be free to decide its own future until, like Ireland, it breaks the shackles of English imperialism. Based on true events, Adder Stone is an exploration of personal identity and the possibilities and limits of love. How far will we go for our child or for our country? Who are we when we lose the places and the people that define us? And how much, in the end, is it possible to forgive?
Clare Clark is the author of seven critically acclaimed novels including The Great Stink and Savage Lands, both longlisted for the Women’s Prize.
Her previous book, Trespass, exploring the murky world of undercover policing, was praised by the Mail on Sunday as ‘provocative, moving and timely’. Her books have been translated into seven languages.
Book your free ticket on Eventbrite or with books on the walls.
The books on the walls bar and barista service will be in operation for the event.
Plant Club with Diane - Wild Spices & Mulled Wine (Festive Edition)
Tuesday 15 December 2026
6-8pm
A cosy meet-up about all things plants. Botany, foraging, nature writing, ... Join us for a cuppa and good chats at books on the walls.
This workshop includes a glass of homemade mulled wine infused with locally foraged ingredients. You will also be guided through making your own wild spice blend to take home.
Many of the spices we know and love come from faraway places, yet there is an abundance of overlooked flavours growing right on our doorstep.
This is a chance to discover, smell and taste some of these new flavours, and explore the idea of what a truly local spice cupboard might look like.
We’ll explore ideas around local food and “superfoods”, old ways of preserving the harvest, and some of the religious and pagan traditions woven into our festive celebrations.
Settle in with a warming drink, good conversation and a carefully chosen selection of beautiful books to browse and buy.
Looking for a thoughtful festive gift? Gift the workshop itself with our special discounted duo ticket for two, or pair the experience with one of the lovely books available on the night for something extra special.
About your host
Currently in my 2nd year of Ethnobotany studies, I am a professional pastry chef by trade. I love sharing my passion for wild edible plants and teaching local communities how to incorporate them into their everyday lives. I run various workshops on foraging, fermentation, and reducing food waste. @vegartemis
Tickets £20.21 – book on Eventbrite.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (January 2027)
Author Event with Gareth Robinson: A Curious Legacy
Saturday 2nd January 2027
2-2.30pm
Gareth Robinson first encountered the Falkland Islands in a school atlas, during an O-level geography lesson in the autumn of 1975. What followed was indeed a curious legacy from that lesson. In his book, A Curious Legacy…the author writes about his fascination with the Falkland Islands, and his mission to get all over the Islands, much of it on foot.
It was to be January 1998 before he managed to get to the Falklands, and much had happened in the intervening years. Tourism was then in its early days. As Gareth pursued that mission to get all over the Islands - 11 visits and counting - the increased opportunities facilitated the pursuit.
At his first talk and slide show in January of this year, he gave an insight into the attractions of the Falklands, and illustrated this with photographs taken from islands and hilltops which few get to visit. Join him for a further talk and slide show, which will draw out the enterprising way in which 'land-based tourism' has been developed, and will include a slide selection of Falklands wildlife, and the empty, peaceful coastlines which are so much part of an island archipelago.
Free, drop-in
Local Author Event with B W Bidgood: A Winterley Tale
Saturday 9 January 2027
2-2.30pm
B W Bidgood is the pen-name of Rachel Duerden, who lives in south Cheshire.
A Winterley Tale is the first in a series of novels set in Cheshire in the years before the First World War. When schoolmistress Loveday Huthnance and her friend Wilmot Pearse stumble upon a dying stranger near Winterley Pool, what first appears to be a tragic accident soon reveals darker undercurrents. As whispers of suffragist meetings, hidden connections and long-buried truths emerge, the two young women find themselves drawn into an increasingly dangerous investigation.
When all is finally resolved, Loveday and Wilmot find themselves starting to see how their combined personal strengths and their ability to move in circles where the Police are not necessarily welcome, may offer opportunities to contribute to further investigations in the future.
A Chester Mystery is the second in the series, due to be published later in 2026, followed by Tangled Threads in Winterley and The Shy Client in 2027.
Free, drop-in.
Welsh Author Event with P.L. Handley
Tuesday 12 January 2027
6-7.30pm
A lively evening awaits with the author of the Corpse in a Chester Hotel, the Body at Bala Lake and Death on Barmouth Bridge. PL Handley will be discussing his writing and reading from his books which will also be available for signing.
P. L. Handley is a Welsh author, screenwriter and film director. Raised in the Welsh-speaking village of Llanuwchllyn at the edge of Llyn Tegid near Bala, he often incorporates his experience growing up in North Wales into many areas of his work.
He first gained recognition with Third Row Centre, which won Best Feature Film at the 2014 Madrid International Film Festival. In recent years, P. L. Handley has shifted his creative focus to murder mysteries set in rural Wales, blending humour and suspense with richly-textured characters.
His recent series of books, The Nesta Griffiths Mysteries, has proven hugely popular with readers across the UK, and he is currently working on the next instalment.
The books on the walls bar and barista service will be in operation for the duration of the event.
Tickets are free but need to be booked with books on the walls – hello@booksonthewalls.com or on Eventbrite.
Local Author Event with Roy Mottram Smale: The Hungry Years
Saturday 16 January 2027
2-2.30pm
Karel looked into Emma May's eyes and said, 'It's your decision, I can only give you my opinion, that's to stay here and try to survive the hunger.'
My mother was tearful and worried but decided to travel to Nazi Germany as a means of hopefully avoiding death by starvation.
The next day, we were bundled into a truck and departed on our journey into an unknown future.
Roy is one the few remaining survivors of the Westerbork deportation camp in Holland
An Evening of Fashion Futures Conversation with Jill Hawkins
Tuesday 26 January 2027
6-8pm
Enjoy readings from Muceum magazine, Q&A's with Jill and discussion about clean fashion, the psychology of clothing, fashion futures, biomaterials and how to have better buying, owning and wearing habits. Jill is a fashion researcher, futurist and stylist. She is the co-founder of Muceum (a fashion futures magazine) and she writes, speaks, designs and teaches businesses and individuals about a healthier, more caring and creative future of fashion.
Tickets £15 (include the latest edition of Muceum magazine, Bread Together vegan pizza and a Muceum Martini).
Book on Eventbrite or with books on the walls.
Local Author Event with Rachel Roberts: Flora. Goddess of Flowers, Spring and Sensuality
Saturday 30 January 2027
6-7.30pm
Rachel will be signing copies of her book during the daytime opening hours at books on the walls, followed by a more intimate author event in the evening.
About the Evening Author Event
Explore Goddess Flora’s wisdom, symbology and ancient Roman history and take home a fragrant bouquet of tips, tools, and inspiration for reconnecting with nature’s wonder and joy and your creative, sensual Self. Enjoy journal prompts, storytelling, and activities to reignite your passion, uplift your soul, and embrace your hope. Flora reminds us that spring will always come again, showing us how to nurture and tend to the buds of our essential selves so that we can let go of shame and the fear of blossoming. This journey of affirmation will be a warm embrace with nature, where Flora will help you remember that, like flowers, you deserve to be reverently held and loved, acknowledged and treasured.
About the Author
Rachel is the author of Lupa. She-Wolf of Rome, Mother of Destiny, as well as Wolf. Embody your Inner Wolf, Pantheon. The Romans and Flora. Goddess of Flowers. As well as a writer and historian, she is also a sacred dance teacher and flower essence coach.
Her desire has always been to create a bridge between history and spirituality, mythology and well-being and her work focuses on transmuting ancient mythology and symbology into embodied wisdom, so that the magic of the past becomes a modern tool of healing, empowerment and awakening for all.
Rachel is the creatrix of Wolf Woman Rising, an international online wisdom school where she empowers you to embody wisdom, reclaim your wild, untamed Self and create a life lived on purpose.
Book your free ticket on Eventbrite or with books on the walls.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (March 2027)
Author Event with Nathalie Abi-Ezzi: All The Lives She Lived (Indie Book of the Month)
Friday 12 March 2027
6-7.30pm
Birmingham. Baghdad. Beirut. How far must you go to escape your past?
All The Lives She Lived offers a unique perspective on life in Baghdad from the late 1930s through to the 1958 revolution, with an unforgettable main character that the reader will root for. She left everything behind, even her name.
But secrets don’t stay buried. It’s 1917, Doris lives with her grandparents in suburban Birmingham and is told she is alone in the world. When she discovers her parents and six siblings are alive just streets away, everything she believes unravels. Who is she? Why was she given away? Desperate for answers, Doris reinvents herself and flees England, chasing a new life in Baghdad, then Beirut. But no matter how far she runs, the past is always close at her heels.
Nathalie Abi-Ezzi was born and grew up in Lebanon during the civil war. She later moved to London to complete her PHD, where she began to write fiction. Her first novel, A Girl Made of Dust was published in 2008. Nathalie has since published another novel and a poetry collection and been recognised by the German LiBeraturpreis, the Desmond Eliot Prize and the Gregory O’Donoghue poetry competition. All The Lives She Lived is loosely based on Nathalie’s grandmother’s experiences.
'All the Lives She Lived paints a vibrant picture of how we misunderstand ourselves and others, and how good intentions can lead us in the wrong direction. Gorgeously immersive and richly detailed, with characters you can root for and despair over all at once’.
Gráinne Murphy, author of Winter People
'An atmospheric and affecting novel'.
Jane Johnson, author of Secrets of the Bees
'It gripped me immediately and refused to let go until I’d devoured every last page'.
Awais Khan, author of No Honour.
‘Immensely enjoyable and beautifully written, All the Lives She Lived is a fascinating evocation of a woman's experience in two very different places, and shot through with the tensions of trying to come to terms with the ever-present past that we carry with us, no matter how far we travel’.
Elizabeth Gifford, author of The Mischief Makers
Book your free ticket on Eventbrite or with books on the walls.
Author Event with Paul Dobraszczyk - The Peak District: An unguided tour
(Manchester University Press)
Tuesday 16 March 2027
6-7.30pm
Join us to celebrate the recent publication of Paul’s book with an author conversation and reading followed by a book signing.
About The Peak District - publishing in the wake of the Peak District's seventy-fifth anniversary, this intriguing book offers a different kind of tour of the UK's oldest national park. The Peak District is one of Britain's most popular National Parks. But how well do we really know it? Caught between two of the country's largest cities, it is a place of stark beauty and starker contradictions, where caves, chasms and ruins exist improbably alongside the industrial behemoth of the Hope Cement Works. In The Peak District: An unguided tour, writer, walker and photographer Paul Dobraszczyk takes readers on an exhilarating journey through this familiar unfamiliar world. Paying close attention to the language that has been used to describe it - from moors and tors to paths and rivers, farms and mills - he asks what the landscape does to our minds and what we do to it in return. Blending travelogue, nature writing, history, geology and folklore, Dobraszczyk offers a new way of seeing the Peak District, reminding us of its strangeness and of the multitude of other things in the landscape besides ourselves.
About the author: Paul Dobraszczyk is a Manchester-based writer and photographer and a lecturer at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. He is the author of many books, including The Matter of Architecture (2026) and Architecture and Anarchism (2021).
Book your free ticket on Eventbrite or with books on the walls.
The books on the walls bar and barista service will be in operation for the event.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (April 2027)
Clothed Life Drawing
20th April 2027
6.30-8.30pm
Book with books on the walls or claudia.janeart65@gmail.com
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