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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260526T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260526T203000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20260102T110613Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260125T123404Z
UID:36153-1779822000-1779827400@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Jay Griffiths: Wild Medicine with Bristol Talks
DESCRIPTION:We are very pleased to support this event organised by Bristol Talks with Jay Griffiths and Michael Malay: a revelatory and exuberant discussion about our relationship to the living world\, mischievous\, vital and wild. \nJay has written several award-winning books\, including Wild: An Elemental Journey and Pip Pip: A Sideways Look at Time. In her latest work\, How Animals Heal Us\, she explores how animals heal us as individuals with their vitality\, humour and empathy. They offer social remedies too: wolves may be teachers of ethics; bees take collective decisions and monkeys have a sense of justice. \nIn conversation with celebrated local author of Late Light\, Michael Malay\, Jay will reflect on the big questions that have always permeated her writing\, considering time and the rich wisdoms of Indigenous cultures\, and the necessity of challenging the status quo. \nDoors open at 7pm. The Folk House bar will be open and we will provide a book stall. The talk is from 7.30-8.30pm. Tickets are available from the Bristol Talks website.
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/jay-griffiths-how-animals-heal-us-with-bristol-talks/
LOCATION:Bristol Folk House\, 40a Park St\, Bristol\, BS1 5JG
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260518T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260518T194500
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20260401T085523Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260401T085523Z
UID:38584-1779129000-1779133500@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Dear Historian – Accidental Graphic Novel Book Club meets again
DESCRIPTION:Despite claims that we cannot possibly add to our five book clubs per month\, we seem to be doing so… \nOn Monday 18th May we will meet to discuss Dear Historian by Joff Winterheart. \nIf you’d like to sign up please get in touch: read@heronbooks.co.uk. Space is limited. We ask that you buy the book from us or a different book if you already own this one.
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/dear-historian-accidental-graphic-novel-book-club-meets-again/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Book Group
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ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260505T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260505T190000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20260206T150012Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260206T150315Z
UID:36981-1778004000-1778007600@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Eloise Kane: Wilderlands – The Human History of Wild Britain
DESCRIPTION:We are very excited to host Eloise Kane to celebrate her new book Wilderlands: The Human History of Wild Britain. \nPlease join us for a discussion of the book\, followed by a Q&A and book signing. \nThe event is free but please RSVP to read@heronbooks.co.uk. Space is limited and in demand! \nAbout the book\nWhen was Britain last truly wild? And what\, if anything\, remains?\nThis is the unexpectedly human history of wild Britain. Eloise Kane unearths 12\,000 years of our changing relationship with and influence on the landscape. Through prehistory\, Roman occupation\, the Middle Ages and beyond\, we see the unfamiliar beasts of our old wild make way for species such as brown hare and fallow deer\, now romanticised as eternal symbols of the British countryside\, but introduced much later than we might think.\nPlaces free from our influence haven’t existed for a very long time. But Eloise Kane invites us to rethink our definition of the wild – not as separate from us. Seen anew as the result of millions of human lives lived\, Wilderlands demonstrates how we are integral to the ecology and biodiversity of our land\, with the power to shape its future. \nAbout the author\nEloise Kane is an archaeologist. She is a Visiting Fellow at the Royal Agricultural University\, an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society\, and previously served as Honorary Treasurer of the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology. Her research interests are in landscape\, environmental\, and animal history/archaeology – historic parks\, hunting landscapes\, country houses\, woodlands\, animal sports\, and the relationship between humans and the wild. She lives on the edge of Salisbury Plain with a small menagerie of children and beasts.
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/eloise-kane-wilderlands-the-human-history-of-wild-britain/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
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ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260426T170000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260426T190000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20260326T143032Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260326T143032Z
UID:38537-1777222800-1777230000@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Marianne Power and Jan Day at the Alma Tavern Theatre
DESCRIPTION:We are delighted to support this conversation event between writers\, Marianne Power and Jan Day at the Alma Tavern Theatre \nFull details and booking through the Alma Tavern’s website: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/almatheatrecompany/2044804 \n  \n 
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/marianne-power-and-jan-day-at-the-alma-tavern-theatre/
LOCATION:Alma Tavern Theatre\, 18-20 Alma Vale Rd\, Bristol\, BS8 2HY
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260421T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260421T190000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20251010T111736Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260327T131218Z
UID:34128-1776794400-1776798000@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Poetry in Herons: Kate Noakes
DESCRIPTION:We are delighted to launch Kate Noakes’ latest collection\, Sublime Lungs\nPlease join us for a drink\, a poetry reading and book signing in celebration of Kate’s new book. \nIn Sublime Lungs Kate Noakes turns her attention to the breath. For the first time\, she explores her lifelong asthma and explains the impact of this chronic and disabling condition. The breath and breathing are subjects for poems from many chronologies and geographies in this her ninth collection. \nKate Noakes is the author of nine collections of poetry\, one pamphlet and one book of non-fiction. She has a PhD in Critical and Creative Writing from the University of Reading. She recently moved from London to Bristol\, where she co-founded the poetry performance group\, Braid. She was elected to the Welsh Academy of Letters in 2011 and her website (www.boomslangpoetry.blogspot.com) is archived by the National Library of Wales. \nThe event is free but please let us know that you are coming so that we can provide a seat and a drink. RSVP to read@heronbooks.co.uk. \n 
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/poetry-in-herons-kate-noakes/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Book Launch,Poetry
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ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260416T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260416T203000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20260312T112051Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260312T113845Z
UID:38189-1776366000-1776371400@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Tracy Maton: The Artful Anna Harris
DESCRIPTION:We are very much looking forward to supporting this event organised by the Friends of the Clifton Library celebrating The Artful Anna Harris by Tracy Maton. \n‘You are quite the chameleon\, aren’t you? You could wear anything\, do anything\, and yet you choose plain\, plain\, plain. Is it all a front for a secret life?’ \nWhen the vivacious Sofia Carstairs arrives in her sleepy country village\, Anna knows her life will never be the same again. Her new best friend is carefree\, elegant and intoxicating. Her life doesn’t revolve around church flower arrangements or Sunday lunches with the in-laws. Sofia reminds Anna of the person she used to be\, before she worked so hard to fit in that she practically disappeared. But is it enough to just be Sofia’s friend? Anna wonders what it would be like to be Sofia\, if only for a little while. \nBut once Anna starts pretending\, she finds it easy to pretend the rules don’t apply to her. How far will Anna go to get what she wants? And what will she do to those who stand in her way? \nTracy will discuss her love of the morally ambiguous character and why she decided to write her own. An award-winning children’s writer\, The Artful Anna Harris is her first thriller for adults. \nBook your tickets through the Clifton Library: https://public.foccal.com/event/515
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/tracy-maton-the-artful-anna-harris/
LOCATION:Clifton Library\, 13 Princess Victoria St\, Bristol\, BS8 4BX\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-12-111703.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260410T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260410T190000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20260125T133015Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260125T133015Z
UID:36691-1775844000-1775847600@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:On the Calculation of Volume Party
DESCRIPTION:Time is a tricky thing. \nThe year seems to be running away with us and yet Tara Selter is still stuck in 18th November. \nIf you too are obsessed with Solvej Balle’s On the Calculation of Volume and have read the first three books\, please join us as we have a drink and discuss what we might expect from the next in the series. Volume IV comes out on 9th April (the day before the event) and will be for sale. BUT NO SPOILERS. This is for those who have reached level 3 and need to share their thoughts urgently before opening the next one. \nSpace is limited (even if time is not?). Please email read@heronbooks.co.uk if you would like to come.
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/on-the-calculation-of-volume-party/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Book Group,Silliness
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ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260323T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260323T193000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20260123T135534Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260123T135534Z
UID:36672-1774290600-1774294200@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Ducks by Kate Beaton – Accidental Graphic Novel Book Club
DESCRIPTION:We already run five book clubs per month and cannot possibly have time for another and yet… \nWe will be running a graphic novel book club to discuss Ducks by Kate Beaton. \nIf you’d like to sign up please get in touch: read@heronbooks.co.uk. Space is limited. We ask that you buy the book from us or a different book if you already own this one. \n 
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/ducks-by-kate-beaton-accidental-graphic-novel-book-club/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Book Group
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/9781787330139.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260221T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260221T190000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20260123T130653Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260125T135531Z
UID:36670-1771696800-1771700400@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Music in the Heronry: Keith Warmington and Graham Nicholls
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a gig in the shop. \nKeith Warmington and Graham Nicholls together for the first time in a laid-back acoustic show for Heron Books. Keith is a former broadcaster who’s been gigging with harmonicas and guitars ever since he pitched up in Bristol 55 years ago. Graham is a guitarist with a staggering ability to play in any number of genres and is to be found playing in many different bands. \nThe event is free and unticketed. Please let us know if you plan to come so that we can ensure you have a seat and a drink by emailing: read@heronbooks.co.uk.
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/music-in-the-heronry-keith-warmington-and-graham-nicholls/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Music
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ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260217T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260217T203000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20260102T105705Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260102T105705Z
UID:36150-1771353000-1771360200@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Thomas Halliday: Otherlands with Bristol Humanists
DESCRIPTION:Otherlands is an epic\, exhilarating journey into deep time\, showing us the Earth as it used to exist\, and the worlds that were here before ours. Travelling back in time to the dawn of complex life\, and across all seven continents\, award-winning palaeobiologist Thomas Halliday gives us a mesmerising up-close encounter with eras that are normally unimaginably distant. \nYou will be immersed in a series of ancient landscapes\, from the mammoth steppe in Ice Age Alaska to the lush rainforests of Eocene Antarctica\, with its colonies of giant penguins\, to Ediacaran Australia\, where the moon is far brighter than it is today. We visit the birthplace of humanity; we hear the crashing of the highest waterfall the Earth has ever known; and we watch as life emerges again after the asteroid hits; and the age of the\nmammal then dawns. These lost worlds seem fantastical and yet every description is grounded in the fossil record. \nOtherlands is a remarkable imaginative feat: an emotional narrative that underscores the tenacity of life – yet also the fragility of seemingly permanent ecosystems\, including our own. You will see the last 500 million years not as an endless expanse of unfathomable time\, but as a series of worlds\, simultaneously fabulous and familiar. \nDr Thomas Halliday is a paleobiologist\, specialising in mammal evolution and phylogenetics (the science of working out how organisms are related). He has been a researcher and a graduate student at the University of Bristol and at University College London\, and as a postdoctoral researcher at University College London and the University of Birmingham. He was an Honorary Fellow at the University of Birmingham and is an Associate with the Natural History Museum. He is also an international croquet player. \nDarwin Day has been celebrated since the 1930’s\, marking the birthday (Feb 12th) of arguably the world’s greatest ever scientist\, Charles Darwin\, the father of evolution by natural selection. Bristol Humanists has held a Darwin Day annual lecture by a noted scientist for the last 10 years. Significant previous Darwin Day lecturers have included Adam Rutherford\, Angel Saini\, Nichola Raihani & Anil Seth \nTickets can be booked at: https://wegottickets.com/event/685110/
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/thomas-halliday-otherlands-with-bristol-humanists/
LOCATION:Bristol Folk House\, 40a Park St\, Bristol\, BS1 5JG
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/9780141991146.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bristol Humanists":MAILTO:bristolhumanists@gmail.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260129T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260129T213000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20260114T114146Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260114T115642Z
UID:36343-1769713200-1769722200@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Meera Sodha: Dinner
DESCRIPTION:Bristol Lido are running a supper club with the great Meera Sodha. Details of what is set to be a glorious feast are on their website and we are delighted to support the event by bringing copies of Meera Sodha’s Dinner.  \nDinner With Meera Sodha 29/1/2026 \n \n 
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/meera-sodha-dinner/
LOCATION:Bristol Lido\, Oakfield Place\, Bristol\, BS8 2BJ
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/9780241488003.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260117T170000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260117T180000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20250418T120803Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260102T104320Z
UID:29667-1768669200-1768672800@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Poetry in Herons: Erica Hesketh
DESCRIPTION:For our January monthly poetry reading\, we are delighted to Erica Hesketh. \nErica Hesketh is a poet and editor\, originally from Japan and Denmark\, now based in London. From 2016 to 2024 she was Director of the Poetry Translation Centre. Her debut collection In the Lily Room is published by Nine Arches Press and explores early motherhood. \nFree entry. Come for the poetry. Stay for the poetry. \nArrive at 5pm. We’ll offer you something fizzy. Usually a drink but perhaps one day it will be a sherbet fountain. \n5.10-5.40ish\, we’ll enjoy some poetry. \n5.40-6pm\, finish the sparkling fizzy things and perhaps buy the poet’s books. \nThe event is free but please let us know that you are coming so that we can provide a seat and a drink. RSVP to read@heronbooks.co.uk. \nErica Hesketh’s debut collection In the Lily Room tells a story of early motherhood. It examines a new mother’s journey through mental illness\, her relationships with her body\, her baby and other people\, and the often surreal landscape of mothering\, against a backdrop of a changing and uncertain world. \nA dreamlike birth sequence full of eels\, foxes and floodwater empties onto a London postnatal ward\, where reality sets in. Rudderless and anxious\, the new mother writes notes to herself\, joins support groups and tries medication. She climbs into myth and prayer\, nightmare and song\, criss-crossing her neighbourhood with a pram\, until she starts to feel better. Hesketh’s poems speak of the many things motherhood can mean\, the structures it is made to fit inside. Clear-eyed and full of hard-won love\, this a story of one of the most common experiences there is\, told in a dazzlingly original way. \nPraise for In the Lily Room: \n‘In poems of great skill\, daring and beauty\, Hesketh somehow contains the leaky mess of new parenthood. This is for all the mothers – mother of stone\, mother of ice\, mother of fire\, mother of dark. A stunning debut: intelligent\, tender and unwaveringly true.’ – Clare Pollard \n‘Erica Hesketh asks “What if all the world’s mothers / rose up at once…” Perhaps if we did\, our conversations would sound like these poems\, which look head-on at the frightening\, transformative\, love-filled days of early motherhood.  Medical misogyny\, birth trauma\, post-natal depression\, joy and boredom – all of this and more are held in place in these lyrical\, image-drenched poems as Hesketh expands our ideas and perceptions around what it means to be a mother.’ – Kim Moore \n‘In the Lily Room is full of poems of wonder\, grief and awe\, poems of endless unfurling\, rich with the knowledge of secret things. It feels\, so often\, an insurmountable task to articulate the experience of one’s entry into motherhood. Erica Hesketh has done so in a way that feels seamless.’ – Victoria Adukwei Bulley \n‘A debut collection of meticulous detail\, emotional depth and intellectual bravery. Hesketh brings a self-questioning generosity and scrupulousness of empathy to the way she writes into early motherhood – the contrasting advice\, the anxiety\, the lives of other mothers – as well as the way she interrogates language.’ – Will Harris \nErica Hesketh photo credit: Christy Ku
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/poetry-in-herons-erica-hesketh/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Poetry
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Erica-Hesketh.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260105T193000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260105T210000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20251010T114011Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251021T054230Z
UID:34135-1767641400-1767646800@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Julian Baggini: How the World Eats with Bristol Humanists
DESCRIPTION:Heron Books is delighted to provide a bookstall at this event organised by Bristol Humanists\nWe welcome back Bristol’s philosopher\, Julian Baggini to explore the timely issue of How the World Eats. \nHow we live is shaped by how we eat. You can see this in the vastly different approaches to growing\, preparing and eating food around the world: the hunter-gatherer Hadza in Tanzania whose sustainable lifestyle is under threat in our crowded planet is in stark contrast to “developed” societies whose food is produced in vast intensive enterprises. Most of us now rely on a complex global food web of production\, distribution\, consumption and disposal\, which is now facing unprecedented challenges. \nThe need for a better understanding of how we feed ourselves has never been more urgent. Julian’s exploration takes him from cutting-edge technologies\, such as new farming methods\, cultured meat\, GM and astronaut food\, to the ethics and health of ultra processed food and aquaculture\, as he takes a forensic look at the effectiveness of our food governance\, the problem of food wastage and the effects of commodification.\nHe will advocate for a pluralistic\, humane\, resourceful and equitable global food philosophy\, so we can build a food system fit for the twenty-first century and beyond. \nBiography\nJulian Baggini has written on various philosophical subjects including rationality\, identity\, food and atheism. He has written numerous books\, and regularly writes for magazines and newspapers including\, Prospect\, the Guardian\, the FT and the Wall Street Journal. A Bristol-resident\, at St Georges Bristol he hosts a regular public philosophy session\, ‘Philosophical Times’. He is also a patron of Humanists UK. Julian has a longstanding interest in food and food systems. His food related books include The Pig that Wants to be Eaten\, The Virtues of the Table\, Babette’s Feast\, as well as most recently How the World Eats\, which was chosen as a BBC Radio 4 Food Programme ‘Book of the Year’. \n‘Julian Baggini engages with food in a way that nobody else does. He’s the most important thinker we’ve got on food in the UK.’ Tim Hayward\, author of Steak.\n‘A philosopher’s eye brought a refreshing alternative and nuanced view to the relationships that connect us—not always favourably—to our foods. Baggini describes a growing disconnect between eating food and understanding the associated harms that may be caused along the way to your plate. The food world\, he argues\, must be considered as a whole system. This is a wonderful perspective to advocate for.’ Stefania Pizzirani\, Science \nThis event is at YHA Bristol in the Conference Room. The venue is fully accessible – please check at reception for use of the lift. \nEveryone is welcome. The event is FREE to members of Bristol Humanists. Others are asked for a contribution of £5/£2 (concessions)
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/julian-baggini-how-the-world-eats-with-bristol-humanists/
LOCATION:Bristol Grain Store\, Bristol YHA\, 14 Narrow Quay\, Bristol\, BS1 4QA
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
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ORGANIZER;CN="Bristol Humanists":MAILTO:bristolhumanists@gmail.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251212T160000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251212T173000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20251203T063322Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251203T063322Z
UID:35264-1765555200-1765560600@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Rosa Vasquez Espinoza: The Spirit of the Rainforest
DESCRIPTION:We will be providing a book stall at Rosa’s event with the University of Bristol. Anyone who came to her talk in the shop earlier this year will know what a fascinating book The Spirit of the Rainforest is and what brilliant research and work Rosa carries out. We can’t wait to hear more. \nBefore you step into the jungle\, there are a few things you need to know… Join scientist Dr Rosa Vasquez Espinoza as she uncovers one of the most unexplored regions on the planet. \nDr Rosa is no stranger to the Amazon. Growing up with the rainforest as her back garden\, she learnt the lessons of the rainforest from her grandmother\, a native healer in natural medicine. She went on to pursue a classical education in science\, gaining a PhD in the US\, but has always been pulled back to the heart of the Amazon. As a leading biologist in her field\, Rosa continues to explore the region through a unique blend of scientific inquiry and ancient insight. \nDr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza is a Peruvian Amazonian-Andean scientist\, conservationist\, National Geographic Explorer\, and award-winning artist. She blends science with indigenous knowledge to protect biodiversity and culture. \n4pm in the Life Sciences building\, BS8 1TQ. More details and link to follow.
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/rosa-vasquez-espinoza-the-spirit-of-the-rainforest-2/
LOCATION:Life Sciences Building\, Life Sciences\, University of Bristol\, Tyndall Avenue\, Bristol\, BS8 1TQ\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-03-03-100631.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251201T193000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251201T210000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20251017T102751Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251021T054054Z
UID:34326-1764617400-1764622800@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Celsius – a life and death by degrees with Ian Hembrow with Bristol Humanists
DESCRIPTION:Best-known for the 100-point ‘centi-grade’ temperature scale that bears his name\, Anders Celsius was a scientist of astonishing breadth. From the Northern Lights to air pressure and sea levels\, he unravelled the mysteries of many of nature’s greatest phenomena during his short life. His mind\, methods and manners contain powerful lessons for how humans live in the 21st century and beyond – if we’re inclined and willing to listen. \nIan Hembrow’s book Celsius: a life and death by degrees is the first full-length English language biography of this world-changing Swedish scientist. Longlisted for the 2025 Wolfson History Prize\, it tracks not just Celsius’ life and times\, but also the author’s journey to uncover his story. Ian travelled to the Arctic Circle\, down mines and up cathedral towers to follow in his subject’s footsteps. This is a thought-provoking opportunity to learn more about the modest\, little-known man with the well-known name\, his links with Humanism and how his science continues to shape all of our lives almost three centuries after his death. Anders Celsius (1701-1744) was an enlightenment genius and a mercurial thinker who ran out of time\, but his discoveries\, philosophy and personality still point a hopeful way forward. \nIan Hembrow is a Bristol-based author and Humanist celebrant\, who has written widely including for The Guardian\, New Statesman and the Oldie. His previous books\, Making Medicines Safe & Rare Events are on global medicines safety. \nReviews of Celsius\n‘This is a beautifully written masterwork of science biography\, covering the life and times of the great Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius. Ian Hembrow provides a gripping narrative that details his search for a man who was very much embedded in his city and landscape…’ Sarah Covington\, Professor of History\, Biography and Memoir\, City University of New York\n‘……a carefully researched and entertaining life of an Enlightenment astronomer\, scientist and explorer who gave his name to the Celsius temperature scale…. a fascinating pen-portrait of the times and of this remarkable man.’ – Dr Julian Mayes\, Former Vice-President\, Royal Meteorological Society \nEveryone is welcome. The event is free to members of Bristol Humanists. Non-members are asked to pay £5/£2 (concessions)
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/celsius-a-life-and-death-by-degrees-with-ian-hembrow-with-bristol-humanists/
LOCATION:Bristol Grain Store\, Bristol YHA\, 14 Narrow Quay\, Bristol\, BS1 4QA
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/9781803994611.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bristol Humanists":MAILTO:bristolhumanists@gmail.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251127T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251127T233000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20250912T094609Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251114T104345Z
UID:33396-1764268200-1764286200@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Herons Go Partying with Blind Justice Page
DESCRIPTION:Join us for our annual party at The Lansdown\nCome for the literarily-inspired music. Stay for the musically-inspired book chat. \nSteve\, aka Blind Justice Page\, will be playing songs inspired by his favourite authors.\nDressing as your favourite book cover or book character is not mandatory. But is strongly encouraged. \nAn initial drink or two will be provided by us. Lots more available from the good folks on the bar. This should be one to remember. If through a fuzzy haze of festive bubbles.\n18.30ish start. Music from 19.00. Stay as long as you like. (Within reason.) \nCheck out other gigs from Steve and his band. \n 
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/herons-go-partying-with-steve-page/
LOCATION:The Lansdown\, 8 Clifton Road\, Bristol\, BS8 1AF\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Music
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Steve-Page-photo-1.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251119T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251119T170000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20251023T160928Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251029T085943Z
UID:34452-1763564400-1763571600@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Searching for My Slave Roots: From Guyana's Sugar Plantations to Cambridge
DESCRIPTION:Dr Malik Al Nasir will talk about his new book ‘Searching for My Slave Roots: From Guyana’s Sugar Plantations to Cambridge‘ \nWe are delighted to provide a book stall at this event\, organised by the University of Bristol. \nAuthor and award-winning researcher\, Malik Al Nasir will be discussing\, Searching for my Slave Roots: From Guyana’s Sugar Plantations to Cambridge\, a powerful exploration of ancestry\, enslavement\, and legacy. \nSet across Liverpool\, Glasgow\, Demerara and Berbice\, the book traces Malik’s family history\, revealing ancestors who were both enslaved and slaveholders\, and uncovering the complex interconnections between trauma\, privilege\, and the institutions shaped by slavery. \nThe author will be in conversation with Dr Richard Stone. \n3-3.30pm Welcome and Tea & Coffee\n3.30-4.30pm In conversation with Malik Al-Nasir and Dr Richard Stone with time for Q&A .\n4.30-5pm Book signing\, and informal meeting with the author. \nAbout Malik Al Nasir\nMalik Al Nasir is an author\, film maker\, performance poet\, and an award winning academic from Liverpool.\nMalik started tracing his roots back through Caribbean slavery over 20 years ago and his pioneering research has been recognised by Sir Hilary Beckles (Chair: CARICOM Commission for slavery reparations)\, historian David Olusoga\, and The University of Cambridge\, where Malik has just completed a PhD in history with a full scholarship. In recognition of the significance of his research\, Malik received several awards whilst at Cambridge\, as well as an honorary Doctorate from Liverpool Hope University.\nMalik is co-founder of the policy making initiative\, ‘Black Academia – Lifting the Barriers.’ He has produced and appeared in several documentaries with Gil Scott-Heron\, The Last Poets\, Benjamin Zephaniah\, Public Enemy\, Ice T and many other luminaries.\nhttps://linktr.ee/malikalnasir \nAbout Richard Stone\nDr. Richard Stone is a Senior Lecturer in the History Department at the University of Bristol. He specialises in Social and Economic history\, especially the history and legacies of enslavement. He has worked with numerous institutions on researching their links to historic slavery\, including the University of Bristol\, Bristol Quakers\, Bristol Cathedral\, and the Society of Merchant Venturers. His first monograph Bristol and the Birth of the Atlantic Economy\, 1500-1700 was published in 2024. \nTickets are free. Please book using this link. \nArts Complex\, Lecture Theatre 2\n11 Woodland Road Bristol BS8 1TB
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/searching-for-my-slave-roots-from-guyanas-sugar-plantations-to-cambridge/
LOCATION:Arts Complex\, University of Bristol\, Arts Complex Woodland Road\, Bristol\, BS8 1UJ\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/9780008464486.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251112
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251226
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20251106T112026Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251120T132609Z
UID:34620-1762905600-1766707199@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:A Round-up of All the Festive Tomfoolery
DESCRIPTION:From parties to games to subscriptions\, come and join us for all the general silliness this festive season. \nWednesday 12th November – open late (until 6.30ish) in case you need a book before you head to The Mall for the Christmas lights switch-on. \nThursday 27th November – party\, 18.30-late at The Lansdown. Blind Justice Page playing songs inspired by books. Dressing as your favourite book cover or character encouraged. \nAdvent calendar – first person to buy a book each day gets a free mystery proof. See you in the queue… \nSunday silliness\, 7th\, 14th and 21st December – guess the weight of your shopping. If you’re within a gnat’s crotchet (or 50g) of the correct answer\, you get a treat. Dark chocolate buttons supplied by our excellent neighbours\, Smaller Footprints. \nSaturday 13th and 20th December – late night shopping. We’ll be open until 7pm-ish… maybe later\, mulled wine depending. \nBook subscriptions – for those panicked by buying a present for that difficult relative/friend/special pigeon in your life\, let us choose. We’ll send a book each month to the recipient. Pick from\, ‘The weird and the eerie\,’ ‘Nature matters\,’ ‘Warm hugs in book form’ or ‘Picture books are for “grown-ups” too.’ \nOpening hours – Monday-Saturday\, 9.30-5.30; Sunday 11-4 as always. Plus the late nights above. We close Christmas and Boxing Day. Back as normal (within the realms of ‘normal’) on 27th.
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/a-round-up-of-all-the-festive-tomfoolery/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Late Opening,Silliness
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_1835.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251104T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251104T193000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20250819T073214Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251104T142650Z
UID:32573-1762279200-1762284600@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Jay Griffiths and Gareth Howell-Jones: How Animals (Including Hedgehogs) Heal Us
DESCRIPTION:Please note a change to this event: Jay Griffiths is unwell and unable to attend. The event will go ahead with Gareth Howell-Jones and we are so looking forward to hearing about his writing as well as to hear his kind reading of Jay’s talk on her behalf.  \nJay Griffiths explores how animals can have a role in every level of healing\, from the individual to the collective\, guiding us in how we might create societies that are healthier\, fairer and kinder. How Animals Heal Us puts animals at the heart of a restorative vision of health. \nIn Your Lowly Hedgehog Knows\, Gareth Howell-Jones looks at the simple\, everyday things around us – trees\, woodlice\, cats\, people and\, of course\, hedgehogs – to develop a radical and heartening world-view based on nature rather than cultural traditions. \nTogether\, they reimagine our place in nature with wonder\, hope and a lot of humour. \nJay Griffiths is the author of many books including Wild: An Elemental Journey and Why Rebel. She has won the ‘Discover’ award and the Orion book prize and has written for Radiohead and the Royal Shakespeare Company.\n‘If bravery itself could write\, it would write like she does.’ (John Berger) \nGareth Howell-Jones is a writer\, bookseller and garden designer. His previous book was Do Not Call the Tortoise.\n‘Stunning – full of revelatory beauty.’ (Katherine May) \nThe event is free but please RSVP to read@heronbooks.co.uk to ensure you have a seat and a glass of something.\nWe look forward to seeing you there.
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/jay-griffiths-and-gareth-howell-jones-how-animals-including-hedgehogs-heal-us/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Book Launch
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Jay-and-Gareth-2.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251018T170000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251018T180000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20250310T110530Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251008T155007Z
UID:28479-1760806800-1760810400@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Poetry in Herons: Esme Allman
DESCRIPTION:For our October monthly poetry reading\, we are delighted to Esme Allman\, author of Sweet Bone Girl. \nEsme Allman is a poet\, writer and theatre director from South London. Her work explores history\, imagined worlds\, and desire within the context of black femininity. She has been commissioned to write poems for the Barbican Centre\, English Heritage\, the Institute of Contemporary Art with BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 6\, NHS Arts and Heritage\, Pace Gallery\, and Poetry Vs Colonialism in conjunction with the London Metropolitan Archives. Sweet Bone Girl is her debut collection of poetry. \nSweet Bone Girl examines the intricate dynamics of desire as it intertwines with Black womanhood\, negotiating the boundaries of history\, culture\, and identity. Esme Allman’s evocative poetry moves between the personal and the collective\, interlacing the past with the present to investigate how desire is shaped and claimed. With striking introspection\, Allman interrogates the influence of external forces—family\, lovers\, popular culture—and asks: where can desire be truly known? And when it is\, can it ever be wholly one’s own? Bold and poignant\, Sweet Bone Girl navigates vulnerability\, agency\, and the yearning for connection in a world that too often seeks to define rather than understand. \nFree entry. Come for the poetry. Stay for the poetry. \nArrive at 5pm. We’ll offer you something fizzy. Usually a drink but perhaps one day it will be a sherbet fountain. \n5.10-5.40ish\, we’ll enjoy some poetry. \n5.40-6pm\, finish the fizzy things and perhaps buy the poet’s books. \nPlenty of seating. It is free and unticketed but it would help if you let us know that you are coming. RSVP to read@heronbooks.co.uk \n  \n 
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/poetry-in-herons-esme-allman/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Poetry
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Esme-Allman.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251009T160000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251009T180000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20250912T055334Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250912T055508Z
UID:33388-1760025600-1760032800@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Rachel Joyce: The Homemade God
DESCRIPTION:We are delighted to support this event organised by Penguin Random House and GAIL’s Bakeries \nFull details and tickets available from Eventbrite \nStep into the cosy charm of GAIL’s Bakery for an inspiring afternoon with bestselling author Rachel Joyce\, as part of our Great Reads Collection in association with Heron Books . Rachel will share the story behind her latest novel\, The Homemade God\, offering candid insights into her creative process\, the joys and challenges of writing\, and the imaginative world she brings to life. \nEvery guest will receive: \n\nA hardback copy of The Homemade God\, personally signed by Rachel\nAn exclusive tote bag\nA hot drink of your choice\nA freshly baked bun to enjoy during the event\n\nAbout the book\, The Homemade God \nThere is a heatwave across Europe. \nGoose and his three sisters gather at the family’s house by Lake Orta in Piedmont\, Italy. Their father\, a famous artist\, has recently remarried a much younger woman and decamped to Italy to finish his masterpiece. Now he is dead and there is no sign of a painting. \nAlthough the siblings have always been close\, as they search for answers over that summer\, the things they learn – about themselves\, their father and their new stepmother – will drive them apart before they can come to any kind of understanding of what their father’s legacy truly is. Extraordinarily compelling\, at heart this is a novel about sibling relationships and those hairline cracks that can appear within a family: what what happens when they splinter\, and what it would take to mend them.
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/rachel-joyce-the-homemade-god/
LOCATION:Gail’s\, Whiteladies Road\, 52 Whiteladies Road\, Bristol\, BS8 2NH
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/9780857528193.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251006T193000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251006T213000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20250921T114535Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250921T114819Z
UID:33611-1759779000-1759786200@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Michael Taylor: Impossible Monsters
DESCRIPTION:Dinosaurs\, Darwin and the war between science and religion\nWe are delighted to support the Bristol Humanists’ Emma Martin Lecture 2025\nBook here: https://wegottickets.com/event/671906/ \nIn 1811\, a twelve-year-old girl uncovered some strange-looking bones in Britain’s southern shoreline and so sparked a crisis that would engulf science and religion for the next six decades. That little girl Mary Anning\, an amateur geologist\, shook the establishment. By the end of the 19th century\, the literal reading of the bible had been overturned\, science had been liberated from religion and the secular age had begun. Impossible Monsters takes us into the lives and minds of the extraordinary men and women whose discovery of the dinosaurs revolutionised our understanding of the world\, as well as those who resisted them\, and those like Charles Darwin\, who took great risks to construct a new account of the earth’s and mankind’s origins. It is the riveting story of a group of people who dared to think impossible things and then showed them to be true. \nDr Michael Taylor is the author of Impossible Monsters\, as well as The Interest: How the British Establishment Resisted the Abolition of Slavery\, which was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize 2021\, chosen as a Daily Telegraph Book of the Year and described as ‘riveting’ (The Times) and ‘compulsively readable’ (Guardian). He was born in 1988 and graduated with a double first in history from the University of Cambridge\, where he earned his PhD. He has since been Lecturer in Modern British History at Balliol College\, Oxford\, and a Visiting Fellow at the British Library’s Eccles Centre for American Studies. He is now a Senior Manager with PwC. \nEmma Martin was Bristol’s most important freethinker\, humanist\, feminist and human rights campaigner. In her short life (1812-1851)\, she went from committed Christian to outspoken atheist/freethinker\, working for the Owenites\, speaking to thousands and publishing pamphlets on the role of the church and on women’s rights. Later on she trained as a midwife and campaigned on reproductive rights. She has a blue plaque dedicated to her in Bridewell Street\, and annually we celebrate her life with this special talk.
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/michael-taylor-impossible-monsters/
LOCATION:Bristol Grain Store\, Bristol YHA\, 14 Narrow Quay\, Bristol\, BS1 4QA
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/9781529931341.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Bristol Humanists":MAILTO:bristolhumanists@gmail.com
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250929T193000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250929T210000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20250725T102020Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250725T102020Z
UID:32143-1759174200-1759179600@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:David Olusoga: History's Missing Chapters
DESCRIPTION:We are delighted to be supporting this event at St George’s: \nProfessor David Olusoga OBE\, BAFTA winning film-maker and author returns to St Georges due to popular demand. \nIn a brand-new talk for 2025 David examines some of history’s missing chapters to uncover how and why some events and some people are remembered and others forgotten. Taking examples from the world wars\, the Industrial revolution and other pivotal moments in global history David uncovers history’s missing persons. \n\nDavid is the author or co-author of eight books including Black & British: A Forgotten History (awarded both the Longman-History Today Trustees Award and the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize)\, The World’s War\, Black & British: A Short Essential History\, The Kaiser’s Holocaust: Germany’s Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism. \nDavid’s recent television programs include Union with David Olusoga and upcoming in 2025 Empire with David Olusoga. He also writes and presents the long-running BBC history series A House Through Time. Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester\, and a columnist for The Observer\, David also writes for The Guardian\, The New Statesman\, The Voice and BBC History Magazine. \nA recipient of both the British Academy’s President’s Medal and the Norton Medlicott Medal For Services to History David is a Fellow of the British Academy\, The Royal Society of Literature\, The Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Historical Society. \n 
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/david-olusoga-historys-missing-chapters-2/
LOCATION:St George’s\, Bristol\, St George’s Bristol\, Great George Street\, Bristol\, BS1 5RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Olusoga.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250925T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250925T220000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20250921T105007Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250921T110637Z
UID:33602-1758826800-1758837600@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:I Swear by John Davidson at the Everyman
DESCRIPTION:We will be selling copies of I Swear at the early preview screening of the film at the Everyman\, followed by a live Q&A with director Kirk Jones. \nAll details and booking here: https://www.everymancinema.com/film-listing/1000029002-i-swear-live-qanda/ \nI Swear follows the true story of Tourette Syndrome campaigner John Davidson’s journey with Tourette’s through his troubled teens and early adulthood\, having been diagnosed at 15 years old in 1980s Britain – a time when the condition was little known and entirely misunderstood. Initially alienated from his peers and his family\, Davidson perseveres in his attempt to live a ‘normal’ life against the odds\, finding some unlikely champions along the way.
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/i-swear-by-john-davidson-at-the-everyman/
LOCATION:Everyman Cinema\, 44 Whiteladies Rd\, Bristol\, BS8 2NH\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Film
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250923T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250923T190000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20250725T093954Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250725T101235Z
UID:32139-1758650400-1758654000@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Cécile Tlili: Just a Little Dinner
DESCRIPTION:Heron Books is delighted to welcome Cécile Tlili to celebrate the publication of Just a Little Dinner.\n \nDo join us to meet Cécile\, enjoy a discussion with her publisher\, Richard Village of Foundry Books\, and get your copies signed. \nThe event is free. Please RSVP to read@heronbooks.co.uk so that we know how many to expect. \nOrder the book here. \nAbout the book:\nIn tired\, hot Paris at the end of August\, a group of friends\, who’d rather still be at the sea\, meet for a dinner in one couple’s apartment. Taking us behind the shutters of the Sixth Arrondissement\, with a cast of characters that both delight and repel\, fractured relationships\, manipulation\, bad behaviour and desperation are all laid bare in this very contemporary take on a Parisian huis clos story. What starts as just a little dinner ends up having monumental consequences for everyone. \nCécile Tlili co-founded an alternative school for neuroatypical children. Just a Little Dinner is her first novel. The book was shortlisted for the 2024 Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman and won the 2023 Prix Littéraire Gisèle Halimi for women’s writing. \nTranslated from French by Katherine Gregor. Katherine is a literary translator from Italian and French. She translates fiction\, non-fiction and plays and recent work includes Ashes in the Snow by de Oriana Ramunno\, Bridges of the World by Giancarlo Ascari and Pia Valentinis\, The Memory of the Air by Caroline Lamarche (winner of an English PEN Translates Award)\, Vanda by Marion Brunet and The Whisperer’s Game by Donato Carrisi. \nThis event is made possible with the support of the Institut Français in the United Kingdom.
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/cecile-tlili-just-a-little-dinner/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Event-Cecile-Tlili.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250913T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250913T193000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20250501T133727Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250501T133727Z
UID:30041-1757786400-1757791800@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Franny Moyle: Mrs Kauffman and Madame Le Brun
DESCRIPTION:Join us to celebrate the publication of Mrs Kauffman and Madame Le Brun: The Extraordinary Entwined Lives of Two Eighteenth-Century Painters by Franny Moyle \nWe are delighted to welcome Franny Moyle for a talk on her fascinating new book on Angelica Kauffman and Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun. \nIn the spring of 1790 two of the most gifted artists in Europe met in Rome and became fast friends\, sharing their views on art\, visiting the city’s ancient sites and making trips to the opera together over several happy weeks. The Swiss history painter Angelica Kauffman and the French portraitist Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun are no longer household names in the early twenty-first century but were much-fêted celebrities in the late eighteenth. The two had much in common: both had been child prodigies; both were members of the prestigious Academies of their respective countries; both had been celebrated court painters; both had made disastrous marriages that had drained them financially and made them the subject of scandal. \nFranny Moyle uses their meeting in the eternal city as the point of departure for a lavishly illustrated ‘life and times’ biography of two brilliant but neglected women artists whose lives and creative careers straddled the political upheavals of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. \nMrs Kauffman and Madame Le Brun allows Moyle to explore an age of political\, aesthetic and social revolution via a web of connections that embraces many of the most intriguing and powerful personalities of the time – to view a whole era of changing ideas and political ferment through the prism of the intertwined tales of two remarkable\, rediscovered female lives. \nThe event is free and unticketed but seats are limited so please do RSVP in advance so that we can ensure you are sitting comfortably and your glass will be full. \n 
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/franny-moyle-mrs-kauffman-and-madame-le-brun/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
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ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250901T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250901T190000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20250725T104956Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250725T104956Z
UID:32149-1756749600-1756753200@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Adam Sisman: The Indefatigable Asa Briggs
DESCRIPTION:Please join us to celebrate the publication of The Indefatigable Asa Briggs by Adam Sisman. \nPlease RSVP to read@heronbooks.co.uk. \nOrder the book here.
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/adam-sisman-the-indefatigable-asa-briggs/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Book Launch
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ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250816T170000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250816T180000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20250310T104618Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250815T051228Z
UID:28474-1755363600-1755367200@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Poetry in Herons: Anna Saunders
DESCRIPTION:Please note that\, with huge apologies\, this event has been cancelled. We are so sorry that the reading can’t go ahead but highly recommend reading Anna’s poetry and would love to chat with you about it. Apologies again.  \nFor our August monthly poetry reading\, we are delighted to welcome Anna Saunders. \nAnna is the author of Communion\, (Wild Conversations Press)\, Struck\, (Pindrop Press) Kissing the She Bear\, (Wild Conversations Press)\, Burne Jones and the Fox (Indigo Dreams)\, Ghosting for Beginners\, Feverfew\, The Prohibition of Touch\, (all Indigo Dreams). Her latest book is Eurydice in the Ruined House\, ( Indigo Dreams). \nAnna has been described as ‘a poet who surely can do anything’ by The North\, ‘a modern myth maker’ by Paul Stephenson\, and Tears in the Fence said of her ‘Anna Saunders’ poetry is reminiscent of Plath – with all its alpha achievement and radiance’. She is also the Founding Director of Cheltenham Poetry Festival. \nFree entry. Come for the poetry. Stay for the poetry. \nArrive at 5pm. We’ll offer you something fizzy. Usually a drink but perhaps one day it will be a sherbet fountain. \n5.10-5.40ish\, we’ll enjoy some poetry. \n5.40-6pm\, finish the fizzy things and perhaps buy the poet’s books. \nSome seating. Some standing. Get in touch with us about any requirements you may have. \nIt is free and unticketed but it would help if you let us know that you are coming. RSVP to read@heronbooks.co.uk \n 
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/poetry-in-herons-anna-saunders/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Poetry
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Anna-Saunders.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250722T193000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250722T204500
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20250421T120538Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250421T120655Z
UID:29697-1753212600-1753217100@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Bristol Talks: Bruce Hood – The Science of Happiness
DESCRIPTION:We will be providing a book stall at this fascinating event organised by Bristol Talks: \nJoin us for what promises to be an enlightening and enriching conversation between Bruce Hood (Professor of Developmental Psychology in Society at the University of Bristol) and Andrew Kelly (former Director of Bristol Ideas and visiting professor at the University of the West of England) about happiness. \nIn The Science of Happiness\, Bruce drew on decades of neuroscience and developmental psychology research to show that the key to happiness is not self-care but connection. Bruce and Andrew will be discussing these insights along with many others as they explore the roots of wellbeing in today’s world. It is a conversation that promises lessons for Bristolians of all ages plus practical actions that we can all take to promote collective wellbeing in our local community. \n 
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/bristol-talks-bruce-hood-the-science-of-happiness/
LOCATION:Bristol Folk House\, 40a Park St\, Bristol\, BS1 5JG
CATEGORIES:Author Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/97813985264192-1.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250712T170000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250712T180000
DTSTAMP:20260529T162401
CREATED:20250310T103251Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250310T150218Z
UID:28471-1752339600-1752343200@www.heronbooks.co.uk
SUMMARY:Poetry in Herons: Katrina Naomi
DESCRIPTION:For our July monthly poetry reading\, we are delighted to Katrina Naomi\, author of Battery Rocks. \nFree entry. Come for the poetry. Stay for the poetry. \nArrive at 5pm. We’ll offer you something fizzy. Usually a drink but perhaps one day it will be a sherbet fountain. \n5.10-5.40ish\, we’ll enjoy some poetry. \n5.40-6pm\, finish the fizzy things and perhaps buy the poet’s books. \nSome seating. Some standing. Get in touch with us about any requirements you may have. \nIt is free and unticketed but it would help if you let us know that you are coming. RSVP to read@heronbooks.co.uk \nKatrina is an award-winning poet and performer. Her fourth poetry collection\, Battery Rocks\, (Seren\, 2024) is the winner of the Arthur Welton Award from the Society of Authors. Katrina’s previous collections have won an Authors’ Foundation Award and Saboteur Award; she is a recipient of the Keats-Shelley Prize and has twice been highly commended in the Forward Prize. Katrina’s poetry has appeared on Poems on the Underground\, BBC Radio 4’s Front Row\, Open Country and Poetry Please\, and in The TLS\, The Poetry Review and Modern Poetry in Translation. She has a PhD from Goldsmiths and tutors for Arvon and the Poetry School. Katrina lives in Cornwall. www.katrinanaomi.co.uk \nIn Battery Rocks\, Katrina Naomi returns to the Cornish swimming spot – Battery Rocks in Penzance – every day for a year. On each swim\, she finds something fresh and invigorating. \nExploring the sea in all its mercurial forms\, Naomi questions the world through the lens of nature and the more than human. Poems like ‘And if there were no sea?’\, which recognises both the power and danger of the sea\, as well as all that would be lost if it didn’t exist\, approach the climate emergency from aslant\, offering a new take on one of the most pressing concerns of our times. \nNaomi also examines issues of fear\, strength and vulnerability\, writing in response to an attempted rape and other experienced attacks. She questions how she can feel safer alone\, in a raging sea in winter\, in nothing but a swimming costume\, than on dry land. In poems like ‘The Sea Speaks’ and ‘i.m. Sarah Everard’\, the risks of swimming are juxtaposed with the dangers on shore for women. \nBattery Rocks revels in friendship\, love and community. The Cornish language and landscape are deeply entwined\, and Naomi deftly experiments with poems in Kernewek (Cornish) and English. The collection ends in the strange beauty of ‘in the kelp forest’\, winner of the prestigious Keats-Shelley Prize for Poetry. Finding joy through immersion in nature\, Battery Rocks is a thoughtful meditation on nature\, risk\, swimming and the sea.
URL:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/event/poetry-in-herons-katrina-naomi/
LOCATION:Heron Books\, 7a Regent Street\, Bristol\, BS8 4HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Poetry
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.heronbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-10-150130.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Heron Books":MAILTO:read@heronbooks.co.uk
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