Past Events


Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ – 27 February 2024

We held a very special bookclub with the author to celebrate the paperback edition of A Spell of Good Things.


Ian Marchant – 20 February 2024

It was lovely to welcome Ian Marchant to the bookshop to speak about his book One Fine Day, now out in paperback!

It was a fascinating talk about history, family, the past and the present.

Having discovered his seven-times-great great-grandfather, Thomas Marchant had left a detailed diary from 1714 to 1728, Ian decided to explore his family’s history.


Graeme Hall – 1 February 2024

An evening of laughter with the Dogfather Graeme Hall to celebrate his new book, Does My Dog Love Me?

With the chance to ask Graeme our own questions about our furry friends, this was a truly special evening!


Annabel Abbs – 28 January 2024


Jamie Smart – 14 January 2024

We welcomed the wonderful, the fantastical, the brilliant author and illustrator Jamie Smart to the bookshop!


Maria Bradford – 9 January 2024

We tasted a feta and plantain hand pie, as well as Maria’s own line of fruit juices! A celebration of the culture and cuisine of Sierra Leone.


Laura Bates – 17 November 2023

An empowering evening with feminist writer Laura Bates to celebrate her first YA fantasy novel, Sisters of Sword and Shadow.


Nina Stibbe – 5 November 2023

A Sunday afternoon tea with the delightful Nina Stibbe.


Elly Griffiths – 23 October 2023

A wonderful evening with bestselling crime writer Elly Griffiths! What better way to spend an autumn Monday evening?


Bookshop Day

Katherine Rundell – 14 October 2023

Katherine spoke to us about the process of creating a story, and the inspiration behind the fantastical creatures in the book.

Richard Armitage – 14 October 2023

We spent the afternoon listening to Richard in conversation with CJ Tudor, discussing his debut as a writer and his experiences as an actor.


Mary Beard – 11 October 2023

We spent an evening travelling back in time to Ancient Rome with leading historian Mary Beard to explore the myths and truths about the emperors that ruled.


Riaz Phillips – 6 October 2023

We spent an evening discussing eastern Caribbean cooking and food, and tasting a delicious chickpea curry with doubles.


Adrian Edmondson – 4 October 2023

A rip-roaring evening with Adrian Edmondson!

With riotous stories of his days in comedy, anecdotes of his experience during the pandemic, and shocking stories of his childhood at boarding school, it was a night to remember.


Diana Henry – 11 September 2023

What a marvellous evening discussing the joys and comforts of cold weather cooking with Diana Henry!


Marchelle Farrell – 7 September 2023

An evening spent celebrating the importance of home and the natural world with the wonderful Marchelle Farrell.

We even enjoyed some tea made using ingredients from Marchelle’s own garden!


Lucy Strange – 27 August 2023

We spent a morning creating our own stories by choosing a mythological creature, a real-life setting, and our imaginations!


Ruth Jones – 4 July 2023

Oh, what’s occurring?

What a special evening at the bookshop listening to Ruth Jones in conversation with Clare Pooley about Love Untold!


Meg Mason and Esther Freud – 19 June 2023

Meg and Esther discussed her iconic book, Hideous Kinky.


Hannah Rothschild – 13 June 2023

What an evening with Hannah Rothschild! Chatting about everything from houses, to art, to crypto-currency, it truly was a lovely event.


AJ Pearce – 28 May 2023

We spent a lovely Sunday afternoon with the wonderful AJ Pearce, eating cake, sipping tea, and chatting about her heartwarming new book, ‘Mrs Porter Calling.’

Event photographs by Imogen Mott.


Lizzie Pickering – 14 May 2023

Signing copies of her new book, When Grief Equals Love, Lizzie spoke about her experiences of grief and what she has learned from her own journey and through interviews with experts.


Caleb Azumah Nelson – 9 May 2023

It was such a joy to spend an evening with Caleb and welcome him back to the bookshop for his second book!

Caleb spoke to us about his process as a writer, the inspiration for Small Worlds and even read us a wonderful excerpt from his new book.

Event photographs by Imogen Mott.


Arthur Parkinson – 3 May 2023

A lovely evening spent with Arthur, Juliet Nicolson, and Arthur’s beautiful chicken Linda!

Arthur talked about his lifelong love of chickens, practical hen keeping tips, and the importance of hen welfare.

Event photographs by Imogen Mott.


Samantha Baines – 30 April 2023

Samantha came to the bookshop to sign copies of her new book, Living with Hearing Loss and Deafness. Samantha spoke about her personal experience, as well as interviews with experts.


Gurdeep Loyal – 26 April 2023

We got to taste Gurdeep’s delicious mozzarella and baked plum salad, as well as a mixed seed brittle for dessert.

A flavourful, delicious combination of taste, smell and conversation, Gurdeep spoke with us about the importance of food and identity, as well as lots of practical cooking tips.

Event photographs by Imogen Mott.


Tanya Sarne – 18 April 2023

A wonderful evening with Tanya Sarne, the founder of the iconic fashion brand Ghost. Her story is truly inspiring.

Tanya was in conversation with Marianne Jones, the award-winning journalist, host and previous editor of Tel Mag, Stella and Grazia.

Event photographs by Imogen Mott.


Tola Okogwu – 6 April 2023

Tola talked to us about Onyeka and her magic hair, and we made our own superhero masks and bookmarks!


Leah Broad – 31 March 2023

A wonderful evening of word and live music!

Accompanied by beautiful live music played by Dr Samantha Ege, Leah discussed four extraordinary women who changed the musical world.

Event photographs by Imogen Mott.


Jessica George – 21 March 2023

Jessica talked with us about her debut novel, Maame, in a bookclub with the author!

We laughed, and talked about grief, the importance of friendship and the journey to self-confidence.

It was such a wonderful chance to ask all our burning questions about Maddie, the protagonist, as well as Jessica’s experience as a writer and editor.

Event photographs by Imogen Mott.


Donna Leon – 9 March 2023

To celebrate her new detective novel So Shall You Reap, we welcomed Donna Leon to Sevenoaks.

It was a pleasure to hear Donna talk about her writing career, her experiences in Venice and her beloved protagonist, Guido Brunetti.

Her new novel follows Brunetti as he strives to solve the murder of an unregistered Sri Lankan immigrant, with ties to radical groups, which forces Brunetti to examine his own political past in his youth.

Event Photographs by Imogen Mott.


Sebastian Barry – 2 March 2023

Sebastian Barry joined us in Sevenoaks to introduce his new novel, Old God’s Time.

His new book ‘Old God’s Time’ is a beautiful and haunting novel about what we live through, what we live with and what may survive us. A powerful story about memory, love, mystery and reckoning.

Event Photographs by Imogen Mott.


Philip Ardagh – 17 February 2023

We welcomed Philip Ardagh to the bookshop for a storytime!

Philip told us some wonderful stories about some bunnies on their adventures, including his newest picture book, Bunnies in a Boat!


Skye McAlpine – 7 February 2023

Skye McAlpine came to Sevenoaks Bookshop to discuss her new cookbook, A Table Full of Love, which invites us to celebrate the many different forms of love through food and the things we cook for our loved ones.

Celebrating the evening with the ‘Very Sexy Cocktail’ from the cookbook, and tasting a delicious white chocolate truffle prepared on the evening by Skye, it was a wonderful night of food, Italian music and reminding ourselves of why we cook.


Polly Morland – 8 June 2022

Polly Morland joined us to talk about her book, A Fortunate Woman, about a country doctor working in rural practice in the Midlands. Her story is entwined with the story of A Fortunate Man, John Berger’s classic 1967 account of a country doctor working in the same valley more than half a century earlier.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CeoK7i7AeSS/?hl=en


Crafting with Dried Flowers Workshop with Angela Maynard – 22 May 2022

We hosted a Dried Flowers Workshop with florist, designer and author of Modern Dried Flowers, Angela Maynard

Everyone learnt how to beautifully craft a button hole, a corsage and a flower crown whilst enjoying coffee, tea and cake from our writers’ cafe!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3BF6gbxgHgg


Tessa Hadley – 19 April 2022

Tessa Hadley, bestselling author of Late in the Day and The Past, joined us in the bookshop to talk all about her new novel Free Love, a novel about one woman’s sexual and intellectual awakening in 1960s London. Tessa was in conversation with literary journalist and broadcaster, Suzi Feay.

Tessa also shared all about her writing process and where she draws inspiration for her novels in what was truly such an inspirational evening!


Kat Farmer – 31 March 2022, Walthamstow Hall School

This was such a wonderful evening on the publication day of Kat Farmer’s debut book, Get Changed. Kat is an Instagram style guru and professional stylist whose book covers assessing your current wardrobe, your body type and lifestyle and how to shop successfully. Kat was in conversation with award winning journalist and editor Marianne Jones for this event that celebrated rediscovering your confidence through fashion.


Patrick Gale – 22 March 2022

We had the loveliest evening in the Bookshop with Patrick Gale discussing his newest novel ‘Mother’s Boy’. Thank you so much to everyone who came!

We got to learn all about Charles Causley (the subject of Patrick’s most recent novel), hear Patrick answer questions about his work, and even got to sneak a peak at Patrick’s manuscript!

We also raised £140 for RefugEase, a charity that does really great work with refugees from Ukraine as well as all across the world.


Yvonne Telford – 8 March 2022, International Women’s Day Event

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we had the incredible Yvonne Telford, founder and creator of the much-loved independent fashion brand, Kemi Telford, talking about her journey as a women in business and the books that have inspired her along the way.

This was such a special night celebrating readers and the power of books!

For Yvonne Telford’s full list of favourite reads head over to our bookshop.org list . We also have Yvonne’s Inspirational bundle available on our website with a 15% discount.


Annabel Abbs – 23 February 2022

Annabel Abbs joined us in the Bookshop for our first in person event of 2022 and what an event it was!

Annabel talked all about her latest book The Language of Food, an evocative and heart warming book about food, friendship and the courage needed to lead an independent, creatively fulfilling life as a woman in Victorian England.