‘No Small Thing is an absolute gem of class literature that’s sexy,
politically astute, emotionally intelligent, and rivetingly paced in prose
that eases between fiery and tender, just like the relationships it so
beautifully draws us into’
— Holly Pester, author of The Lodgers
Join us to celebrate an exceptional Black British debut, NO SMALL THING by Orlaine McDonald, a novel filled with desire and jeopardy, following three generations of women on a South London estate. Telling the complex story of three characters across a year in which they live together on a South London estate, No Small Thing is a novel that reveals tender truths about motherhood, the intersection of class and race, and the histories that we inherit.
Orlaine will be in conversation with another shop fave Keiran Goddard, of I SEE BUILDINGS FALL LIKE LIGHTENING fame, for what will be the first fantastic literary event of the 2024 summer/autumn season.
Orlaine McDonald is a writer of mixed Jamaican and Irish heritage, and lives in London. No Small Thing is Orlaine’s first novel, and has been featured as an ‘Editor’s Choice’ in the Bookseller’s July fiction previews, and
was featured in the New Statesman’s ‘Fiction to Read in 2024’ list.
Tickets £5 – which includes a drink.
‘Stranger, darker, and more brilliant than anything she’s written before’ is how the Guardian described The Echoes, Evie Wyld’s fifth novel in a critically acclaimed career to date. Narrated in part by a ghost, the novel spans generations, weaving between London and Australia. It’s the story of a relationship and an exploration of the hold the past has over us.
Join us when Evie Wyld will be in conversation with Karen McLeod.
In all failed relationships there is a point that passes unnoticed at the time, which can later be identified as the beginning of the decline. For Helen it was the weekend that the Hidden Man came to Westbury Park.
Croydon, 1964. Helen Hansford is in her thirties and an art therapist in a psychiatric hospital where she has been having a long love affair with Gil: a charismatic, married doctor.
One spring afternoon they receive a call about a disturbance from a derelict house not far from Helen’s home. A thirty-seven-year-old man called William Tapping, with a beard down to his waist, has been discovered along with his elderly aunt. It is clear he has been shut up in the house for decades, but when it emerges that William is a talented artist, Helen is determined to discover his story.
Shy Creatures is a life-affirming novel about all the different ways we can be confined, how ordinary lives are built of delicate layers of experience, the joy of freedom and the transformative power of kindness. Join us for a conversation with Clare, plus Q&A and a book signing.
Tickets £5 (includes a drink)
‘Where Songs Come From – The Lyrics and Origin Stories of 150 Solo and Carter USM Songs’ is the first-ever collection of Jim Bob’s lyrics and on Thursday 31st October we are proud to be holding the launch and signing on publication day.
Published by Cherry Red books, printed and bound in hardback, just shy of 400 pages long, heavier than an unscrupulous landlord and full of previously unseen photographs and images, Jim Bob’s ninth book will attempt to explain where his songs come from, how they got here, and why.
Discover how Sheriff Fatman really started out in business and why Jo’s got papercuts. Take a trip with Jim Bob along the murder mile to see how it’s changed since 1990.Find out where Jim Bob was coming from when he was twenty four minutes from Tulse Hill, how Charlie Brown almost ruined his birthday, and why he can’t write love songs unless it’s from the point of view of dying soldiers or elephants.
As much a revealing autobiography as it is a lyric book, with inspired musings on a vast array of subjects, ‘Where Songs Come From’ is a fascinating personal account of Jim Bob’s history told via his songs. It could equally have been titled, ‘Where Jim Bob Comes From’.
If you would like to attend please book a free ticket here. And to pre-order a copy of the book and pick it up on the night please do so here: https://booksellercrow.co.uk/shop/where-songs-come-from/