Events
Author events are a big part of what we do, please below for information about forthcoming and past events. If you would like to be added to an email update list for information about events, please email your contact details to info@mainstreetbooks.co.uk.
"A kind of dream bookshop and small town cafe." Neil Gaiman
EVENTS PROGRAMME 2012
FORTHCOMING EVENTS:
Watch this space for news of our 2012 events programme.
RECENT EVENTS:
SATURDAY 26th Nov - HOW TO COOK by ISABELLA BEETON and GERARD BAKER - Gerard Baker proved very convincingly that some men can multi-task. He gave a wonderful, informed talk about Mrs Beeton and food history, all the while cooking up a some delicious food. The goodie bags of chocolate cake were also well worth waiting for.
Tues 15th Nov - JANICE GALLOWAY blew us away reading from the second volume of her memoirs, ALL MADE UP. When she threatened to read more (and about sex no less!) if no further questions were asked, the room fell silent - I think we could have listened to her all night.
Sun 30th October – JEREMY PAXMAN entertained a packed house with a fascinating talk about his new book, EMPIRE: WHAT RULING THE WORLD DID TO THE BRITISH. Anyone posing a question certainly had to be ready to have one asked in reply. When asked by his friend in the audience, writer Tom Fort, what type of colonial he might have been, some were surprised to hear 'missionary' as Jeremy's response.
Sat 1st Oct – CRESSIDA COWELL taught a crowd of 150 children the basics of Dragonese while explaining the inspiration behind her bestselling (and huge in-store favourite) HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON series.
Thurs 29th Sept – Australian PAUL CARTER played a blinder and turned the air blue talking about his third book, IS THAT BIKE DIESEL MATE? “The Andy McNab of the Oilfields rides again.” The Telegraph
Wed 14th Sept - Lunch with an Author - MADELINE MILLER - We were very lucky to host Madeline Miller's first ever reading of THE SONG OF ACHILLES. What a delightful author, she wears her erudition lightly both on the page and in person. We're all just hoping that she emulates Donna Tartt's success, but not the ten year wait in writing a second novel.
‘To rewrite Homer’s Iliad as a modern novel was a bold move, but it has paid off superbly. ... If I were to give a prize for the best work of fiction this year, this would be the runaway winner. As a first novel it heralds the arrival of a major new talent.’ A. N. Wilson
Sat 3rd Sept - Bestselling crime writer, JOHN CONNOLLY gave us a masterclass in crime fiction, talking about his writing heroes, keeping the audience laughing throughout, meanwhile his Charlie Parker novels deprived some of us from sleep.
Books, Bordes & Bikes 20-21st Aug - we had a wonderful weekend running our pop-up bookshop in the magical setting of Traquair House at their second Books, Borders & Bikes festival of literature and thought. A stellar cast of authors included David Starkey, Mark Thomas, Mariella Frostrup and Jonathan Powell, but the show was really stolen by an impassioned talk by Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish. His book, I Shall Not Hate is `A moving and powerful book about his experiences with a central message of hope and reconciliation...[it] has had an extraordinary impact..."we have to offer a message of hope to those who believe in hate and revenge".' The Guardian
Thursday 21st July - Local author and seasoned jounalist, Mark Douglas Home gave us an excellent insight into the rigours of writing his first novel, THE SEA DETECTIVE - the secret was writing 1,000 words per day and being able to hear his characters voices. Good advise for any aspiring writer. The good news is that he's working on his next novel so we will meet sea detective Cal McGill once more.
Saturday 18th June - BOOK GROUP AUTHOR LUNCH with Maggie O’Farrell and Bella Bathurst
Maggie O’Farrell and Bella Bathurst charmed over 90 people at our first Mass Book Group Lunch. The sell out event was held as part of our celebrations for Independent Bookseller’s Week and National Reading Group Day.
Talking about her book THE LIGHTHOUSE STEVENSONS, Bella admitted her lack of skill with maths hadn’t put her off approaching the subject of lighthouse engineering, it just meant she had to be quick on her toes with well-informed audiences. Maggie, meanwhile touched a familiar nerve with some of the audience when she recalled delaying delivery of the manuscript of THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE until her vocabulary returned after the birth of her daughter.
A very enjoyable afternoon was had by all.
Thursday 2nd June - AND THE BAND PLAYED ON by Christopher Ward
Everyone knows the story of the Titanic, but what happened afterwards? Christopher Ward is the grandson of Jock Hume, the band’s 21-year-old violinist, who died leaving an unborn child – the author’s mother. On a beautiful sunny evening at Mainstreet, Christopher entertained a well informed audience with his personal journey to discover the full impact of his grandfather's death. As a very special touch, we were treated to a haunting rendition of Nearer my God to Thee played on one of Jock's own violin's by Catriona Price.
THURSDAY 19th May - ESTHER FREUD, HELENA MCEWEN and ALISON GANGEL in conversation with literary agent, Jenny Brown. This made for a fascinating evening looking at the different ways of writing using personal history. Like many writers, Esther Freud and Helena McEwen have creative lives beyond the pages of their books, this is reflected in both their new novels set in the worlds of drama and art school respectively. Alison Gangel is the author of a powerful memoir of her Glasgow childhood where music talent provided her means of escape.
THURSDAY 24th March - ALISTAIR MOFFAT gave a flawless talk about his new book, The Scots: A Genetic Journey, recently serialised in The Scotsman. Luckily Alistair is an author in command of his subject - the audience wasn't taking any prisoners with a lively Q&A session.
THURSDAY 3rd March - we were very lucky to have author, JASPER FFORDE speaking at the shop in the week his new novel, One of Our Thursdays is Missing, hit No.1 on the bestseller charts. He kept the audience highly amused with a wry journey through his road to publication, ten years of rejection leading to sales of over 2 million books worldwide (and now a No. 1 bestseller).
TUESDAY 23rd November - local author, SYLVIA LOCH gave a fascinating talk about her first novel, An Algarve Affair. The story takes it's inspiration from actual events, and Sylvia made it clear that some people had to die before she could publish!
THURSDAY 11th November - IAN RANKIN and RICHARD HAVERS - Rock and Writing. We had an excellent evening with Richard taking Ian through a quasi music/lit desert island disks. It was hard to call a halt to the chat with an audience keen to ask many more questions.
THURSDAY 21st October: JUDY STEEL was 'in conversation' with Nicholas Watson to discuss her new autobiography, charting her life in politics (through husband, David) and the Borders as told in her new autobiography, Tales from the Tap End.
WEDNESDAY 27th October: JONATHAN STROUD kept over 90 local school children entertained talking about his writing, in particular his sardonic creation, Bartimaeus the irascible djini. His new novel charting Bartimaeus' adventures, The Ring of Solomon, is out now.
“Not since Gulliver's Travels has a children's writer managed to combine a thrilling tale of magic and adventure with such deliciously pointed comedy.” Sunday Times
THURSDAY 7th October - ALLAN BURNETT, author of Invented in Scotland, wowed local school children as he revealed just how much we owe to Scottish inventors.
TUESDAY 28th Sept - bestselling and prize-winning children's author, ANNE FINE, gave an excellent talk to 150 children in advance of Children's Book Week. She also gave a highly entertaining and very un-PC talk about her adult novels at the shop in the evening, letting the audience into many of her trade secrets - not least the inspiration she takes from her own family and friends (all well disguised of course).
BOOKS, BORDERS & BIKES at Traquair House 14-15th August - We were delighted to be the official bookseller at the first Books, Borders & Bikes. The weekend was a huge success, full of wonderfully surreal literary moments - it doesn't get much better than sitting in the sunshine in front of Traquair House, listening to Magnus Linklater chair an event with Henry Ologna (first black man on the Zimbabwe cricket team, now exiled for his opposition to Mugabe) and David Coultart (first white man on the new Zimbabwe cabinet). For more information, go to www.traquair.co.uk
FRIDAY 18th June - MICHAEL MORPURGO gave the most wonderful event to launch his new book, Not Bad for a Bad Lad, at The Mainstreet Trading Company. He had a packed house of adults and children listening with rapt attention as he talked about his writing and in particular some of the true stories that had inspired his work.
WEDNESDAY 2nd June - TOM CARVER gave a fascinating and moving talk about his father, Richard Carver. "In November 1942, two nights after the Battle of El Alamein, a young British army officer was captured by German forces. As the Nazis deliberated about what to do with him and his peers, Richard Carver had particular reason to be afraid: unknown to anyone else, he was the stepson of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, who had just inflicted the first serious land defeat on the Third Reich..."
Tom's book is called Where the Hell Have You Been - it's highly recommended for a good read.
THURSDAY 8th APRIL - In Shooting Leave, renowned historian JOHN URE tells the thrilling stories behind the phantom worlds of Kipling’s Kim, of John Buchan heroes and of Flashman villains. The officers who volunteered for these adventures were an elite band who needed ingenuity as well as courage, robust physique as well as intelligence, patience and daring. Some, however, were also arrogant imperialists; some were almost missionary-like in their Christian zeal. But one factor remained common: they were expendable.
‘Extremely entertaining ... but behind all the Indiana Jones excitements of what deserves to be a surprise bestseller there lurk some serious lessons.’
ROBERT HARRIS, The Sunday Times
THURSDAY 4th March - WORLD BOOK DAY with Alexander McCall Smith. Over 130 children joined bestselling author, Alexander McCall Smith to celebrate the publication of his new novel for children, Precious and the Puggies. The book has been translated into Scots by James Robertson who was reading at the event – and had the audience on their feet practising their accents.
Launching his new No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency title, The Double Comfort Safari Club, in the evening, McCall Smith gave a very entertaining talk to a packed room, much of the audience was having as much trouble as the author in keeping a straight face, it was helpless giggles all round. We were treated to updates on the movements of his many and varied characters including one well known Pimlico terrier called Freddie de la Hay. The inspiration for this name came from a fan letter to the author written by Wilfred de la Hey.
WEDNESDAY 2nd DECEMBER - MARY CONTINI gave a charming talk about her family and the history of Valvona and Crolla, while tempting her audience with mouth-watering discussions about the relative merits of particular olive oils. Her new cookery book, VALVONA AND CROLLA, A Year at an Italian Table is out now and it comes highly recommended. The event was a joint venture with our friends at The Borders Book Festival. As he interviewed Mary, Alistair Moffatt managed to work out his menu for dinner on Saturday!
THURSDAY 12th NOVEMBER - Clarissa Dickson Wright gave a hilarious talk about her new memoir, RIFLING THROUGH MY DRAWERS. Not a PC word to be heard all evening, it was a treat for all who made it to our first event in The Sugarhouse Gallery (the barn behind the shop). Bill and Thomas spent most of the day making it look beautiful and to our huge relief we managed to fit everyone into the space
FRIDAY 2nd OCTOBER - Launch of DEATH OF AN OCEAN - a Geological Borders Ballad by Euan Clarkson and Brian Upton
6th to 9th OCTOBER - CHILDREN'S BOOK WEEK
Tuesday/Wednesday 6/7th October – Johnny O’Brien
Thursday 8th October – Charlie James
See Event Archive for more information about these events.