Stoke Newington Literary Festival

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Stoke Newington Literary Festival

2019 programme

  • Thursday 6th June
  • Hackney Shorts. £9
    Time – 8:30pm, Venue – Rio Cinema
  • Now in its third year, Hackney Shorts film festival showcases the work of established and emerging filmmakers capturing the rapid […]

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  • Friday, 7th June
  • WEEKEND TICKET. £80
    Time – 12:00, Venue – Town Hall
  • Access to all events. Exchange your ticket for a wristband at the Box Office and make yourself Access All Areas […]

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  • Reel Rebels Radio: Friday Night Session. £5
    Time – 18:00, Venue – Reel Rebels Radio
  • Spend an evening with Reel Rebels, a local community radio station based in Stoke Newington. Their festival line up starts […]

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  • Gala Night: John Crace on May’s Last Day. £6
    Time – 19:30, Venue – Town Hall
  • EVENT UPDATE: This special gala night shines a thoughtful and laconic light on the state of the nation. On the […]

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  • Brian Bilston. £6
    Time – 19.30, Venue – Library Gallery
  • Described as the ‘Poet Laureate of Twitter’ and ‘part John Cooper-Clarke, part Frank Sidebottom’, Brian Bilston is a poet clouded […]

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  • Jessica Martin: A Life Under Lights. £7
    Time – 20.00, Venue – Tower Theatre
  • Actor Jessica Martin came of age in the jazz clubs of Soho. Obsessed with Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand as […]

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  • Jan Noble: Journey Works. £10
    Time – 20:00, Venue – Mascara Bar
  • Unearthing the story of ‘Body 115’, poet Jan Noble presents a first draft reading of a new monologue commissioned by […]

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  • The ‘Book? Er…’ Prize Pub Quiz. £3
    Time – 21.00, Venue – Library Gallery
  • From highbrow to no-brow, from Harry Potter to Humbert Humbert, test your bookish knowledge and ingenuity at the festival’s own […]

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  • Saturday, 8th June
  • KIDS! Elmer the Elephant Story Time. free
    Time – 11:00, Venue – Stoke Newington Library
  • Free!

    Every year we invite a very special guest along to meet our younger readers at Stoke Newington Library. This year […]

  • KIDS! The Dragon in the Library. £3
    Time – 11:00, Venue – William Patten
  • Dragons! Magic! Storytelling! And one very worried author… Louie Stowell needs YOUR HELP. Her friend, the librarian (psst, WIZARD) has […]

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  • Hackney Society: Dalston Jam. £5
    Time – 11.00, Venue – Library Gallery
  • Like much of London, Dalston’s rich cultural and social history has, so far, shifted and adapted in the face of […]

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  • Not About the Burqa. SOLD OUT
    Time – 11.00, Venue – Abney Hall
  • After reading that David Cameron linked the radicalization of Muslim men to the “traditional submissiveness” of women, Mariam Khan felt […]

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  • KIDS! The Strongest Mum’s Treasure Hunt. £3
    Time – 12:00, Venue – William Patten
  • Little Bear’s Mum is the strongest in the world, always helping everyone (especially helping carry Little Bear’s treasures). But sometimes […]

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  • Go East! with Olia Hercules and Alissa Timoshkina. £5
    Time – 12:00, Venue – St Paul's Church Hall
  • Forget everything you thought you knew about Eastern European food! Two of today’s most exciting food writers and chefs, Olia […]

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  • Ecstatic Peace Library: David Toop. £4
    Time – 12:00, Venue – Mortuary Chapel
  • Musician, composer, writer and sound curator David Toop talks to The Wire’s Emily Bick about his fascinating new memoir Flutter […]

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  • Open Pen: The Rise of the Novelette. £4
    Time – 13.00, Venue – The Prince
  • Open Pen is a free, East London-based fiction magazine and publisher of pocket paperbacks: The Open Pen Novelettes. They insist […]

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  • KIDS! Forgotten Histories – writing workshop. SOLD OUT
    Time – 13:00, Venue – William Patten
  • Meet local award winning author, Patrice Lawrence, and Eve, a Tudor girl who sets out on a dangerous journey to […]

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  • Motherhood. £5
    Time – 13.00 , Venue – Old Church
  • We are taught that motherhood is something we should aspire to, and this fantasy can dominate the whole of our […]

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  • Welcome? The Refugee Experience. £5
    Time – 13:00, Venue – Library Gallery
  • The North Hackney Welcome Project will rehome a family from Syria this summer and this event looks at the refugee […]

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  • Tracey Thorn. £7
    Time – 13:00, Venue – Town Hall
  • In a 1970s commuter town, Tracey Thorn’s teenage life was forged from what failed to happen. She was a typical […]

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  • KIDS! Billy and the Beast. £3
    Time – 14:00, Venue – William Patten
  • Have a very noisy storytime and drawing session with author and illustrator Nadia Shireen. You’ll meet a whole host of […]

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  • Vinegar: a user’s guide. £5
    Time – 14:00, Venue – The Last Crumb
  • You’ve probably got a bottle (or two) stashed in your cupboard, but chances are you’re not getting the most out […]

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  • Time: the Missing Ingredient. SOLD OUT
    Time – 14:00, Venue – Meat N16
  • What makes good meat? Which cuts of meat work best for a slow-cooked stew or a speedy stir-fry? How do […]

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  • Strange Hate: On Antisemitism. £5
    Time – 14:00, Venue – Abney Hall
  • Life-long anti-racists accused of antisemitism, life-long Jew haters declaring their love of Israel…antisemitism has become selective. And its not just […]

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  • Richard King: The Lark Ascending. £5
    Time – 15.00, Venue – Mortuary Chapel
  • Richard is one of our most celebrated music writers and The Lark Ascending explores how Britain’s history and identity has […]

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  • Justify My Love. £4
    Time – 15.00 , Venue – The Prince
  • Inspired by her former days as the lead singer of Seattle-based band Schoolyard Heroes, Ryann Donnelly explores and analyses the […]

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  • Grief, Loneliness & Feather Dusters. £5
    Time – 15:00, Venue – Library Gallery
  • Three extraordinary women with their own unique yet complementary experiences of addiction, loss and grief come together to share their […]

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  • Dynasties. £5
    Time – 15.00, Venue – Old Church
  • Novelist and broadcaster Emma Woolf (England’s Lane), great-niece of Virginia Woolf joins Emma Darwin (This is Not a Book About […]

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  • Nigella Lawson. SOLD OUT
    Time – 16:00, Venue – Town Hall
  • With the publication of How to Eat in 1998, Nigella Lawson introduced us to her unique style of creative, delicious […]

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  • Dorian Lynskey: The Ministry of Truth. £5
    Time – 16.00, Venue – Abney Hall
  • 2019 is the 70th anniversary of George Orwell’s 1984. The Ministry of Truth uncovers the cultural influence of 1984, from […]

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  • Sparks Writing Group. 3
    Time – 16.00pm, Venue – Tower Theatre
  • Local writing group Sparks showcases new local writing and original work based on themes of community, isolation and loneliness. In […]

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  • The Craft of Jokes. £6
    Time – 17.00, Venue – Library Gallery
  • Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris are two of Britain’s busiest comedy writers (Philomena Cunk, Charlie Brooker’s Wipe, Mitchell & Webb, […]

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  • Amy Raphael: A Seat at the Table. £5
    Time – 17:00, Venue – The Old Church
  • In Never Mind the Bollocks: Women Rewrite Rock, writer and critic Amy Raphael interviewed twelve female musicians, from Courtney Love […]

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  • Sparks Writing Group. £3
    Time – 17.00, Venue – Mortuary Chapel
  • Local writing group Sparks showcases new local writing and original work based on themes of community, isolation and loneliness. In […]

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  • Niki Segnit with Sheila Dillon. £5
    Time – 18:00, Venue – St Paul's Church Hall
  • Niki Segnit, author of best-selling The Flavour Thesaurus, talks to Sheila Dillon, presenter of Radio 4’s The Food Programme, about […]

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  • Sali Hughes & Lauren Laverne. £7
    Time – 18.00 , Venue – Town Hall
  • Republican or royalist, there’s no denying that the Queen’s outifts have made key style – and even political – statements […]

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  • Joel Golby: Brilliant x 5. £6
    Time – 18.00, Venue – Abney Hall
  • Living in London is tough when you’re young, broke, and don’t know what you’re doing. Joel Golby, a VICE journalist […]

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  • Sparks Writing Group. £3
    Time – 18.00pm, Venue – Mortuary Chapel
  • Local writing group Sparks showcases new local writing and original work based on themes of community, isolation and loneliness. In […]

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  • BookTalkBookTalkBook. £6
    Time – 19.00 , Venue – Library Gallery
  • Jenny and Burton are two novelists stuck within an event they no longer control. BookTalkBookTalkBook begins as a parody of […]

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  • Celebrating 60 Years of Ambit. £5
    Time – 19.00, Venue – Victory Mansion
  • Ambit Magazine presents a celebration of 60 years of continuous publication of poetry, art and prose. Ambit strives to feature […]

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  • The Erratic Review. free
    Time – 19:30, Venue – Mascara Bar
  • Nicholas Lezard will be reading from It Gets Worse, the forthcoming selection of his “Down and Out” columns for the […]

  • Alan Johnson in conversation with Suzanne Moore. £10
    Time – 20.00, Venue – Town Hall
  • Alan Johnson is a political heavyweight who’s seen seismic shifts in the Labour party first in his time as trade […]

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  • Polari. £6
    Time – 20.00, Venue – Old Church
  • Given the ultimate nod by the New York Times as ‘London’s most theatrical salon’ and by The Independent on Sunday […]

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  • LAST EVER Game of Thrones Pub Quiz!. SOLD OUT
    Time – 21.00 , Venue – Upstairs at The Red Lion
  • All men must die… and so must all quizzes. As the greatest fantasy series of all time draws to a […]

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  • Nerd Nite. £6
    Time – 21.00, Venue – Library Gallery
  • Evidence-based entertainment doesn’t get better than this! Join in on the fun, fact-filled night with Lara Maiklem (Mudlarking: Lost and […]

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  • Partners in Crime. £8
    Time – 21:00, Venue – Mortuary Chapel
  • The most atmospheric event of the weekend: candlelit shenanigans in the ruined Mortuary Chapel as two best-selling crime-writing couples (Catherine […]

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  • Sunday, 9th June
  • Writing the Wild Workshop. £8
    Time – 10:30, Venue – Mortuary Chapel
  • A walking tour AND writing workshop! Join acclaimed Writer Natasha Carthew on a as she explores what it means to […]

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  • KIDS! Meet the Artist: Frank Bowling. £5
    Time – 11:00, Venue – William Patten
  • The first major retrospective of Guyana born and London-based artist, Frank Bowling, opens at Tate Britain on May 31st. We’re […]

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  • KIDS! Elmer the Elephant Story Time. free
    Time – 11:00, Venue – Stoke Newington Common
  • Free!

    Join Elmer for story time on the benches round the tree on the Common. Fingers crossed the weather holds…! For […]

  • Type Tasting Pop-up!. free
    Time – 11:00, Venue – Various
  • Free!

    Sarah will be asking you questions like “would you snog/marry/avoid that font?” and testing out game ideas for her new […]

  • History of Stokey. £5
    Time – 11.00 , Venue – Library Gallery
  • We shouldn’t take our green, open spaces for granted. Amir Dotan, curator of the hugely popular History of Stokey archive, […]

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  • Lee Jackson: Palaces of Pleasure. £5
    Time – 11.00 , Venue – Mortuary Chapel
  • Lee Jackson is an author and historian whose latest book, Palaces of Pleasure charts the rise of nineteenth century mass […]

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  • KIDS! Samuel Drew Hasn’t a Clue. £3
    Time – 12:00, Venue – William Patten
  • Award-winning author & illustrator team Gabby Dawnay and Alex Barrow are coming to celebrate the launch of their latest book […]

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  • Chocolate: a food lover’s guide. £5
    Time – 12:00, Venue – The Last Crumb
  • Few foods tempt us like chocolate and Sue Quinn, author of Cocoa: An exploration of chocolate, with recipes, is not […]

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  • A Class Act. free
    Time – 12.00 , Venue – Abney Hall
  • Free!

    Working class voices are increasingly absent from publishing and the media. Several books this year highlight the issues faced by […]

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  • Outsiders Outside: Walking Tour. SOLD OUT
    Time – 12:00, Venue – Abney Park Cemetery
  • Join us in historic Abney Park cemetery for a journey through its connections with literary London’s outsiders and innovators. Hear […]

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  • Stephen Morris: Record, Play, Pause. £8
    Time – 13:00, Venue – Town Hall
  • Joy Division and New Order drummer Stephen Morris is the percussionist behind some of the most iconic post-punk music that […]

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  • Michael Goldfarb: D-I-V-O-R-C-E. £5
    Time – 13.00 , Venue – Library Gallery
  • Michael Goldfarb, host of FRDH, First Rough Draft of History podcast lays out his case for America splitting up. Why […]

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  • Love, Loss & Blueprints. £4
    Time – 13:00, Venue – White Hart
  • Join two novelists writing about the architects, designers and urban planners who design the way we live, interact and enjoy […]

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  • KIDS! Old MacDonald Heard a Parp with Olaf Falafel. £3
    Time – 13.00, Venue – William Patten School
  • Join comedian and illustrator Olaf Falafel for this fun-filled session including story telling and live drawing. Find out who’s to […]

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  • Ecstatic Peace Library: Adrian Henri. £4
    Time – 13:00, Venue – Mortuary Chapel
  • I Want Everything to Happen, edited by Thurston Moore, explores the life and counter-cultural influence of Liverpool poet Adrian Henri. […]

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  • Rising Stars. free
    Time – 14.00 , Venue – Abney Hall
  • Free!

    Literary critic Suzi Feay is always several steps ahead of the awards judges and best-seller lists. She hosts some of […]

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  • KIDS! Telling Tales Shadow Puppet Workshop. £3
    Time – 14:00, Venue – William Patten
  • Come along and create your own shadow puppet characters with Clissold Park Users Group. Either tell classic tales from around […]

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  • The New French: Diana Henry with Felicity Cloake & Alex Jackson. SOLD OUT
    Time – 14:00, Venue – St Paul's Church Hall
  • Felicity Cloake, creator of the Guardian’s How to Cook the Perfect… column, and author of One More Croissant for the […]

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  • So We Live: the Novels of Alexander Baron. £5
    Time – 14:00, Venue – The Old Church
  • Five Leaves launches So We Live: the novels of Alexander Baron at the festival. Join novelist Anthony Cartwright, historians Sean […]

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  • Wollstonecraft Walks.. £8 online, £10 on door
    Time – 14:00 onwards, Venue – The Mildmay Club
  • Fragments & Monuments and Scary Little Girls bring Mary’s green alive with performance, poetry and song. In small groups, you […]

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  • KIDS! John Hegley: Family Wordship. £5
    Time – 15:00, Venue – William Patten
  • Join local poet, John Hegley, for a very amusing interactive show which includes a selection of animals and people sung, […]

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  • Bus Fare. £5
    Time – 15:00, Venue – Library Gallery
  • London’s buses are synonymous with the capital. Not just a vital component of the city’s infrastructure, they are embedded in […]

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  • Pole to Pole. SOLD OUT
    Time – 15:00, Venue – The Last Crumb
  • The polar extremes have a fascination beyond climate change. Novelist Jean McNeil spent a year as writer-in-residence with the British […]

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  • Heavy Lifting: Small Presses. £4
    Time – 15:00, Venue – The White Hart
  • Four founders of the UK’s most influential contemporary independent publishers discuss how UK publishing is changing. In 2018, a significant […]

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  • Ed Miliband. £6
    Time – 15:00, Venue – Town Hall
  • Ed Miliband is heading up a call for the government to throw as much effort into stopping climate change as […]

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  • Luke Turner: Out of the Woods – CANCELLED. £4
    Time – 15:00, Venue – Mortuary Chapel
  • Luke Turner talks about his hauntingly brave and beautiful new memoir Out of the Woods. Seeking refuge in Epping Forest […]

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  • Sparks Writing Group. £3
    Time – 15.00, Venue – Mascara Bar
  • Local theatre writing group Sparks perform a series of works in progress, exploring themes of community, loneliness and isolation. This […]

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  • Yasmin Khan. £5
    Time – 16:00, Venue – St Paul's Church Hall
  • Hackney- based author and best-selling food and travel writer, Yasmin Khan, is passionate about sharing people’s stories through food. Her […]

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  • Vagina. £6
    Time – 16.00, Venue – Abney Hall
  • With cervical screening stats at a 20-year low and labiaplasty now the fastest-growing plastic surgery in the world, the consequences […]

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  • Author Confidential. £5
    Time – 16:00, Venue – The Old Church
  • Author Confidential is back, with Andy Miller (The Year of Reading Dangerously) unleashing the beast inside the mildest of writers […]

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  • Writing Urban Space. £4
    Time – 17:00, Venue – The White Hart
  • What is the relationship between imaginative writing and the built environment? From William Blake through to Iain Sinclair to Laura […]

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  • Pete Brown: Pie Fidelity. £6
    Time – 17.00, Venue – Library Gallery
  • Anyone who has seen Pete’s legendary beer and music matching show will know his events quickly turn from mouth-watering readings […]

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  • Let’s Talk About Death. £6
    Time – 17:00, Venue – Mortuary Chapel
  • Advantages of Age is an online magazine created to challenge the narrative around ageing. Opening up the dialogue around death […]

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  • Zawe Ashton: Character Breakdown. £6
    Time – 17:00, Venue – Town Hall
  • Born and brought up in Hackney, Zawe is now being hailed by Hollywood as one of its rising stars. Roles […]

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  • Moonstomp. £4
    Time – 17:00, Venue – Ryan's Bar
  • Tim Wells reads from his skinhead werewolf novel Moonstomp and discusses 70s horror and aggro pulp with comic actor Paul […]

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  • Queer Intentions. £5
    Time – 18:00, Venue – The Old Church
  • Today, the freedoms on offer to LGBTQ+ people living in the West are greater than ever. But is same-sex marriage, […]

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  • Gastrosalon. £5
    Time – 18:00, Venue – St Paul's Church Hall
  • A fixture of Stokey Lit Fest, GastroSalon, hosted by Rachel McCormack (BBC Radio 4 – Kitchen Cabinet) has three guests […]

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  • Billy Bragg. SOLD OUT
    Time – 19:00, Venue – Town Hall
  • Musician, political campaigner and author, Billy has enjoyed a No. 1 hit single, had a street named after him, been […]

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  • John Osborne: You’re in a Bad Way. £6
    Time – 19:00 , Venue – Library Gallery
  • When two sisters learn their dad has been diagnosed with dementia, they deal with the news in very different ways. […]

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  • Ecstatic Peace Library: Ripped & Torn. £4
    Time – 19:00, Venue – Mortuary Chapel
  • Ripped & Torn was one of the first, and longest running, punk fanzines. Its editor Tony Drayton joins John Doran […]

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