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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260505T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260505T190000
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SUMMARY:AUTHOR EVENT: 'The Mercy Step' Marcia Hutchinson with Pete Kalu
DESCRIPTION:House of Books & Friends is excited to welcome back Marcia Hutchinson on Tuesday 5th of May to discuss her Women Fiction Longlist  title ‘The Mercy Step‘. The evening will begin at 6pm\, and involve a discussion\, a Q&A\, and a chance to get your book signed by Marcia. Marcia will be in conversation with Pete Kalu\, a Mancunian poet\, writer and playwright. \nTickets \nBook and Ticket £9.99 \nTicket Only £5 \nAs always\, we have a limited amount of complimentary tickets for this event for anyone who needs it. Please contact us directly at bookworms@houseofbooksandfriends.pro or call 07597365380. \nAbout the book \nBradford\, December 1962. \nA precocious Mercy makes her reluctant entrance into the world\, torn from the warm embrace of her mother’s womb\, to a chaotic household that seems to have no place for her. Her siblings do not understand her\, her mother’s attention is given to the Church\, and the entire family lives at the whims of her father’s quick temper. \nLeft to herself\, Mercy finds solace in books\, her imagination\, and the quiet comfort of her faithful toy\, Dolly. But escapism has its limits\, and as the grip of family\, faith and fear threatens to close in\, Mercy learns she must act if she wants a different future; one where she is seen\, heard\, and her family set free. \nAbout the author \nMarcia Hutchinson was born in Manningham\, Bradford\, the seventh of nine children to Windrush generation Jamaican parents. The first pupil from her school to go to Oxford\, Marcia worked as a lawyer before returning to the North and founding the educational publishing company Primary Colours. She was awarded an MBE in 2011 for her services to Cultural Diversity. Now a full-time writer and member of the Black Writers’ Guild\, Marcia’s solo literary debut\, The Mercy Step (Cassava Republic Press)\, was published in July 2025\, and longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2026. The Mercy Step was also nominated for the Nibbies Book of the Year ‘Discover’ Category.
URL:https://houseofbooksandfriends.pro/event/author-event-the-mercy-step-marcia-hutchinson-with-pete-kalu
LOCATION:House of Books & Friends\, 81 King Street\, Manchester\, M2 4AH\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Author Event
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ORGANIZER;CN="House of Books & Friends":MAILTO:bookworms@houseofbooksandfriends.pro
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260506T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260506T190000
DTSTAMP:20260316T113622Z
CREATED:20260316T101843Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260316T113622Z
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SUMMARY:POETRY EVENT: 'Little Bitch' launch with Ellora Sutton\, Betty Doyle and Roma Havers
DESCRIPTION:House of Books & Friends is thrilled to welcome Ellora Sutton on Wednesday 6th of May from 6pm to discuss their new poetry collection\, ‘Little Bitch’. Ellora will be joined by Betty Doyle\, author of poetry collection ‘Fruits of Labour’\, and Roma Havers\, author of poetry collection ‘The Natural Way’. There will be 8-10 minutes of reading from the poets\, and 20-30 min discussion with chair\, Stuart Bartholomew. There will also be a Q&A\, and an opportunity for attendees to get their books signed. \nTickets \nAs there are multiple authors in discussion\, you can purchase a ticket-only option\, or you can purchase a copy of the book from us to act as a ticket; see options below: \n£5 Ticket only and the option to buy ONE of the titles available here \n£27 for all 3 books to act as your ticket here \nAbout Little Bitch \nLittle Bitch hangs out in cemeteries\, art galleries\, hot-pink nuclear bunkers. She ruins your favourite movies and won’t stop talking about how hungry she is\, horses\, roses\, her dead mother\, the sea. She watches too much Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She is a Venusian hellhole. She is too pretty to cry. \nEllora Sutton’s hotly-anticipated debut collection is an unsettling exposé of wasted potential\, the precarity of desire\, and the violence of girlhood. With cameos from Hello Kitty\, Susan Sontag\, Tony Hawk\, and Marina Abramović\, Little Bitch uses a powderpuff to serve up a suckerpunch with a side of Black Forest gateau. \nAbout Fruits of Labor \nBetty Doyle’s Fruits of Labour charts coming to terms with childlessness\, from initial symptoms and diagnosis\, grief and uncertainty\, to emerging with acceptance\, hope\, and survival. Doyle explores the impact of childlessness\, and the threat of infertility on the speaker’s sense of self\, femininity\, and family. While initially the body is examined from a place of shame and regret\, it also becomes a site of resilience and abandon. \nThere is joy here\, too – in the unexpected freedom that childlessness brings. Doyle rejects enforced gender roles\, embracing independence and freedom of choice. While the body in these poems can be a site of suffering\, or even viewed by some as deficient\, it is also defiant\, and ultimately\, these poems emerge triumphant\, surviving and thriving on the speaker’s own terms. \nAbout The Natural Way \n‘We’re trying the natural way’\, Havers once said when asked about children in their queer partnership. What follows is their sparklingly disruptive debut\, drawing on inside jokes\, ironies and imaginings for new ways of thinking about what we call natural and the ways and paths we choose to get there. \nFrom Oscar Wilde to an unlikely pelican\, this book’s wandering way resists the traditional nature poem\, instead digging into the muck and rock of queer wilderness. Formally inventive\, these poems span the width of the page and draw on mathematics\, tablecloth patterns and swimming pools for their structures. Ingenious and funny\, Havers’ debut questions received ideas about inheritance and legacies: what if\, it asks\, we live outside the familiar\, familial archive? \nAbout Stuart Bartholomew / Verve Press \nVoted Most Innovative Press at Saboteur Awards and Winner of Michael Marks Publishers Award.\n‘…the always exciting Verve Poetry press’ – Andrew McMillan \nVerve Poetry Press is a Birmingham based poetry indie publishing poets from all corners of the UK. – with a focus on poets that chime with the city’s diverse and energetic qualities. We publish both full collections and pamphlets and favour performance poetry just as much as poems that are written for the page.
URL:https://houseofbooksandfriends.pro/event/poetry-event-little-bitch-launch-with-ellora-sutton-betty-doyle-and-roma-havers
LOCATION:House of Books & Friends\, 81 King Street\, Manchester\, M2 4AH\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Author Event
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260507T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260507T190000
DTSTAMP:20260412T105322Z
CREATED:20260118T131657Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260412T105322Z
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SUMMARY:AUTHOR EVENT: 'The Jackfruit Chronicles' by Shahnaz Ahsan
DESCRIPTION:House of Books & Friends is overjoyed to welcome Shahnaz Ahsan to discuss her book\, ‘The Jackfruit Chronicles: Memories and Recipes from a British-Bangladeshi Kitchen‘. The event will take place on 7th May at 6pm\, and will involve a discussion\, a Q&A\, and a chance for you to get your book signed by Shahnaz. Shahnaz will be interviewed by Dr Munza Rahman\, a senior lecturer from MMU whose research focuses primarily on contemporary Postcolonial writing and film\, and more specifically how this intersects with the interdisciplinary field of Food Studies. \nTickets \nClick here to buy a book and ticket \nClick here to buy a ticket only \nAbout the book \nWith insight and love\, Ahsan guides us through the vibrant flavours and captivating story of Bengali food and its place in Britain. Beginning with the arrival of her grandfather\, Habib\, in Manchester in the 1950s\, this is a spellbinding journey not just through one family story\, but also the broader tale of the Bangladeshi diaspora’s quest for a new life in Britain. \nAhsan beautifully weaves together this narrative of migration and hope with treasured family recipes\, including dishes like sour tomato broth\, jackfruit kofta curry\, lentil fritters\, fish with clementine peels and much more. \nAbout the author \nShahnaz Ahsan is an author\, columnist and award-winning food writer. Shahnaz’s debut novel Hashim & Family was an Observer Best Book of 2020 and was shortlisted for the Guardian Not the Booker Prize. Born and raised in West Yorkshire\, Shahnaz is of British-Bangladeshi heritage\, and has also lived in the USA\, Ethiopia\, Zimbabwe and Rwanda. Shahnaz regularly appears on national and international radio\, including BBC Radio 4\, BBC Asian Network\, BBC Scotland\, and ABC Radio Australia. She has also taught creative writing at the University of Westminster\, and facilitates sessions on food culture for public and private sector clients.
URL:https://houseofbooksandfriends.pro/event/author-event-the-jackfruit-chronicles-by-shahnaz-ahsan
LOCATION:House of Books & Friends\, 81 King Street\, Manchester\, M2 4AH\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Author Event
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ORGANIZER;CN="House of Books & Friends":MAILTO:bookworms@houseofbooksandfriends.pro
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260514T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260514T190000
DTSTAMP:20260307T104225Z
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SUMMARY:AUTHOR EVENT: 'Rose and Renzo' with Carolyn O'Brien
DESCRIPTION:House of Books & Friends is thrilled to welcome Carolyn O’Brien on Thursday 14th of May from 6pm to discuss their new book\, ‘Rose and Renzo‘. The evening will involve a discussion\, a Q&A\, and a chance to get your book signed by Carolyn. Carolyn will be in conversation with Louisa Reid\, author of adult and YA fiction including ‘Handle with Care’. \nTickets \nBook and Ticket £9.99 \nTicket Only £5 \nAs always\, we have a limited amount of complimentary tickets for this event for anyone who needs it. Please contact us directly at bookworms@houseofbooksandfriends.pro or call 07597365380. \nAbout the book \nAfter the death of their father\, two sisters arrive in Manchester’s vibrant ‘Little Italy’: creative misfit\, Rose\, and her much older sister\, Ivy. Frustrated and desperate to pursue her artistic passion\, Rose meets Renzo\, a painter arrived from Europe. Their connection is instant and powerful. Yet as their feelings deepen\, Renzo’s past in Mussolini’s Italy remains a mystery. In a time of looming fascism in Europe\, Blackshirts are marching the streets. Rose is drawn to fight this\, but what about Renzo? \nAbout the author \nCarolyn is a historical fiction writer from Manchester. Her writing has a strong sense of the north-west of England. Consistently drawn to the struggle for equality\, as illustrated in her first novel\, The Song of Peterloo\, her work features strong female characters striving to find their place in the world.
URL:https://houseofbooksandfriends.pro/event/author-event-rose-and-renzo-with-carolyn-obrien
LOCATION:House of Books & Friends\, 81 King Street\, Manchester\, M2 4AH\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Author Event
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