Saturday June 25th - Sarwat Chadda and Sorrel Anderson

Back to Saturday and back to a focus on children.

Sarwat Chadda lead off on the day. If you’re looking for something a bit more action packed then look no further that Sarwat Chadda. Author of two books ‘Devil’s Kiss’ and ‘Dark Goddess’ Sarwat brilliantly blends action and fantasy to grab the reader and throw them into a fast paced adventure you won’t want to end. His latest book ‘Devils Kiss’ is the story of 15 year old Billi SanGreal who is forced into the modern day knights templar by her family to become the first ever girl templar warrior. 

The second author to call was Sorrel Anderson the author of the hugely successful children's series The Clumsies
She read to an eager group of Clumsies fans from her latest The Clumsies Make a Mess in the Zoo. The Clumsies back in their fourth hilarious and very messy adventure ...Everyone's favourite biscuit-munching, tea-drinking, talking mice are back and this time they are making a mess of the zoo. 
The spell-binding quality of the tale and the teller was reflected in the number of children who arrived during the session, not knowing it was happening and quietly joined in.

The afternoon and week ended, as it started with a children's activity session - doodling. We dedicated a table to the session with all the materials needed for a fun afternoon of doodling.

Friday June 24th

Our "Good Food" theme returned on Friday in the guise of Grace Cheetham who came along ready to talk about her most recent book, SIMPLY Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free and to sign copies and she brought lots of samples for all to try.

For those who could not make it and are perhaps challenged by the idea of creating delicious gluten-less and dairy free food, them you missed a treat.

Wednesday June 22nd

Today is all about watching the weather forecast to see if tonight’s event with Helen Babbs at the Alleyn Park Garden  Centre will still be held outside, or if we’re going to move the whole thing inside. 

The weather takes a back seat when Miss Hope from Hope and Greenwood arrives with her team ready to hand out chocolates and all sorts of mouth watering treats. Once set up it’s quite a sight to behold as her team gets to work making their way around the shop enticing customers with plates of chocolates and truffles. If only we could get them in every Saturday afternoon.


Have a look at the video made by our friends at Dulwich Onview 

Well the rain finally stops and the decision is made to brave the elements and hold our evening event outside at the premises of our partners, Alleyn Garden Centre. . Once everything is set up and the audience starts to file in it all looks like more of a garden party than an author talk. Judging by the great selection of speakers she’s brought with her and the brilliant display of images set up on clothes lines all around us, you wouldn’t have thought this was Helen Babbs’ first event. Everybody loves it and I think it’s safe to say this will be the first of many summer events we’ll be holding at the garden centre.

Meanwhile over in the bookshop the Dulwich Books Reading Group was holding its monthly meeting discussing Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman.

Tuesday June 21st

This evening the ever theatrical Stella Duffy is in talking about her new book ‘Theodora.’ There is a moment of panic when minutes before the scheduled start time none of the ticket holders have turned up. A sigh of relief comes as one by one people start to arrive and not before long we have a decent sized crowd and it begins. Stella proceeds to entertain the audience for the next hour with readings, stories, jokes and tips on getting published for any budding writers in the room. By the end the event feels less like an author talk and more like a lively conversation down the pub. 

Monday June 20th

Today is our busiest day and luckily we have Anna from the BA in to give a much needed hand.

Our first event is with the utterly brilliant Graham Marks chatting to a class from Dulwich College’s Prep School. Within moments of the class sitting down Graham has their attention (alongside the attention of teacher, booksellers and every other customer in the shop) as he talks about his books and how he writes them. When it’s time for questions the arms all fly up and what begins is one of most impressive Q&A sessions I’ve seen in all my years as a bookseller.

Up next is Edmund De Waal. The event sold out in a matter of days and I’ve lost track of how many telephone enquires we’ve taken about it. Needless to say we could have held this event several times over. ‘The Hare with the Amber Eyes’ author is definitely in demand and we phoned every ticket holder to double check they’re coming as our reserve list seemed never ending. What follows is unbelievable, from the very beginning Edmund (who I must add could quite possibly be the nicest man in literature) has the room captivated as he leads the audience through his journey. Camera flashes keep coming as the Netsuke he hands out makes its way around the room and the questions come pouring in when he opens it up to the floor.

The event which could have gone on all night ends when it’s time for Edmund to head home to tuck his children into bed (he even took some sweets as he was running late, seriously nicest man in literature!). Talking to customers afterwards the feedback is outstanding and I’ve never seen so many people come up to buy a book they already own just so they can have a signed copy. 

Sunday - Local Authors Steve Overbury and Anthony Paul

Like most bookshops we are spoilt for choice for local authors and today is all about celebrating them. We have invited a select few in to sign books and chat to our customers. It’s always a risky business running events on a Sunday and luckily today it paid off. Authors and customers happily chatted away and I think it’s safe to say a handful of last minute Fathers’ Day presents may very well have come in the form of a signed book.

Steve Overbury and Anthony Paul were our two featured authors.

Looking Back Over Indie Book Week at Dulwich Books

Well after months of planning Indie Book Week is finally upon us! Over the next eight days thirteen authors will be descending upon leafy Dulwich in South London to appear at our newly refurbished shop. For those that don’t know us we’ve been here amongst the Croxted Road cluster of up-market shops, cafes and hairdressers for nearly thirty years and Dulwich Books is one of five indie booksellers in the local area. Over the next week we’ve planned author talks, children’s activities, special offers and all sorts of other events to make the most of our first Indie Book Week.

Saturday

Day one! We’ve decided to dedicate both Saturdays to children’s events/ activities and, with it being Father’s Day weekend, what better way to start than spending the afternoon making cards.

The glitter, glue, card and wobbly eye things barely hit the table when the first child of the day comes along ready to make daddy a card. As the day goes on rarely a moment passes without a group of children crowded round the table while their parents take a well earned break relaxing and browsing our shelves. Come 5pm the last child has gone and a small mountain of glitter and card surrounds the table it looks as if there are going to be some happy dads come tomorrow morning. Now it’s time to draw straws on who’s going to hover up the mess.