Spring into action with Derby Book Festivals first Spring Collection!

It’s just under three weeks to go until their first Spring Collection (29 February to 4 March) and it already looks like one event will sell out this week!

Tea with Michael Greaney: An A-Z of Jane Austen

They had to replace their Tea event with Amy Boyington just after going to print with the programme, but the replacement is proving very popular.  An A – Z of Jane Austen by Michael Greaney, on Saturday 2 March from 2 – 3.30pm in the Old Library at Derby Museum & Art Gallery, has only a handful of tickets left, so don’t delay if you are keen to come.

Some gems you may have missed …

Several of the books featured in the Spring Collection are ‘hot off the press’ and you may not have read any reviews yet, so be one of the first to discover them at our Festival!

These include:

Joanne Burn: The Bone Hunters

Sunday 3 March, 11am – 12noon, QUAD

If you enjoyed Tracy Chevalier’s Remarkable Creatures and are fascinated by the discoveries on the Jurassic Coast and Mary Anning, this one is for you!

The Sunday Times has described The Bone Hunters as one of their best historical fiction books for February: ‘An engrossing tale of a woman striving for the recognition she deserves in the face of male indifference and betrayal’.

Joanne joined us in 2022 to talk about her previous historical novel, The Hemlock Cure, which was set in Eyam, not far from her home.

Sophie Elmhirst: Maurice and Maralyn

Sunday 3 March, 4 – 5pm, QUAD

The amazing story of this Derby couple was a new one to the Festival team, but it sounds like a lot of local people do know their story.  We’ve even met people who knew them in the 1970s.

Maralyn worked at Derby tax office and Maurice at Bemrose Printers before they decided to sell their newly-built bungalow in Allestree to finance building a boat and sailing to New Zealand.

Sophie will be presenting their story using film clips and photographs and spent many hours in Derby researching for the book.

Peter Apps: Dettering Armageddon – A biography of NATO

Saturday 2 March, 4.30 – 5.30pm, QUAD

The future of NATO has been in the news a lot since the invasion of Ukraine and its significance has once again become an international concern.  In his latest book Peter Apps examines its history and explains why it may be facing its most dangerous era.

Peter is a Reuters columnist, journalist, campaigner, blogger and activist. In 2006, at the age of 25, he was injured in Sri Lanka whilst reporting on the civil war and is quadriplegic. By summer 2007 he was back at work at Reuters headquarters and has continued his overseas reporting ever since.

Calling all Bake Off fans!

We are delighted that GBBO 2020 finalist, Laura Adlington, will be joining us to talk about her latest book, Diet Starts Monday: Ditch the Scales, Reclaim your Body and Live Life to the Full, a philosophy many of us aspire to!   Laura has struggled with her weight (and the weight of other people’s opinions) her entire life. She reveals just how detrimental diet culture is to health and explores where our true worth lies.