EDLINGTON LIBRARY VISIT

Libraries have always been very important to me, and I think they're particularly vital in communities where there isn't much else available.

Edlington, near Doncaster, is a former coal mining area which is said to be one of the most deprived areas in England.

However, it now has a very nice new library located in the Martinwells Centre, a community facility which also includes doctors' surgeries, a dentist's, a pharmacy and a cafe. 

I'll be there this Wednesday (25th November, 2pm) to talk to readers about the Cooper and Fry series, with copies of the books on sale. Tickets are just £2, refreshments included. 

To be sure of a place, phone Edlington Library on 01302 736470, or just turn up on the day.

THE DONCASTER READ

Doncaster Libraries have chosen the entire Cooper and Fry series as their 'Doncaster Read' for November and December 2014. This is the first time the promotion has consisted of more than one title, let alone 14 (not to mention that they're all written by the same author!). 

Throughout these two months, library users in the city will be encouraged to read a Cooper & Fry novel and share their views. Perhaps you'll want to read more than one?

More details of the Doncaster Read are here:

http://library.doncaster.gov.uk/web/arena/the-doncaster-read

Meanwhile, the enthusiastic staff at Doncaster Central Library have created a fun video to coincide with November's Doncaster Read. Click here to watch it and see how many Cooper and Fry titles you can spot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YdvTRL3doY&feature=youtu.be

The Doncaster Read coincides with my signing at Waterstones bookshop in the Frenchgate Centre, Doncaster. But please note that the date for this has changed. I'll now be signing copies of the Cooper and Fry series at Waterstones on the afternoon of Saturday 6th December, from 2pm to 4pm. If you're in the area, why not come along and say 'hello', get your books signed - and pick up a few Christmas presents while you're there!    

BUILDING THE CORPSE BRIDGE

On the run-up to publication of THE CORPSE BRIDGE this week, I was asked to write a piece for the blog of UK booksellers Waterstones, where I talk about the role the Peak District plays in the Cooper & Fry series. They call it 'Building The Corpse Bridge'. You can read the full blog piece here:

http://www.waterstones.com/blog/2014/06/building-the-corpse-bridge/

You can also get a sneak peek of the new book on the CrimeVault website:

http://www.thecrimevault.com/ebooks/the-corpse-bridge/

Several launch events for THE CORPSE BRIDGE are coming up soon. It's always great to see lots of Cooper & Fry readers, so come along if you get the chance.

First off, I'll be appearing at Gedling Book Festival in Nottingham this Friday (20th June). This is a terrific three-day festival, which is now in its second year. It's hosted by Gedling Borough Council and organised by New Writers UK. Friday is Crime and History Day, with events taking place at the Bonington Theatre in Arnold. 

All the events are free, and my session is at 1.30pm. Waterstones Nottingham will be on hand with books for sale. More details of the festival are here:

http://jo0373.wix.com/newwritersuk/#!events/c1qu7

Immediately after my appearance at Gedling Book Festival, I'll be heading off into Derbyshire to do a launch evening at Chesterfield Library, starting at 7.30pm. This is again organised in conjunction with Waterstones Chesterfield, who will be providing the book stall. This is a ticketed event (tickets £3, concessions £2) available from the library. To make sure of a place, phone 01629 533400.

These events will be followed by signings at several bookshops in the area. On Saturday (21st June), I'll be at Bookworm in Retford, Nottinghamshire, from 10am to 12 noon, then from 2.30pm I'll be signing THE CORPSE BRIDGE at Scarthin Books in Cromford, Derbyshire. Both will be happy to reserve signed copies for you. Contact Bookworm on 01777 869224 or sales@bookwormretford.co.uk, while Scarthin can be contacted on 01629 823272 or nickscarthin@gmail.com. 

Next week, I'll be doing an evening event at Waterstones in Derby (Thursday 26th June, 7pm start), and on Saturday 28th I'll be down in Buckinghamshire to take part in the BeaconLit Festival at Ivinghoe, near Leighton Buzzard: http://www.beaconlit.co.uk/  

Later in the year, watch out for more library events in Barnard Castle in County Durham, St Anne's in Lancashire, Ecclesfield in Bradford, Hinckley in Leicestershire, Walsall in the West Midlands, and a visit being planned to Northern Ireland. 

There will also be a special Summer Crime Party at Heffers' bookshop in Cambridge, and I'll be back at 'Not the Hay Festival' in Beeston, Nottingham, during October.

LOTS OF MAY EVENTS COMING UP!

Things start to get really busy at this time of year! In addition to publication of the new Cooper & Fry novel THE CORPSE BRIDGE in June, I have a series of events coming up in May, when you catch me at various locations around the UK. 

BELPER ARTS FESTIVAL

First off is a 'Meet the Authors' event in Belper, Derbyshire, when I'll be joining 12 other authors at the Strutt's Centre, Belper, this Saturday 3rd May (10am-3pm) to sign books and chat to readers. Copies of all the Cooper & Fry novels will be on sale, and admission to the event is FREE. there should be plenty of time to chat with readers, so come and say 'hello'!

This event is part of Belper Arts Festival, and will be held in conjunction with a craft fair at the Strutt's Centre, which is an interesting building in itself - a former grammar school built in 1909 but now converted into a community centre (pictured left). 

Belper is a fascinating little Derbyshire town, a bit outside the Peak District, but right at the heart of the Lower Derwent Valley, which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site as the historic birthplace of the factory system. The heritage site runs along the length of the River Derwent from Masson Mill at Matlock Bath to the Silk Mill in Derby. More information here: 
http://www.derwentvalleymills.org/

A VISIT TO THE SOUTH WEST

From May 15th - 18th, I'll be travelling to the South West of England to take part in the crime fiction festival CrimeFest in Bristol. I'm appearing on two interesting panels to discuss '21st Century Police Procedurals' and 'Forgotten Authors'. I'll be in discussion with some old acquaintances like John Harvey and Martin Edwards, and others I'll be meeting for the first time, such as Clare Donoghue, Quentin Bates and Fergus McNeill. It's a few years since I was last at CrimeFest, so I'm sure there'll be lots of other people to catch up with!

While I'm in that part of the country, I'll be taking the opportunity to do two library events in areas I don't get chance to visit very often. On Thursday 15th May I'll be across the river from Bristol to talk to readers at Chepstow Library in Monmouthshire, while on Friday 16th May I'll be down in Somerset for an event at Wells Library. 

I was particularly keen to do something in the part of Somerset after watching the news of the devastating floods they experienced throughout much of the winter. Living in a rural area myself, I know the consequences of such a disaster will continue for years after the pictures of flooded villages have disappeared from our TV screens. Making an offer to do an event for local readers made me feel just a bit less helpless.

The following week, on my return from Bristol, I'll be making a return visit to Bollington Festival in Cheshire, when I'll be doing an Author Evening at Bollington Arts Centre on 21st May. This is not the first time I've been asked to go back somewhere 'by popular request'! Though I'm reminded of a joke told by Mark Billingham: "You only go to the same place twice - once when you're on the way up, and once on the way down. So thank you for having me back again!"

CLUMBER PARK LITERARY LUNCH

The next day, I'm back home in Nottinghamshire to do a special event for Notts readers in the form of a Literary Lunch at the Clumber Park Hotel, situated in the heart of the county's Dukeries area (Clumber Park Hotel pictured below). 

Many visitors to Nottinghamshire will be familiar with the Dukeries, and with Clumber Park in particular. 

This area used to part of Sherwood Forest, but was divided up by various rich aristocrats to create huge landscaped estates on which they built mansions for themselves. Some of those historic houses still remain - such as Welbeck Abbey, Thoresby Hall and Rufford Abbey - but the vast Clumber House, home of the Dukes of Newcastle, was demolished in 1938. The park, lake and surviving buildings are now in the ownership of the National Trust and attract many thousands of visitors every year. 

The Clumber Park Hotel stands just opposite one of the entrances to the park. You could have a morning out in the lovely Clumber Park, then come and join us for lunch! 

Also speaking at the literary lunch will be the Sheffield writer Samantha Priestley, author of 'Despite Losing it on Finkle Street'. The event is being organised in conjunction with one of my favourite independent bookshops, Bookworm of Retford, and it coincides with the paperback release of the 13th Cooper & Fry novel ALREADY DEAD on 22nd May. 

Book your tickets from the hotel, or from Bookworm on 01777 869224 or sales@bookwormretford.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=653294964718568&set=a.150978088283594.25915.150972351617501&type=1&theater

Finally, the month of May concludes with an event at Doncaster Central Library - the official opening of Doncaster's 'Turn the Page' literary festival on Tuesday 27th May.

There will also be lots more dates following publication of THE CORPSE BRIDGE in June. Note the date for the launch event in Chesterfield is Friday 20th June. 

For more details of these and other events, visit the Events Page:

http://www.stephen-booth.com/events.htm

Crime Writing Month - Week 6

And finally we've reached Week 6 of National Crime Writing Month!

I'll be starting this week with a reader event at Leeds Central Library in West Yorkshire on Monday 8th July (6.30pm start). This is a FREE event, but you can book a place by phoning 0113 247 6016. 

The following day, Tuesday 9th July, Mansfield Library in Nottinghanshire will be the venue for another free event starting at 2pm. For more details, phone 01623 651337 or email: mansfield.library@nottscc.gov.uk

Later in the week, I'll be talking to readers at Tickhill Library in South Yorkshire on Thursday 11th July at 2pm (sorry, this event is fully booked!). 

Finally, I'll be taking part in the Gedling Book Festival on Sunday 14th July in Arnold, Nottingham (2.30pm), when I'll talk about locations in the Cooper & Fry series. There's free admission for this festival too:http://www.newwritersuk.co.uk/gedling.html

But even when Crime Writing Month is over, there'll be plenty more events to come! 

For a start, I'll be performing the official re-opening of the library cafe at Doncaster Central Library at 10am on Monday 15th July, and I'll be available to answer readers' questions and sign books afterwards. 

On Saturday 20th July I'll be signing the new Cooper & Fry novel ALREADY DEAD at Reading Matters bookshop in Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire (10.30am - 12.30pm). 

And you can enjoy 'An Evening with Stephen Booth' at the Spring Bank Arts Centre in New Mills, Derbyshire, on Thursday 25th July. Details of this event are here:http://www.springbankarts.org.uk/events/an-evening-with-stephen-booth/

To see if I'll be in your area during the next few months, check out the details on the Events Page:

http://www.stephen-booth.com/events.htm

Coventry event for National Crime Writing Month

An event at Coventry Central Library on Tuesday 2nd July (5.30pm start) will be my first event for Week 5 of National Crime Writing month. This is a FREE event for readers in Coventry. To book a place, phone 02476 832314 or email: central.library@coventry.gov.uk. 

On Wednesday 3rd July (7pm), I'll be at Tadcaster Library in North Yorkshire. Tickets are £2, phone the library on 0845 034 9542 or email: tadcaster.library@northyorks.gov.uk. 

Then on Thursday 4th July (7pm), it will be Congleton Library in Cheshire. Tickets are £3.50. To book a place, phone 01260 375550 or email: congleton.library@cheshireeast.gov.uk

The weekend of Week 5 is also busy, with a signing for the new Cooper & Fry novel ALREADY DEAD at Waterstones Doncaster on Saturday 6th July (11.30am - 1.30pm), and an appearance in the Friends of the Peak District story-telling tent at the Cliffhanger Outdoor Festival in Graves Park, Sheffield, at 5pm on Sunday 7th July.

Hope to see plenty of readers at these events! 

And more dates are still to come:
http://www.stephen-booth.com/events.htm

LINCOLNSHIRE CRIME WRITING MONTH EVENTS

I've added a couple more events this week for National Crime Writing Month. This brings my total of libraries visited up to 20 (plus the castle, the story-telling tent and several bookshops).

I'll be in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, on Wednesday 19th June for a full day of events. I don't get to do much in Lincolnshire, so don't miss it!

10am - North Lincolnshire Central Library, Carlton Street, Scunthorpe DN15 6TX - I'll be presenting certificates to participants in North Lincolnshire's Six Book Challenge.

11am - North Lincolnshire Central Library - 'drop in' for a chat and a cup of tea with the author!

2pm - Ashby Library, Ashby High Street, Scunthorpe DN16 2RY - talk to readers, with Q&A and book signing. FREE event, no tickets required. Phone 01724 296832 or email: library.enquiries@northlincs.gov.uk

Chellaston Library project, Derby

Readers in the Derby area have two chances to hear me talk about my writing career and the Cooper and Fry novels with a series of events highlighting the facilities of Chellaston Library in the south of the city. The first 'Evening with Stephen Booth' takes place on Tuesday 6th November (7pm start).

I'm honoured to be appointed Chellaston Library Champion by Derby City Council's library services, and I'll be helping to draw attention to the importance of community libraries like Chellaston and the range of facilities available for library users in the area. 

We all know that libraries are a vital part of many communities. They provide a place to meet, chat to like-minded people, make new friends, or join a club. They offer free access to books, online databases and computers, information about starting a business or writing a CV and job clubs for job seekers. You can read with your kids, help them with their home work, and be a reading role model.

Derby City Council have added over 48,000 new items to their shelves in the past year, including all the latest bestsellers. Fiction, non fiction, large print, audiobooks, magazines and newspapers are all available, as well as craft clubs, author talks, writing workshops and story times for children, a quiet space to work or study, space to sit down and read a newspaper or magazine. From a writer's point of view, libraries are also important as a place where readers discover new authors.

On Tuesday 6th November, I'll be at Chellaston Library to talk about how I became a writer, about why libraries have been so important to me personally, and why I support them. This will be followed by a question and answer session. The evening starts at 7pm. 

This is a FREE event! All are welcome, but booking is recommended. You can phone the library on 01332 702614 for details, or email chellaston.library@derby.gov.uk
or book a place online here: http://stephenbooth1.eventbrite.com/

Chellaston Library is on Barley Croft, off High Street, Chellaston, close to the A514 in the south of Derby. The postcode for your satnavs is DE73 6TU, and you'll find car parking close by. There's a detailed map on the event page:

http://stephenbooth1.eventbrite.com/

For more details about the library's facilities and opening times, click here: http://www.derby.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/libraries/derby-libraries/chellaston-library/

Following the November event, I'll be back at Chellaston Library in February to talk in more detail about my novels and the Cooper and Fry series. Watch out for more details!

Autumn events

I have three more UK library events coming up in the second half of October. Make sure you book your places now!

WEDNESDAY 17th OCTOBER, 6.30pm
Poulton-le-Fylde Library, Blackpool Old Road, Poulton, Lancashire - talk to readers. Tickets £2. To book a place, phone 01253 888900 or email: poulton.library@lancashire.gov.uk

THURSDAY 18th OCTOBER, 7pm
Chester Lane Library, Four Acre Lane, St Helen's, Merseyside - talk to readers. FREE! Phone 01744 677446 or email karenthornburn@sthelens.gov.uk to reserve a place.

FRIDAY 26th OCTOBER, 4pm
Hamstead Library, Tanhouse Centre, Hamstead Road, Great Barr, Birmingham, West Midlands - talk to readers. FREE! Phone 0121 569 2548 or email: hamstead_library@sandwell.gov.uk

CSI PORTSMOUTH

Tickets are also now on sale for this year's 'CSI Portsmouth', part of Portsmouth BookFest. This is your chance to meet and mingle with top-selling crime authors, police and forensic experts, learn about what really happens at a crime scene, how a fire investigation is run, how the fingerprint bureau works, and even have your own fingerprints taken!

CSI Portsmouth takes place on Saturday 3rd November. I'll be taking part in a morning panel with authors Matt Hilton and Pauline Rowson, plus Crime Scene Manager Carolyn Lovell, DC Terry Fitzjohn of Hampshire Police, and Andy Earl of the fire service's Arson Task Force. Throughout the day there will be a bookshop, and a scene of crime provided by Forensic Science students from South Downs College.

Events will be held at the John Pounds Centre, Queen Street, Portsmouth. Tickets are £6 per panel or £10 for the day, with £3 redeemable against purchase of a book at the event, and a £1 discount for Portsmouth Library members.

For tickets, call the Box Office on 023 9268 8037 (Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm). For more details, go to:

http://www.portsmouthbookfest.co.uk/?page_id=224
or:
http://www.rowmark.co.uk/csi-portsmouth/

* For dates of more forthcoming events in the UK, please visit the Events page on the website:

http://www.stephen-booth.com/new events.htm

NEW LIBRARY IN DERBY

Derby City Council open a brand new library today in the Mackworth area of the city, funded by the Big Lottery. It's always great to see new libraries opening!

http://www.derby.gov.uk/LeisureCulture/Libraries/Findyourlocallibrary/About+Mackworth+Library.htm

As part of the celebrations, I'll be doing an event at the new Mackworth Library on Wednesday 21st April (7pm). Apart from a series of bookshop signings for LOST RIVER, this is the only event I have scheduled in April, so don't miss it! The evening is free, but booking is essential. Book at any Derby City library or call the Central Library on 01332 641702.

The new Mackworth Library:

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE STORYFEST

March is StoryFest month here in Nottinghamshire. There are lots of events going on around the county, including appearances by authors such as Ann Cleeves, Jon McGregor and Karen Maitland.

Personally, I'll be at Sutton in Ashfield Library on Wednesday 10th March to talk to readers, and at Kirkby in Ashfield Library on Wednesday 24th March.

Here's the full StoryFest programme:

http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/storyfest.pdf

LURKING IN LEEDS

Next week, I'll be back on my old stamping grounds of West Yorkshire for an event organised by the good folk of Leeds Library Services.

Wednesday 4th March is the date for your diary, and the time is 7pm. I'll be talking to readers in the lecture theatre of the wonderful Leeds Art Gallery, off The Headrow. If you're in the Leeds area, make sure you're there! I'm told that tickets are a mere £3, available from the City Centre Box Office in the Carriageworks Theatre, 3 Millennium Square, Leeds (phone 0113 224 3801) or from Borders Books, 94-96 Briggate, Leeds (phone 0113 242 4400).

The Leeds event is the day before World Book Day here in the UK. For some reason, we have our World Book Day on a different day to the rest of the world, which rather spoils the global nature of the event, I always think. It's a bit like the USA's 'World Series', which always happens to feature two American teams in the final, as if the rest of the world has somehow been knocked out in the earlier rounds.

Well, on Thursday 5th itself, I'll be in Leicester for an event at the new Oadby Library (re-arranged from February 5th, when it was cancelled because of snow). I'll be 'in conversation' with John Martin at the library on The Parade, Oadby. This event also starts at 7pm. For details, phone 0116 305 8763.

By the way, if you're an event organiser, and you'd like me to appear at your library, festival, bookshop, hair salon, or public convenience, why not send an email with a few details to: events@stephen-booth.com

You never know where I might be lurking next!

DOWN AT THE INSTITUTE

Before public libraries as we know them were ever invented, they had predecessors in the form of the Mechanics' Institute libraries - places for the working man to get himself an education.

Of course, most Mechanics' Institutes have gone the way of all things, though their buildings often remain as Victorian brick edifices converted into banks or community centres. But there are still a few fully functioning Mechanics' Institute libraries still surviving in the UK, and one of these is in Epworth, South Yorkshire - a small town best known as the birthplace of John and Charles Wesley, the founders of Methodism.

The Epworth Mechanics' Institute Library was formed in 1837. It is located in a Grade II listed building, the Manor Court House, and still operates as a subscription library, open to the public, with a fiction library and local history resource.

This is an expensive facility for volunteers to keep running, so each year there is a fund-raising supper. And this week I will be one of the guest speakers. You can read an article about the event in the local newspaper, the Epworth Bells (yes, that really is its name).

I'll be appearing at St Andrew's Church (where the Wesleys were baptised) on Saturday, February 21st, at a buffet and wine event that gets under way at 7.30pm. The evening will include the auction of a specially hand bound copy of the 8th Cooper & Fry novel, DYING TO SIN.

If you're in the area, there might still be time to get a ticket. Phone either (01427) 873483, (01427) 872238 or (01427) 874670, or e-mail epworthmechanicslibrary@googlemail.com

** John Wesley travelled all over the country to preach, often arriving on horseback in some out of the way place. But he wasn't always in the best of moods. When he arrived in our neighbouring town of Worksop he didn't like the spot he'd been given to preach from, and said the locals were "as stupid people as I ever saw". But then, the comedian Les Dawson also allegedly said that the worst crowd he ever performed to was in Worksop.

SMATTERINGS

Just a few snippets of news today while I have a quiet snigger at all those people down in London panicking over a couple of centimetres of snow. Come on, folks... when we lived in Yorkshire, we used to wake up with more snow than that inside the bedroom. Or am I just being a wee bit smug about working from home? Write and let me know!

The good news for Derbyshire as a result of this "snow event" (as the BBC have just called it) was that the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, whose name is Mr Ed Balls, had to cancel a visit to open Derby's first 'skills academy'. There must be scope for a really great headline there somewhere...

Of course, the Peak District had twice as much snow as anywhere else in England, and the famous Snake Pass was closed today - but that happens every winter.

Elsewhere, it seems that people are turning to their local libraries in greater numbers - at least in Scotland. Good news for libraries - but maybe not such good news for bookshops? I'm always sorry to see independent bookstores closing, and I was particularly sad to hear news of the recent demise of Murder One, London's (in fact, the UK's) leading mystery bookstore. The full story of what owner Maxim Jakubowski is up to can be read on today's Rapsheet blog.

Finally, we all know that rabbits can be a terrible pest in the countryside. So I loved this story today from the Press Association on one farmer's novel approach to pest control, featuring a gun-totin' cow.

DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY CALL

Here in the UK, the Crime Writers' Association has just opened nominations for this year's Dagger in the Library Award.

Sponsored by Random House, the £1,500 award recognises an author's body of work. Recent winners have included Stuart McBride, Craig Russell and Alexander McCall Smith. (oh, and me!) This year, the panel of judges will be chaired by Mark Benjamin, Team Librarian at Hexham Library.

Libraries have until 11th April to make up to three nominations for each of their reading groups. Libraries that nominate shortlisted authors will be entered into a draw for tickets to the glittering awards dinner in London, and for a £300 prize. Entry forms can be downloaded at the CWA website:

http://www.thecwa.co.uk/

OFF TO THE LIBRARY

You'll hear a lot about libraries on this blog. They're a cause close to my heart, and many of them around the UK are now under threat (and that's even before the financial crisis and all those local authorities mislaying millions of pounds of our Council Tax money down a geyser in Iceland).

So I'm chuffed to say that my very first reader event of 2009 will take place this week in a brand new library, just opened by Leicestershire County Council in the Leicester district of Oadby. Here's a picture of their smart new facilities:












And here's one of the outside. Looks a bit like Marks & Spencers, but we'll forgive them:












So, at 7pm on Thursday 5th February, I'll be 'in conversation' with John Martin at Oadby Library, as part of a week-long series of events for readers. If you fancy being there, phone 0116 305 8763 to book a place.

The official opening will be performed by Barbara Follett, who has the wonderful title of 'Minister for Culture, Creative Industries & Tourism'. But she's in Oadby on Wednesday, so I'm afraid I'll miss her (and I do so like meeting politicians).

Click here to see the new Oadby Library for yourself