Events
-
-
Fiction Book Club
The Lansdown 8 Clifton Road, Bristol, United KingdomThe March book is Tokyo Express by Seicho Matsumoto. We meet on the last Wednesday of every month at 6.30 in the upstairs room at The Lansdown. The fiction book club is currently full; please get in touch if you'd like to be added to the waiting list or have a look at what we're reading in our other book clubs.
-
-
Chris French: The Science of Weird S**t!
Unitarian Meeting Hall Brunswick Square, Bristol, United KingdomWhy our minds conjure the paranormal What better way to mark All Fools Day (no, this is not an April Fool) than an event that seeks to debunk the myths around the paranormal? This event is organised by Bristol Humanists, with Heron Books providing the bookstall. Ever since records began, in every known society, a substantial proportion of people have reported unusual experiences, often labelled 'paranormal'. Opinion polls show that the majority of the public accept that paranormal phenomena do occur. This widespread belief can only mean one of 2 things. Either the paranormal is real or else belief in the paranormal can be explained psychologically. Ghostly encounters, alien abduction, reincarnation, talking to the dead, UFO sightings, inexplicable coincidences, out-of-body and near-death experiences. Are these legitimate phenomena? If not, then how should we go about understanding them? Chris French investigates paranormal claims to discover what lurks behind this "weird s**t." In the Science of Weird S**t he will debunk ESP, communicating with the dead, and alien abduction claims, among other phenomena. All the while, however, he says that our belief in such phenomena is neither ridiculous nor trivial; if anything, such claims can tell us a great deal about the human mind if we pay them the attention they are due. Chris French is Emeritus Professor and Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a Patron of Humanists UK. He has published well over 150 articles and chapters covering a wide range of topics. His main current area of research is the psychology of paranormal beliefs and anomalous experiences. He frequently appears on radio and television casting a sceptical eye over paranormal claims. His most recent book, to be published in March 2024 by MIT Press, is The Science of Weird S**t: Why Our Minds Conjure the Paranormal. Everyone is welcome to attend. Bristol Humanists' events are FREE to members; they ask others to make a contribution of £3/£1. You can join Bristol Humanists here https://www.bristolhumanists.com/membership and for more information on Bristol Humanists https://www.bristolhumanists.com/
-
Jack-Jack: A Dog in Africa
Heron Books 7a Regent Street, Bristol, United KingdomBen Garrod, Jack and Heron Books warmly invite you to the launch of JACK-JACK, A DOG IN AFRICA Children and dogs are all welcome. Where: Heron Books, Clifton Arcade When: 11am, Thursday 11th April What: A reading from Ben and Jack, book signing/paw-printing, pictures of the gorgeous Jack to colour in, photo competition to WIN a copy of the book and treats for your fluffy companions. Pre-order your copy here: https://www.heronbooks.mom/product/jack-jack-a-dog-in-africa/ Attendance is free but do RSVP to read@heronbooks.mom.
-
Poetry in Herons – April
Our monthly pre-prandial poetry reading in the shop. In April we are delighted to welcome Robert Walton and Jessica Haines to read their poetry. No tickets, free entry, just do get in touch if you’d like to attend so that we have an idea of numbers.
-
Caribbean Nights – Lyra Poetry Festival
Watershed 1 Canons Road Harbourside, BristolHeron Books will be bookselling at this fascinating event, part of the Lyra Poetry Festival https://www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/12523/caribbean-nights-poetry In the 1980s the UK had little idea of the wealth of poetry coming from the Caribbean. In 1986, the BBC’s thought-provoking Arena film Caribbean Nights: Poetry changed all that. The film features Trinidadian intellectual Darcus Howe chairing an illuminating discussion with St Lucian poet Derek Walcott (1992 Nobel Prize for Literature), pioneering British-Jamaican reggae poet Linton Kwesi Johnson and emerging British-Guyanese poet Fred D’Aguiar. Followed by a talk with poet and editor Rishi Dastidar, 2023 TS Eliot Prize winner Anthony Joseph, Louisa Adjoa Parker, and Bristol academic Madhu Krishnan. Helen Thomas will then read a new poem inspired by the film.
-
Alice Oswald and guests – Lyra Poetry Festival
St George's, Bristol St George’s Bristol, Great George Street, Bristol, United KingdomHeron Books is delighted to support an evening of poetry with Alice Oswald, Caroline Bird and Rachel Long as part of Lyra - Bristol Poetry Festival 2024. Alice Oswald has published 6 collections of poetry, including Dart which won the TS Eliot Prize. A gardener and poet, Alice Oswald lived and worked for many years at Dartington in Devon. She is the first female Professor of Poetry at Oxford, and has particular interest in poetry as an oral tradition. Rachel Long’s debut collection, My Darling from the Lions was published by Picador in the UK, in 2020. It was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, The Costa Book Award, The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, The Rathbones Folio Prize, and the Jhalak Prize Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour. Caroline Bird’s selected poems, Rookie (2022), and The Air Year (2020) are two of Carcanet’s most popular books of the present decade. She won the Forward Prize for Best Collection in 2020, and has been shortlisted for a number of prizes including the TS Eliot Prize, the Costa Book Awards, the Ted Hughes Award, the Polari Prize and the Dylan Thomas Prize.
-
-
Bristol Bookshop Crawl
Bristol Bookshop Crawl is back. Pick up a leaflet/map from any of your independent bookshops and enjoy a wander across the city to discover (or revisit or re-revisit) Bristol's marvellous (yes, we are unashamedly saying that) bookshops and get 10% off your purchases on 4th and 5th May. Also as part of Bristol Walkfest, you can join the Bookshop Crawl gang for a guided tour: book your tickets at https://www.bookshopcrawl.co.uk/
-
Phoebe Stuckes and Rose Ruane – Book Launch
Heron Books 7a Regent Street, Bristol, United KingdomHeron Books is thrilled to host Phoebe Stuckes and Rose Ruane to celebrate their debut novels. We are huge fans of their writing – we've been lucky enough to read advance copies of their brilliant books – and can't wait to hear from the authors themselves.
Phoebe and Rose will be in conversation with Ash Bond, author of Peregrine Quinn and the Cosmic Realm.£5.00 – £36.99 -
Poetry in Herons – Rory Waterman
Heron Books 7a Regent Street, Bristol, United KingdomJoin us for the launch of Come Here To This Gate by Rory Waterman.
Rory will be reading from his new collection. With a reading also from wonderful poet Zoe Brooks.£4.00 – £11.99 -
Dave Mountjoy: Being With Cows
Sparks, Bristol 78 Broadmead, BristolHow Nature Can Heal
Join us for the launch of Being With Cows by Dave MountjoyBeing with Cows tells the heartbreaking, heartfelt, and ultimately, transformational story of how one man, shattered by the sudden death of his brother, was helped to a place of acceptance and quiet joy through the presence and gentle stillness of his cows. An inspirational story about grief, family, mindfulness and the healing power of nature, Being with Cows is for anyone in search of inner peace and simplicity in an increasingly complex world.
The event will be chaired by Gill Farrer-Halls of The Literary Consultancy.
Tickets are free; please book to reserve your place below.
Free -
-
Julian Baggini Faces The Music
Bristol Folk House 40a Park St, BristolHeron Books is delighted to support the Bristol Humanists' summer solstice fundraiser and social.
The forces of Julian Baggini, philosopher and writer, combine with the musical talent of Inivisible Apples.
Come and have fun, listen to great music, drink, eat and chat and raise money for two very worthy causes. The Invisible Apples will play 2 unplugged sets from their album ‘The Golden Threads and Invisible Lights of Duka’, and in between will be ‘in conversation’ with Julian Baggini about their collaboration, how they create their work and why humans create music.
Buy your tickets from: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/616767
-
And Other Herons – Independent Bookshop Week
We are delighted to be partnering with publisher And Other Stories for Independent Bookshop Week, 15-22 June. Full details of everything we are planning to celebrate this superb literary publisher here. There will be short stories, there will be poetry, there will be a competition to win some BOOKS, there will be herons, there will be temporary tattoos, there will be more books. And Other Delights.
