An evening with Kasim Ali - Who Will Remain, in conversation with Leena Norms - Half Arse Human
Warwick Books, Warwick, CV34 4SL
Tuesday 9th September 2025, 6.30pm
Kasim Ali will be in conversation with author Leena Norms talking about his latest novel Who Will Remain. here will be a chance to ask questions and get your books signed by both authors.
Who Will Remain by Kasim Ali - A gripping, powerful new novel following a young man as he weighs up the life of safety that his parents want for him and another path just outside his door, from the acclaimed author of Good Intentions. Amir has grown up in the Alum Rock neighbourhood of Birmingham, under the loving eye of his older brother, Bilal, and his cousin Saqib, born just a few days before Amir. There are places and people you know to avoid as an Alum Rock kid, but Amir has managed to keep his nose clean and stay out of trouble. When Saqib is killed gang running, suddenly home doesn’t feel so safe anymore. Amir’s university grades are collapsing and pressures are mounting from every direction. As tensions
flare, it seems that everyone in his life is carrying their own secrets and the family ties that have bound him so completely begin to unravel. Amir decides he only has himself to rely on and must take his future into his own hands. This is a blistering story of social expectations and social condemnation, of dead ends and divided loyalties, and of what remains when you have nothing left to lose.
Kasim Ali was born and raised in Alum Rock, Birmingham, where he spent the first eighteen years of his life, at which point he left to study a degree in English. Over the years, he has lived in London, Nottingham, and Newcastle, but still thinks of Birmingham as the place he’s from. He has had a short story long-listed for the B4ME story, has written fiction for BBC Radio 4, and has a column at The Bookseller. Currently, he works as an editor in publishing. Good Intentions was his first novel, Who Will Remain his second.
Half Arse Human: How To Live Better Without Burning Out by Leena Norms - A book about thinking less about your life as a project to be sliced up and perfected, and more about how your half-arsed, but still conscious, actions can link up with those of other people.
Leena Norms is a half-arser. A shave-one-legger. A rinse-the-plates-and-tell-herself-any-residual-dirtwill-improve-her-immune-system-er. And yet, she is determined to live better, build a career, strengthen her relationships, be good to her body, sort out her wardrobe, find meaningful hobbies, act on her ethics, and live a full, passionate, varied life. And it's possible. Half-Arse Human will show you to harness the power of considered chaos and upgrade the parts of your life that really matter, without expending more than you have to give. Trying to be superhuman is out - being a half-arse human is in. Find out why living a life of slap-dash isn't as shameful as it seems; in fact, it might be the key to living the life you've always wanted. In a world of high-flyers, let's at least get you in the air.
You can book tickets in the shop or online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/warwick-books
An evening with Nigel Proctor - Fire Damage
Warwick Books, Warwick, CV34 4SL
Tuesday 16th September 2025
Birmingham based writers, Garrie Fletcher, Peter Haynes and Nigel Proctor, fed up of moaning about the lack of a Birmingham based, West Midlands focused prose publishers decided to do it themselves and created Floodgate. We're delighted to welcome Nigel to Warwick Books to talk about his debut novel Fire Damage, the first of a trillogy. There will also be a chance to answer questions and get your books signed.
Fire Damage .....The Birmingham Blitz, November 1940
War kills, crime pays, no more so than when the lights are off and everyone’s looking out for themselves – or looking the other way. After a young girl is found dead, Detective Sergeant Harry Marsh and his new partner, Policewoman Annie Scott, uncover a world of illegal immigrants, arms theft, domestic terrorism and police corruption – all against a backdrop of burnt-out houses and burnt-out lives. In a world at war, only one thing is certain: life is the cheapest commodity of all.
An extraordinary first novel from an award-winning filmmaker. Fire Damage is a wonderful debut for fans of Philip Kerr and Dominic Nolan. A Searing evocation of life during the Birmingham Blitz in prose so vivid, you can taste the smoke.
‘A labyrinthine crime tale of courage and morality set in the darkest days of the last century. Proctor’s prose crackles with atmosphere as it lowers you into the flaming depths of the Birmingham Blitz, while his vivid, troubled characters struggle with its central question – how do you retain your humanity in a burning world? An impressive debut from a writer to watch.’ Jenny Lecoat, New York Times bestselling author
You can book tickets in the shop or online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/warwick-books
An evening with A. D. Bergin - The Wicked Of The Earth
Warwick Books, Warwick, CV34 4SL
Tuesday 23rd September 2025, 6.30pm
The biggest of all British witch trials. The mass, all-female campaign to free the accused. A. D. Bergin in conversation about his break-out historical thriller ‘The Wicked Of The Earth’, the appalling true history, blending fact and fiction, and the uncomfortable contemporary resonance of the events of 1650.
October, 1650 Traumatised Parliamentarian spy James Archer returns north seeking his sister Meg, missing in the aftermath of Newcastle's recent witch trials. Aloof, enigmatic Elizabeth Thompson draws him to investigate the ongoing killing of women who had worked to free the accused. But when Elizabeth herself becomes hunted, the only chance of escape lies in Archer setting himself as bait.
Set against the backdrop of the greed and brutality of Interregnum England, The Wicked of the Earth is an historical thriller perfect for readers of Andrew Taylor, S J Parris, or C J Sansom. The Newcastle Witch Trials of 1649 and the fervour which surrounded the Republic claimed the lives of twenty-six women and one man. Following the English Civil War, the women who had maintained the land and towns of England, came under scrutiny for their elevated position in society.
Combined with the Republic's puritanical Christianity, the Newcastle Witch Trials swept through the city. Unlike other trials of the time, the Newcastle "witches" were hung from the scaffold. This book is dedicated to their memory.
You can book tickets in the shop or online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/warwick-books
An evening with Felix Francis - Dark Horse
Warwick Books, Warwick, CV34 4SL
Tuesday 7th October 2025
We're very happy to welcome Felix Francis, Sunday Times and New York Times international bestselling author to Warwick Books to celebrate the launch of his latest book Dark Horse.
Dark Horse - Imogen Duffy is a young Irish jockey, whose fledging career is given a huge boost when she wins a prestigious horse race at Cheltenham Steeplechasing Festival. But all is not well in her life. She has a violent and controlling boyfriend, also a jockey, and he becomes increasingly jealous of her success. As a result, she tries to break off their relationship, but he won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. He attacks her, and claims that he’d rather kill her than allow her to leave him. Imogen flees her home in Ireland, coming to England to get away from him, and to continue her riding career at a racing stable in Lambourn, where she finds increasing success. But the abusive boyfriend follows her across the Irish Sea, stalks her, steals from her, attacks her again, and then tries to ruin both her career and her reputation. Imogen’s desperate father turns to Sid Halley for help, and Sid reluctantly agrees to investigate, but then finds out that he is also being stalked and threatened. Can Sid find out what is going on, and before it is too late? This latest chapter of the Sid Halley story will have readers racing to the end as they are plunged into the dangerous and gripping world of horse racing.
You can book tickets in the shop or online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/warwick-books
An evening with Sasha Butler - The Marriage Contract
Warwick Books, Warwick Books,CV34 4SL
Tuesday 14th October 2025
Join us for an evening with Sasha talking about her latest book The Marriage Contract. You'll have the opportunity to ask questions and have your book signed by the author. A little more about The Marriage Contract:
‘Once she had thought of them, their love, as a fortress that nothing, not giants nor dragons nor men with fists and minds of gore could tear down. She realises now, that their love is malleable, mouldable, breakable. As soft as dreams.’ Summer in Worcestershire, 1577.
Eliza Litton, a talented artist, is in love with childhood friend, Francis. But her tyrannical father, who rules the household with insults and fists, has other ideas. As summer comes to an end, Francis vanishes after a drunken night at the inn and Eliza’s father forces her to marry a gentleman, Edmund. Thrown into a new, unfamiliar life with her husband who appears distant and cold, Eliza cannot tear herself from the memory of Francis. Yet her feelings for Edmund soften with time; he presents a life to her better than she ever dreamed. He provides her a safety she never had beneath her father’s roof and encourages her to paint, to pursue the things she loves. As she begins to fall for Edmund, Francis is adrift on his own voyage, doing all he can to survive, fixated on returning to Eliza. But as Eliza grows closer to Edmund, she uncovers a deceit she never imagined, causing her to question her own loyalties and commit her own betrayals. After everything, who will Eliza be? And what choices will she make? The Marriage Contract vividly portrays life in the precarious and unforgiving Elizabethan era, exploring love’s many forms; how we can betray the ones we love, and how we can find forgiveness; and explores a woman’s fight to follow her desires and find her autonomy.
You can book tickets in the shop or online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/warwick-books
An evening with Georgie Codd - Never Had A Dad
Warwick Books, Warwick, CV34 4SL
Tuesday 28th October 2025
Fatherless, friendly 31yoF looking for intrepid M50s-70s who wants to try being a father figure (not sugar daddy). Georgie Codd never had a dad. And she didn’t think that would ever change – until a stranger’s practical joke made her wonder if she could find one.
So began her quest for a father figure, placing ‘dadverts’ in newspapers, magazines and corners of the internet she thought the fatherly might frequent. Along with the conversations, meetings and the twists and turns of seeking family relationships with strangers comes a curious look at the societal, cultural and biological functions of fatherhood. What makes someone decide to have or not have a child? What is the experience for single parents, for queer communities, for people rejected by their birth family – or for those who do the rejecting? And why were so many ‘dads’ angling for something other than parenthood? By turns brilliant and bonkers, hilarious and poignant, this is an unexpected story of the strange, intimate things we mean when we talk about family.
You can book tickets in the shop or online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/warwick-books
An evening with Owen Davies - Folklore
Warwick Books, Warwick, CV34 4SL
Tuesday 4th November 2025, 6.30pm
Manchester University Press are delighted to be publishing a gripping guide to the weird yet everyday world of British folklore, written by two leading experts and publishing this September.
In this ground-breaking book, two leading experts provide the definitive guide to British folklore past and present. Owen Davies and Ceri Houlbrook explore folklore in all its remarkable variations, from village rituals and fairy tales to UFO legends and internet fanfiction. Travelling through a landscape of witches, wizards and wicker men, they reveal how folklore has been researched and written about in the past and show how it continues to be lived in the present. At the same time, they provide the reader with a valuable toolkit for understanding how to interpret the diverse examples given. The book's key message is that folklore is much more than the fossilised remains of a distant, rural past. Folklore is and always has been ubiquitous, dynamic and political. It is a living tradition that draws from many sources, including migrant communities, and is forever being renewed and updated.
Owen Davies is Professor of Social History at the University of Hertfordshire. He is the author of numerous books, most recently Art of Grimoire and Troubled by Faith: Insanity and the Supernatural in the Age of the Asylum (both 2023). He has been described as Britain's foremost academic expert on the history of magic. Ceri Houlbrook is Senior Lecturer in Folklore and History at the University of Hertfordshire. Her books include The Magic of Coin-Trees (2018), Unlocking the Love-Lock (2021) and Ritual 'Litter' Redressed (2022). In addition to her scholarly work, she writes folklore- inspired fiction.
You can book tickets in the shop or online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/warwick-books
An evening with Guy Hale - Sleep No More
Warwick Books, Warwick, CV34 4SL
Tuesday 11th November 2025
We're very happy to be welcoming back Guy to Warwick Books to talk about his new book, Sleep No More, which is the fourth in his hugely popular Shakespeare Murders series.
Boundless ambition collides headlong with the cold fury of revenge as we enter the final scene of this tragedy. Sir Morris Oxford lies critically wounded in Stratford Hospital. Oliver Lawrence, whose cunning plan put him there, thought his revenge was complete but it takes a lot to kill a King. There can be no hiding place for those that harbour secrets...
On the dark streets of Stratford, something wicked this way comes!
You can book tickets in the shop or online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/warwick-books
Free Dog Portraits by Harriet Lowther - with every purchase of Tell Your Dog That I Love Them
Warwick Books, Warwick, CV34 4SL
Saturday 29th November 2025
Free dog portraits by Harriet Lowther : 10am Saturday 29th November at Warwick Books.
Purchase a copy of TELL YOUR DOG I LOVE THEM at Warwick Books and get a free illustration of your pooch.
Reserve your spot to avoid disapointment.
A must-have for dog lovers, Tell Your Dog I Love Them is a heart-warming celebration of the joy, devotion, and unconditional love that dogs bring into our lives, created by the popular artist Harriet Lowther. From their quirky habits to their unwavering devotion, Tell Your Dog I Love Them captures the charm, personality, and pure magic of our four-legged friends with warmth, humour and unmistakable authenticity. Featuring a mix of artistic styles including pencil, pen and ink, watercolour, collage and print, it brings together witty observations, relatable moments and the delightful chaos that every dog owner will recognise! Beautifully illustrated and filled with humour, sentiment and insight, this book is a love letter to the unique connection between humans and their dogs. Perfect as a gift or a personal keepsake, it offers every dog lover a joyful and heartfelt way to celebrate their best friends.
You can book tickets in the shop or online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/warwick-books
An evening with Carmella Lowkis - A Slow and Secret Poison
Warwick Books, Warwick, CV34 4SL
Tuesday 20th January 2026
'We are cursed, here at Harfold, whether you believe in it or not.'
1922, Wiltshire. When Vee Morgan accepts the job of gardener at a crumbling stately home, she's hoping for a fresh start where nobody knows her troubled history.
But Harfold Manor is shadowed by grief and the memories of long-faded glory, its rooms haunted by the only surviving member of the family, Lady Arabella Lascy. Vee is fascinated by her enigmatic new employer, a woman obsessed with the curse she believes has killed her family one by one. A curse that is coming for her next.
As Vee immerses herself in the world of Harfold, she finds herself increasingly entranced by Arabella and the secrets that poison her.
But Vee has her own things to hide: secrets that caused her to flee Cardiff, secrets that estranged her from her own family, secrets that might finally catch up to her…
Carmella Lowkis grew up in Wiltshire and has a degree in English literature and Creative Writing from the University of Warwick. After graduating, she worked in libraries, before moving into book marketing. Carmella lives in North London with her girlfriend. You can follow her on Twitter @carmellalowkis. Spitting Gold was her first novel.
You can book tickets in the shop or online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/warwick-books
“A venue fit for a king! It was a fantastic evening, they had arranged it all perfectly. I am gobsmacked and over the moon all at once!”
We’re delighted to host a rich series of literary events in and around Warwick. These include our popular 'Meet the author' events. The talks usually last about an hour, followed by questions, and then there is an opportunity to meet the speaker and have a book signed. Previous authors Melvyn Bragg, Jodi Picoult, Kate Williams, Professor Edith Hall and Dr Elizabeth Goldring. These events take place across Warwick including the beautiful Lord Leycester Hospital. We also support Warwick Words Festival.
Refreshments provided by local independent businesses are served at all of our events!
“Huge thanks for a fab event yesterday!”