A selection of events, from workshops for little ones (0 - 12), talks with award-winning authors (16+), getting published (16+) & stand-up comedy (18+).
Scroll down for tickets, each event sold separately, x1 ticket £5
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*not applicable to Clip’s Big Drag Storytime
Clip’s Big Drag Storytime
10:15 - 10:45 am
0 - 5 years
CLIP Theatre presents Dick Whittington (so you want to be a Drag Queen). Dick Whittington wants to be the fiercest drag queen in the world. The other queens have told him the streets of London are paved with Max Factor Gold – but are they? All the sensory interactive joy that award-winning CLIP are known for, live music and London’s finest drag artists.
Streatham Literature Festival: Roger Garside: China Coup
10:00 - 11:00 am
18+
Join China specialist, Roger Garside, and gain an insight into the future of China.
Roger Garside's 'China Coup: The Great Leap to Freedom' - this short book boldly predicts that China’s leader Xi Jinping will very soon be removed from office in a coup d’état mounted by rivals in the top leadership. The leaders of the coup will then end China’s one-party dictatorship and launch a transition to democracy and the rule of law. Long-time diplomat and development banker author Roger Garside draws on his deep knowledge of Chinese politics and economics first to develop a detailed scenario of how these events may unfold, and then—in the main body of the book—to explain why.
Nicola Williams: Without Prejudice
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
18+
Join Nicola Williams as she talks about her gripping, propulsive courtroom thriller following barrister Lee Mitchell as she uncovers the dark secrets of London's obscenely rich.
Lee Mitchell is a thirty-year-old barrister from a working-class Caribbean background: in the cut-throat environment of the courtroom, everything is stacked against her.
After she takes on the high-profile case of notorious millionaire playboy Clive Omartian - arrested along with his father and stepbrother for eye-wateringly exorbitant fraud - the line between her personal and professional life becomes dangerously blurred. Spiralling further into Clive's trail of debauchery and corruption, she finds herself in alarmingly deep waters.
Can she survive her case, let alone win it?
Kate Wilkinson: Edie and the Box of Flits
11.30 am - 12.30 pm
7 - 12 years
Edie and the Box of Flits is a modern classic for readers of 'The Borrowers', about eleven-year-old Edie Winter and her magical box of winged people that only children can see. Join author Kate Wilkinson for this high-energy workshop which is sure to get the kids' imaginations flowing.
When eleven-year-old Edie Winter finds a mysterious box on the London Underground she's amazed to discover that it's home to a family of Flits - tiny winged people. But Impy, Speckle and Nid need Edie's help. Not only do they need supplies (rice crispies, sugar sprinkles, digestive biscuits and raisins) and someone to look after them, but their brother Jot has run away and they need Edie's help to find him.
Set against the backdrop of London and its Underground network, 'Edie and the Box of Flits' is a story about friendship, family and noticing the little things in life.
With delightful black-and-white illustrations by animator, cartoonist and illustrator Joe Berger.
‘How to Get Published’ with Elizabeth Moore
1 - 2 pm
16 +
Have you written a book or have you always wanted to start but felt daunted by the enormity of the task?
Elizabeth will talk about the publishing pitfalls to avoid, the best ways to get your work in front of an agent, what the market is looking for and will share what she's learned on her own journey from blank page to bestselling book, wonderful agent and an upcoming Netflix series.
She has previously talked on Writing a Thriller, Mental Health Issues, Characterisation and plots in the 21st century and many other subjects at venues from The Front line Festival, The Ivy Club, Sky Television, Wimbledon Literary Festival and many others.
Victoria Scott and Louise Fein in conversation with Bethan Howe
1 - 2 pm
18 +
If you were offered a chance to cure your child's disease, would you take it?
Victoria and Louise have each written novels from a new and progressive voice – those who don’t have one or are differently abled from the norm. Victoria’s novel, Patience, is a Love Reading Debut of the Month. Patience has Rett’s Syndrome and is unable to talk. The Hidden Child, Louise’s second novel, is the story of a couple who support the 1920s Eugenics movement until their own daughter turns out to be not quite perfect.
Sam Russell's Evergreen: An exclusive live reading with Catherine Russell
2.30 - 3.30 pm
16+
'Evergreen' is the first novel in the Everman Trilogy, a fantasy audio series by comedian Sam Russell, being released chapter-by-chapter as a podcast read by actress Catherine Russell. Starting on 1st June, a chapter of this 5-star rated fantasy series was released every two weeks. Join Sam and Catherine for an exclusive live reading and discussion about the writing, podcast publication, and production process.
Adam, the first man and his wife, the first woman, Eve, were punished by God with separation and immortality.
Adam spends his long life searching for her, inadvertently becoming the catalyst for many of humanity’s myths and legends.
Now, after 200 years searching other realms, Adam lands, a fish out of water, in present-day London with a fresh lead on his wife’s location…
Straight Outta Streatham: spotlighting a panel of local authors
2.30 - 3.30 pm
16 +
A spotlight on three of Streatham's self-published authors.
Christopher Bowden: 'The Amber Maze'
While staying in a Dorset cottage, Hugh Mullion finds a mysterious key down the side of an antique chair. No one can say how long the key has been there or what it opens.
Hugh's search for answers will unlock the secrets of the troubled life of a talented artist, destined to be hailed a neglected genius fifty years too late. And no secret is darker than that of The Amber Maze, from whose malign influence he never escaped. The trail takes Hugh from Edwardian Oxfordshire to 1960s Camden Town, where the ghosts of the past are finally laid to rest.
This is delicately crafted noir fiction at its best.
Barbara Lee: 'A Year in the Half-Life'
It Is 1992, and the recession is biting hard. Imogen Kent has never been unemployed before, but finds herself unfairly ejected from her job, and wonders how she will cope. She gets by with odd bits of temp work, babysitting and occasional petty crime. She is not helped by her tricky relationship with her judgemental parents.
As Imogen navigates her way through the year, she encounters obstacles such as being sent on a useless course by the Job Centre, having to move out of her flat, and facing her old friends at a school reunion. As if that weren’t enough, an old boyfriend, Mick, suddenly comes into her life, but he is as badly off as she is.
Can Imogen keep her optimism (not to mention her sanity) into 1993?
Dominic Canty: 'Dead Men Should Know Better'
The world's most notorious arms trafficker - Gunboat Charlie Chavez - is back on the radar. MI6 must keep tabs, but, with no field operatives available, they send IT Support Officer Bristo Trabant. His mission: go to Cannes and report back who Gunboat is meeting. But it's a dark and dangerous world of seductive hostesses and razor-toothed assassins.
Trabant tries to keep a low profile, but just one wrong word uttered at the wrong moment sets off a chain of events so severe it threatens the very stability of the British Government. Only the most ingenious strategy can possibly save the day. But first, Trabant must somehow stay alive.
From Pimlico to Panama City, via the French Riviera, join Bristo on his debut mission. Life-threatening card games, life-saving water pistols, life-changing romance. It's a hilarious read, but in the most dangerous of worlds.
The Life and Loves of Freddie Mercury: 'Love of my Life' with Lesley-Ann Jones
4 - 5 pm
18+
Who - or what - was the real love of Freddie Mercury's life? Join author Lesley-Ann Jones in conversation with Tony Moore as they discuss the sensational new biography of Queen's frontman.
Lesley-Ann Jones and Tony Moore discuss her latest book, 'Love of My Life: The Life and Loves of Freddie Mercury', part serialised in the Times and featured in the Sunday Times, and Telegraph, among others.
Millions of Queen and screen fans who watched the Oscar-winning film Bohemian Rhapsody believe that Mary Austin, the woman he could never quite let go of, was the love of Freddie Mercury's life. But the truth is infinitely more complicated.
Lesley-Ann is fresh from appearances on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme and BBC Radio 2’s Steve Wright in the Afternoon. Her other works include Hero: David Bowie and the Sunday Times bestseller, Bohemian Rhapsody: The Definitive Biography of Freddie Mercury.
Stand-up Comedy with Rosie Wilby: ‘The Breakup Monologues: The Unexpected Joy of Heartbreak
4 - 5 pm
18+
Join Rosie Wilby for a stand-up gig that we guarantee will have you in stitches!
In 2011, comedian and podcaster Rosie Wilby was dumped by email...though she did feel a little better about it after correcting her ex’s spelling and punctuation. Obsessing about breakups ever since, she embarked on a quest to investigate, understand and conquer the psychology of heartbreak.
This book (after the podcast of the same name) is a love letter to her breakups, a celebration of what they have taught her peppered with anecdotes from illustrious friends and interviews with relationship therapists, scientists and sociologists about separating in the modern age of ghosting, breadcrumbing and conscious uncoupling.
Mixing humour, memoir and science, she attempts to assimilate their advice and ideas in order to not break up with Girlfriend, her partner of nearly three years. Will this self-confessed serial monogamist, and breakup addict, finally settle down?
Also by Rosie Wilby... 'Is Monogamy Dead?'
Part memoir, part sociological study, Is Monogamy Dead? highlights the huge disparities in how people define a 'relationship' and what constitutes 'cheating'. A brilliant mix of humour, heartache and science, this is an audiobook for anyone interested in human motivation and behaviour, relationships and sexuality.
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