My Bookish Highlights 2019!

So, 2019 is nearly over and for me it’s been a great year full of bookish excitement! I have been lucky enough to go to many book events this year and for today’s post I just want to look back at these events and share them all with you.

What have been your bookish highlights for 2019?

Stripes Equali-Tea – January 2019

Way back in January I was invited to the Stripes Equali-Tea event, that took place at an awesome LGBT pub called The Apple Tree in central London. This was an incredible event to kick start my bookish year. The event itself, was a showcase of Stripes upcoming 2019 titles which included Whiteout by Gabriel Dylan, Proud Book, Music and Malice in Hurricane Town by Alex Bell, The Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay and My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma. We got to hear from the authors themselves and went home with proof copies of each book. My full write up of the event is here.

Women in History Blogger Brunch – February 2019

In February I was invited to The Women in History Blogger Brunch by Hot Key Books/Bonnier Zaffre. This was an event where we got to hear Heather Morris (author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz) in conversation with Lucy Adlington (author of The Red Ribbon). It turned out to be such an emotional, thought provoking discussion which had me captivated. Full write up here.

Arctic Zoo Blogger Brunch – April 2019

I was invited to the Arctic Zoo Blogger Brunch in April yet again by the lovely people at Hot Key Books. This was to celebrate the pre-launch of Arctic Zoo by Robert Muchamore. Robert was in conversation with Stevie Finegan, publicity manager at Gollancz and it was such an intriguing discussion and I enjoyed hearing the inspiration behind the book. We each got to take home a proof copy of Arctic Zoo alongside a hardback edition of Robert’s book Killer T. Write up here.

CHCC YA Fest – May 2019

In May I attended CHCC YA Fest for the second year and I loved it just as much as I did the first time. There were some amazing authors attending this year and the talks were just so inspirational to me. I love this event as it’s so intimate and relaxed and I don’t feel like I need to rush. I’m gutted I won’t be able to attend in 2020 as it’s the day after my wedding. Check out my full write up of the event.

YALC – July 2019

YALC is the biggest YA event of the year and this year was my second time of attending. I decided to go for two days and I had a really good time, despite it being too hot! I took part in a few great workshops, including one where I got to make my own bookmark and listened to some inspiring talks. I also came home with too many books and swag, but that’s all part of the fun. If you want to read my thoughts about YALC 2019 in more detail, I have done a full post on that.

Potkin and Stubbs: The Haunting of Peligan City Book Launch – September 2019

September was the launch of Potkin and Stubbs: The Haunting of Peligan City by Sophie Green at Waterstones Ipswich. Sophie is a local author and an amazing one at that and having read the first book in the series Potkin and Stubbs earlier in 2019, I was excited to read book two and attend the launch. It was such a lovely event and it was great to see Sophie again, having met her previously in May. My thoughts on the event are here.

Onjali Q Rauf – October 2019

In October the wonderful Onjali Q Rauf came to Waterstones Ipswich to do a talk and signing. The event was organised by Ipswich Children’s book group and having loved The Boy at the Back of the Class I was so excited to finally meet Onjali. The talk itself was so interesting and I found myself becoming so inspired by her and I was in awe! Also, Onjali was just the sweetest! She was easy to chat to and I spoke to her about my writing and she was being so supportive. She also left a lovely dedication in my copy of The Boy at the Back of the Class.