When I looked at the website and saw that Alan Hollinghurst is coming to town, I gave a little shriek of delight. I love Hollinghurst’s work. On October 17 I’ll be able to sit in the same room with him and listen to him read from his new book, The Sparsholt Affair. And then I’ll buy the book and have him sign it. Yes, I’m an author groupie … et alors?

Then there’s Gérard Depardieu who’ll be reading from his memoir, Innocent. That seems like an odd title. I would’ve thought Rulebreaker, Ballbreaker or Renegade would be more appropriate. Ah, Gérard … toujours le provocateur. Anyway, that’s on October 5th and I might go to that event too. (It’ll be jam-packed.)

All events are free with limited seating. Starting time is 7 pm.

Swedish Sigrid Rausing, owner of Granta publishing house and one of Britain’s richest women, will be reading from her new book Mayhem: A Memoir. “A searingly powerful memoir about the impact of addiction on a family. In the summer of 2012 a woman named Eva was found dead in the London townhouse she shared with her husband, Hans K. Rausing. The couple had struggled with drug addiction for years, often under the glare of tabloid headlines. Now, writing with singular clarity and restraint the editor and publisher Sigrid Rausing, tries to make sense of what happened to her brother and his wife.” That’s on September 21st.

On October 12, award-winning Guardian journalist Gary Younge will be discussing his new book, Another Day in the Death of America. A powerful, moving and important book on the effect of gun crime on children in the US.

On Saturday 23 November 2013 ten children were shot dead. The youngest was nine; the oldest was nineteen. They fell in suburbs, hamlets and ghettos. None made the national news. It was just another day in the death of America, where on average seven children and teens are killed by guns daily.

Younge picked this day at random, searched for their families and tells their stories. What emerges is a sobering, searing, portrait of youth and guns in contemporary America. This is a book which will lead the news agenda on publication and leave the reader knocked sideways by its emotional power.

So many books! So many human stories!

And so much more. Take a look at the website.

https://shakespeareandcompany.com/20/events/category/21/upcoming-events