The Travels of an Author on a Mini Book Tour
It’s been almost three months since The Hometown Bookshop was published, and while I haven’t actually got a lot of writing done in that time, I have travelled around quite a bit.
Venue 1: Loftus Library - 21st August ‘25 (my publication day!)
First on the agenda was Loftus Library, as part of their Author Day, which was organised by the Friends of the library. The library itself has been renovated, so it’s gorgeous and well worth a visit, and everyone was very welcoming.
Event highlight: Being asked some really insightful questions in a lovely setting.
Event lowpoint: Ordering my taxi to pick me up from the wrong entrance to the library, losing said taxi, ordering another taxi, and having to quickly pursue it to the opposite entrance. All of which proves I can get lost in a very small area.
Venue 2: Saltburn Library - 26th August
Reading from The Hometown Bookshop at my book launch at Saltburn Library
This was the big one! Saltburn is my former hometown, where my bookshop is located, and the library had very kindly offered to host my book launch.
I was late, because the taxi I had ordered didn’t turn up (interesting how much of my chaos is taxi-related). However, I got to the library to find that the brilliant staff and fellow author Carmen Marcus had set everything up. Thanks Carmen and lovely staff!
The event was really well attended, and there were even people there who I - *gasp* - didn’t know. I got to sit at an actual signing table with an actual queue in front of me, which was very much a career highlight. Hooray for libraries!
Venue 3: DRAKE the Bookshop, Stockton - 5th September
A Hometown Bookshop display at DRAKE the Bookshop
I love visiting other bookshops. This is partly because I love bookshops, and partly because I’m nosy. I’ve known Richard and Mel since they opened their shop ten years ago. They’re based on Silver Street in Stockton, and their shop is wonderful, with one side dedicated to adult fiction and non-fiction, and the other half dedicated to children’s books.
My taxi was late, because of course it was, but I needn’t have feared, because I arrived with a full five minutes to spare, and Richard and Mel immediately furnished me with a cup of coffee. Their warm welcome did much to stop me feeling frazzled.
I’m not going to lie: this was probably one of my favourite events of the tour. I was seated in a cosy reading area, as if I was a guest on a talkshow. It was so much fun to be interviewed by Richard. As a fellow bookseller, he appreciated The Hometown Bookshop’s niche bookshop-related jokes. We spent an inordinate amount of time lamenting the poor design of pricing guns. He also had some great quick questions (Richard: Which celebrity would you like as a regular customer? Me: Easy! Michael Sheen. Richard: Which ghost would haunt your bookshop? Me: That’s a difficult one! …Scrooge?).
An excellent evening.
Standing next to the Hometown Bookshop display at DRAKE the Bookshop
Venue 3 (B)
I was supposed to attend an event with my publisher at Hatchards, Piccadilly. Unfortunately, tube strikes and personal matters meant I couldn’t make it. But I did fulfil a dream of having my book on display in a big London bookshop. For a while, The Hometown Bookshop even had its own table! (Photographic evidence below, kindly sent by my publisher). I’m very grateful to Hatchards staff for highlighting it.
A table display of copies of The Hometown Bookshop at Hatchards Piccadilly
Venue 4: Helmsley Arts Centre - 14th September
An event at an actual Arts Centre! I was invited along to Helmsley Literature Festival, which meant I got a minibreak out of my visit. It was raining in Helmsley, but I was staying in the lovely Black Swan Hotel, which was very cosy.
My event took place in the centre’s bar/coffee room. I turned up soaking wet with a raging cold, but the festival volunteers and staff were unfazed and brought me coffee.
(Some authors attend glamorous summer parties at the top of skyscrapers…I think. But me? I like to keep it real).
Once I was sufficiently dry and caffeinated, I was interviewed by the lovely Barbara Greig, who writes historical novels and therefore does actual research. She was an excellent interviewer, and I really enjoyed the audience questions too. Unfortunately, they’ve now been lost in a cold-induced haze.
Artwork in the lobby at Helmsley Arts Centre
Venue 5: Lune Street Social Club, Saltburn: ‘Teesmouth’ - 27th September
I was delighted to be asked to read an extract from my novel at this event, a poetry evening and open mic organised by Carmen Marcus and poet Bob Beagrie. I hope this becomes a regular event, as I had a great time. There was a wonderful variety of poetry, and rousing music from local folk duo Stormcrow. It was nice to read from my book as a ‘performer’ (I had a microphone and everything). There was also a really fun literary quiz, which our team won; possibly my proudest achievement of the tour.
Venue 6: Yarm Library - 1st October
My next stop was an evening at Yarm Library, which was a co-event with Julie Houston, a hugely prolific romance writer. It was lovely to see a couple of writers I know in the audience, and as a result we had some thought-provoking book industry related questions. As an emerging writer, I was very interested to hear Julie’s insights into writing and publishing.
My signing table at Yarm Library
Some of the questions really made me think about why I write and what I hope to get out of being published. Sometimes, when things aren’t going great, these can be hard questions to answer. Then I remind myself that I’m doing things I would never have dreamed of five years ago. And, on top of that, I still love writing.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me and my books so far.
Happy reading!
Jenna