Ely Events and Reading Groups
In this atmospheric medieval city, just over an hour from London by train, author events range from reading groups and intimate events in the bookshop to the drama of performances under the world-renowned Octagon of Ely Cathedral. We hold events all year round, but in the autumn there is a special focus on the Ely Literary Festival.
Teen Reading Group - Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
Wednesday 26th March, 5pm
The beloved Japanese bestseller: a tale of love, family, new beginnings, and the comfort that can be found between the pages of a good book.When twenty-five-year-old …
View event details
Jim Kelly
Thursday 27th March, 7pm
Autumn, 1941. The third year of war and still the siren sounds, driving the people of Cambridge from their beds to trudge to one of the …
View event details
Chris Chibnall
Tuesday 1st April, 7pm
From the multi-award winning creator of BROADCHURCH and showrunner of DOCTOR WHO, get ready for the most exciting crime fiction debut of 2025...When Nicola Bridge moves …
View event details
James Canton
Thursday 3rd April, 7pm
Renaturing shows how the concept of rewilding can be adopted by us all. We can all make positive change, however large or small. We can all …
View event details
Reading Group - Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima
Tuesday 8th April, 7.30pm
Mishima's reactionary politics and his shocking suicide have ensured that his is a complex complex legacy, both in his native Japan and beyond and have tended …
View event details
Reading Group - Moonlight Market
Tuesday 8th April, 7.30pm
Orphaned, lonely, and lost in his photography work, Tom has no intention of falling in love. And yet, love finds him in the shape of beautiful …
View event details
Charles Moseley
Thursday 10th April, 7pm
Topping and Company are delighted to welcome back Charles Moseley for another book filled with historic brilliance - this time about our city of Ely.Many people …
View event details
Janet Todd
Tuesday 15th April, 7pm
'Sharing a mind is as exciting as sharing a bed. In this gentle, witty, semi-memoir, Janet Todd reveals her eccentric encounters with books and shows us …
View event details
Anthony Horowitz
Wednesday 16th April, 7pm
Susan Ryeland has had enough of murder.She's edited two novels about the famous detective, Atticus Pund, and both times she's come close to being killed. Now …
View event details
Natasha Pulley
Thursday 17th April, 7pm
We are delighted to host local author Natasha Pulley for her timely and timeless reimagining of the story of Dionysus, Greek God of ecstasy and madness, …
View event details
Queer Reading Group
Tuesday 22nd April, 7.30pm
"In at the Deep End" by Kate Davies tells the story of Julia, a 26-year-old civil servant who, after a long period of sexual inactivity, experiences …
View event details
Robert Macfarlane
Wednesday 30th April, 7.30pm
From celebrated writer Robert Macfarlane comes this brilliant, perspective-shifting new book - which answers a resounding yes to the question of its title.At its heart is …
View event details
Tony Juniper
Thursday 8th May, 7pm
In this extraordinary and hopeful book, leading environmentalist Tony Juniper CBE identifies the real problem at the heart of the climate and nature crises.From soil loss …
View event details
Reading Group - Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks
Tuesday 13th May, 7.30pm
The seeds of Oliver Sack's lifelong appetite for science and his curiosity about human nature were both sown during his remarkable childhood. Uncle Tungsten is a …
View event details
Robin Ince on Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal: My Adventures in Neurodiversity
Thursday 15th May, 7pm
We are delighted to be hosting Robin Ince this year on his upcoming publication on a powerful, personal exploration of anxiety, ADHD and neurodiversity. Normally Weird …
View event details
Joanne Harris on Vianne
Monday 26th May, 7pm
Secrets.Chocolate.A touch of magic...Million-copy bestselling author Joanne Harris returns to the world of Chocolat with the long-awaited story of Vianne, which begins six years before she …
View event details
Gill Hornby
Friday 6th June, 7pm
Celebrating Jane Austen's 250th anniversary we are thrilled to host Gill Hornby with her stunning new novel The Elopement!'It is a truth universally acknowledged that a …
View event details
Reading Group - Mr. Ma and Son
Tuesday 10th June, 7.30pm
Lao She was a major writer who would enjoy a successful career in his native China before falling foul of Mao's Cultural Revolution. In this early …
View event details
Duncan Poyser and Simon Stirrup
Thursday 19th June, 7pm
We are so pleased to be hosting an event for Fenland Nature. A book which showcases the natural history and landscape of the Fens, an area …
View event details
Reading Group - Wise Blood
Tuesday 8th July, 7.30pm
"The book was written with zest and, if possible, it should be read that way." Thus Flannery O'Connor on her own extraordinary debut novel, Wise Blood, …
View event details
Reading Group - The Lonely Londoners and Way of Sunlight
Tuesday 12th August, 7.30pm
Notable for its innovative narrative technique and linguistic freshness, as well as its ground-breaking subject, Sam Selvon's 1956 novel, The Lonely Londoners, is an exuberant and …
View event details
Reading Group - Resurrection
Tuesday 9th September, 7.30pm
Overcome with feelings of guilt over a crime committed in his dissolute youth, Prince Dmitri Nekhlyudov purses an eccentric path to personal salvation that will take …
View event details
Katherine Rundell - Exclusive Edition
Tuesday 16th September, 7.30pm
The dragons call out, and the ratatoskas tell of murder. Come with us now. There is justice to be done.Return to the magic of the Archipelago... …
View event detailsMore Ely events launching soon!
Sign up to be the first to hear when new events are confirmed.
Join the Ely newsletter
Newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about our events and early bird offers, as well as exclusive complimentary invitations