Inspired by our friends Book-ish in Crickhowell, Index on Censorship and VINTAGE are coordinating a nationwide series of publication-day celebrations and midnight openings at independent bookshops across the UK as part of Banned Books Week UK to celebrate the publication of Margaret Atwood’s highly anticipated The Testaments (sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale) on 10 September.
Book-ish will be celebrating the much anticipated publication of The Testaments by Margaret Atwood with an evening event and Old Skool midnight opening.
When: 9 September 20:00 – 23:00
Where: Book-ish 18 High Street Crickhowell NP8 1BD
Tickets: Full details here.
Join us for the midnight launch party of The Testaments, Margaret Atwood’s long-anticipated sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, at Roe River Books in Dundalk.
When: 9 September 21:00 – 23:00
Where: Roe River Books 66/67 Park St Dundalk Co. Louth, A91 C6VK Ireland
Tickets: Full details here.
Red Lion Books in Colchester will host a midnight launch for The Testaments on 9th September. They are inviting customers to submit personal and anonymous testaments of when they have experienced forms of prejudice. These testaments will be read by an actor. They will use the prize fund to create props, make bonnets and provide refreshments, as well as advertising the event on social media.
When: 10 September, 7pm
Where: Red Lion Books, 125 High Street, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1SZ
Tickets: Full details here.
Rogan’s Books, a specialist independent feminist and children’s bookshop in Bedford, also plan a midnight launch for The Testaments on 9th September. They are arranging a lantern-lit parade of handmaids through Bedford, passing landmarks such as the Embankment, the river, the wall and the eerie Castle ruins. Just before midnight, the procession will arrive at Rogan’s Books to striking window displays, a reading from the first chapter and Handmaid’s Tale themed refreshments.
When: 9 September, 11:30pm
Where: Rogan’s Books, 26 Castle Ln, Bedford MK40 3US
Tickets: Full details here.
Join Storysmith in Bristol for an informal discussion of the original novel, and enjoy 20% off your copy of The Testaments when purchased from them on the night (they’ll have plenty in stock). Entry is free and includes a glass of wine, but spaces are limited: This event is now fully booked.
When: 10 September 6:30pm
Where: Storysmith, 49 North Street, Bristol, BS3 1EN
Tickets: Full details here.
Belsize Community Library’s book club looks at literature through the lens of censorship. This month, as preparation for UK Banned Books Week, they’ve invited Index on Censorship to come and talk about literary censorship and their work defending free speech worldwide. They’ll also be discussing Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, which has been both challenged and celebrated. It has been banned and restricted by some schools in the US, but used as a A-level set text in the UK – and now is the basis for a very successful TV series.
When: 11 September, 7-8pm
Where: Belsize Community Library, Antrim Grove, Belsize Park, NW3 4XP
Tickets: Free, no registration necessary. Full details here.
Banned Books Week UK is a nationwide campaign for radical readers and rebellious readers of all ages celebrate the freedom to read. Between 22 – 28 September 2019, bookshops, libraries, schools, literary festivals and publishers will be hosting events and making noise about some of the most sordid, subversive, sensational and taboo-busting books around.
