After his debut with Murder Before Evensong , Canon Clement returns in A Death in the Parish, the new novel from no. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author and all-around national treasure the Reverend Richard Coles.

It’s been a few months since murder tore apart the community of Champton apart. As Canon Daniel Clement tries to steady his flock, the parish is joined with Upper and Lower Badsaddle, bringing a new tide of unwanted change. But church politics soon become the least of Daniel’s problems. His mother – headstrong, fearless Audrey – is obviously up to something, something she is determined to keep from him. And she is not the only one. And then all hell breaks loose when murder returns to Champton in the form of a shocking ritualistic killing…

Richard Coles is a writer, broadcaster and an Anglican priest. He co-presents Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4 and appears, from time to time, on QI, Have I Got News For You , and Would I Lie To You? He writes regularly for the Sunday Times , and is the author of half a dozen books, including a bestselling autobiography, Fathomless Riches , and the bereavement bestseller The Madness of Grief , after the death of his partner, David Coles. Murder Before Evensong , the first book in the Canon Clement Mystery series, was an instant number 1 Sunday Times bestseller.

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Anne Boleyn is a subject of enduring fascination. By far the most famous of Henry VIII’s six wives, she has inspired books, documentaries and films, and is the subject of intense debate even today, almost 500 years after her violent death. Dramatic though this story is, of even greater interest – and significance – is the relationship between Anne and her daughter, the future Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth was less than three years old when her mother was executed. It is often assumed that her mother exerted little influence over her. But this is both inaccurate and misleading. There is compelling evidence that her mother exerted a profound influence on her character, beliefs and reign. Piecing together evidence from original documents and artefacts, this book tells the story of Anne Boleyn’s relationship with, and influence over her daughter Elizabeth. In so doing, it sheds new light on two of the most famous and influential women in history.

Tracy Borman is joint Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces and Chief Executive of the Heritage Education Trust. She studied and taught history at the University of Hull and was awarded a PhD in 1997. Tracy is the author of a number of highly acclaimed books including Crown & Sceptre, The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain’s Greatest Dynasty, Thomas Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VIII’s Most Faithful Servant , and more.

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Join Robin Stevens, author of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize winning and bestselling Murder Most Unladylike series to find out about her brand-new series The Ministry of Unladylike Activity. Robin will share her tips and tricks on how to write the perfect murder mystery and the inspiration behind her new team of detectives.. You will also get the chance to put your own sleuthing skills to the test and ask your burning questions, like any good detective.

Age guide: 8+

A Dulwich Festival event.

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Village Books presents multi-award-winning author and Lockdown legend Rob Biddulph for a fun, drawing-filled session. Rob will talk about his latest book Peanut Jones and the Twelve Portals, in which famous works of art are disappearing from all over the world. One moment they are there, the next, they have crumbled to dust. Peanut Jones and her friends are on the case.

Rob Biddulph is a bestselling and multi award-winning author and illustrator. He is the author of many highly acclaimed, award-winning picture books, including Blown Away, GRRRRR!, and Odd Dog Out. In March 2020 during Lockdown, he started #DrawWithRob, a series of twice-weekly draw-along videos designed to help parents whose children were forced to stay home from school.

Age guide: 5+

A Dulwich Festival event.

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Alison Weir, No . 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Six Tudor Queens series, returns with the second in a captivating new trio of novels spanning three generations of history’s most iconic family, the Tudors : Henry VIII: The Heart and the Crown

A young boy grows up dreaming of knights and chivalry . Harry is the second son . He is never meant to rule . But the death of his brother changes everything, and great destiny awaits this young prince . One day he will be the most infamous king in English history…

Alison Weir is the biggest-selling female historian (and the fifth best-selling historian) in the United Kingdom since records began in 1997. She has published thirty-two titles and sold more than 3 million books worldwide.

A Dulwich Festival event.

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Rukmini Iyer is the bestselling author of The Roasting Tin series. India Express is her most personal book to date. Inspired by a conversation with her parents, talking about the 24-hour train journeys they used to take when courting in India. India Express features easy weeknight one- tin and one-pan curries, as well as everyday Bengali and South Indian recipes from both sides of Rukmini’s family.

Rukmini Iyer is a recipe writer, food stylist and former lawyer, who loves creating delicious and easy recipes with minimum fuss and maximum flavour. Her Roasting Tin books have sold over 1.5 million copies globally, and have been described by The Guardian as ‘some of the best cookbooks of the past decade.’

A Dulwich Festival event.

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We can’t wait to welcome ex-Alleyn’s student Caleb Azumah Nelson back to Dulwich to talk about his latest novel Small World. Caleb’s debut novel won the Costa First Novel Award and Debut of the Year at the British Book Awards.

The one thing that can solve Stephen’s problems is dancing. Stephen has only ever known himself in song. But what becomes of him when the music fades? When his father begins to speak of shame and sacrifice, when his home is no longer his own? How will he find space for himself: a place where he can feel beautiful, a place he might feel free?

Set over the course of three summers in Stephen’s life, from London to Ghana and back again, Small Worlds is an exhilarating and expansive novel about the worlds we build for ourselves, the worlds we live, dance and love within.

Caleb will be in chatting to Marie-Claire Amuah whose debut novel One for Sorrow, Two for Joy was published in August 2022.

A Dulwich Festival event.

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Jojo Moyes’s novels have sold 51 million copies around the world, hit the Number One spot in 12 countries and have been translated into 46 languages. Her most recent novel, The Giver of Stars, was a Sunday Times Number One bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.

Her latest novel Someone Else’s Shoes explores the power of female friendship and tells the story of two women in their forties who find their lives irrevocably altered when they accidentally swap gym bags…

Nisha Cantor and Sam Kemp are two very different women. When wealthy Nisha is cut off by her husband, she doesn’t even have the shoes she was standing in.

That’s because Sam, struggling to keep herself and her family afloat, has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. Now Nisha’s got nothing. And Sam’s walking tall with shoes that catch eyes – and give her career an unexpected boost.

Except Nisha wants her life back – and she’ll start with her shoes . . .

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We’re delighted to be welcoming Dulwich College alumni and bestselling author Tom Rob Smith back to the College for a special event to celebrate the publication of his new book Cold People.

The world has fallen. Without warning, a mysterious and omnipotent force has claimed the planet for their own. There are no negotiations, no demands, no reasons given for their actions. All they have is a message: humanity has thirty days to reach the one place on Earth where they will be allowed to exist . . . Antarctica.

Cold People follows the journeys of a handful of those who endure the frantic exodus to the most inhospitable environment on the planet. While they cling to life on the ice, they must also confront the most urgent of challenges: can they change and evolve rapidly enough to ensure humanity’s future? Can they build a new society in the cold?

Tom will be chatting to Dr Joseph Spence, Master of Dulwich College.

Tom Rob Smith attended Dulwich College from 1987 to 1997. Tom won the International Thriller Writer Award for Best First Novel, the Galaxy Book Award for Best New Writer, the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and the inaugural Desmond Elliot Prize. Child 44 is now a major motion picture starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and Gary Oldman.

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Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks will be at Village Books on Saturday 10th December to sign copies of their new book What The LadyBird Heard At Christmas!

The clever little ladybird is back to celebrate the festive season and to once again save the day! With a cast of wonderful friends, old and new, plenty of festive fun, and of course, a cunning plan to foil. What the Ladybird Heard at Christmas is the fifth title in the bestselling family favourite What the Ladybird Heard adventures.

Join everyone’s favourite crime-busting ladybird this festive season, as she visits her friend the spider in a big old haunted house. Those two bad men, Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len, are up to no good again. They have a devious plan – to steal the children’s Christmas presents from their stockings! It’s a good thing that the clever little ladybird has overheard their awful plotting, and she has a cunning plan to make sure they don’t get away with it.

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