Last tickets available now: Brighton cycling nights: Michael Hutchinson in conversation

November 30, 2021. Grand Central, Brighton (next to Brighton station). Tickets £12 on sale now.

Michael Hutchinson, time-trial champion, commentator, acclaimed author, Cycling Weekly columnist and general man-about-cycling (also: sometime stand-up comedian) is my latest guest in my regular cycling books night at the Grand Central.

Carlton Kirby: True Tales of the Tour de France

December 1. Seven Dials Club, Covent Garden, London. Last tickets available now. Eurosport’s lead cycling commentator shares tall stories and frank opinions from his 20 years in the Tour de France gantry. Last show of the year – and his first in central London!

Emily Chappell in Conversation: 2022 dates at Twickenham and Guildford

We’re excited to confirm that the adventurer and former bike courier will be discussing her epic bike rides, her book Where There’s a Will (nominated at the Daily Telegraph Sports Book Awards) and all matters arising at the Twickenham Exchange (Thursday 27 January) and The Electric Theatre, Guildford (Friday 28 January). Tickets on sale shortly.

Rebecca Nesbit book launch event

February 24 2022. The Mission Theatre, Bath. Tickets on sale now.

Ecologist Rebecca Nesbit joins us in Bath, as she launches her new book ‘Tickets for the Ark: From Wasps to Whales – How Do We Choose What to Save?’ Can humans influence the future of the world’s estimated 8.7 million species in a positive way? In ‘Tickets for the Ark’, Rebecca brings clarity to head-spinningly huge debates at the intersection of science and ethics. Tickets are £12 or £10 concessions. For a limited time, there is an Early Bird offer of £10 per ticket. Book-plus-ticket is £20 (RRP of the book is £14.99).

Derek Pringle’s
True tales of English cricket in the 80s

February 3 2022. OSO Arts Centre, Barnes, London SW13 0LF. Tickets £15 on sale From December 3

We are delighted to welcome Derek Pringle to OSO Arts on Barnes Pond. His book, ‘Pushing the Boundaries: English cricket in the 80s’ is a must-read account of one of the England team’s most colourful (if only intermittently successful) decades. 

Podcast: Baxter Dury in Conversation, book launch event

Baxter Dury discussed his wild West London childhood, growing up as the son of pop star and national treasure Ian Dury at a live event in Chiswick. Baxter was a great guest, his often dark tales made funny in the deadpan retelling. You can hear the podcast from the event here.

Podcast and video stream: Nick Lowe and Will Birch night

Nick Lowe – songwriter, hitmaker, anecdotalist, Renaissance man of pop – joined us at the Seven Dials club to celebrate the launch of the paperback of his biography, ‘Cruel to be Kind’, with his biographer Will Birch. We will have a free podcast version available from October 1. The full 100-minute recorded video stream is available for $5. Click through for access. Or you can listen to an edited audio-only podcast at this link.

Podcast: The Velvet Mafia, with Darryl Bullock

Author Darryl Bullock explores the demi-monde of 60s pop and showbiz in his new Omnibus Press book, tracing the friendship network of influential gay men, including Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who helped change culture, politics and society. Podcast available via Apple Podcasts here, via Spotify, via Google Podcasts and all your usual providers

PODCAST: Crime writer Tom Benjamin on the dark side of Italy

Tom Benjamin’s debut murder mystery A Quiet Death in Italy has been acclaimed by everyone from the Daily Mail to the Morning Star. He tells me how working as a security guard in a homeless shelter in Bologna helped him uncover a side to Italy that tourists don’t see. Listen here.

Saturday Morning Book Club, with Julian Dutton

Julian Dutton – author and man-about-showbiz, who has worked with everyone from Charlton Heston and Frankie Howerd to Harry Hill – launches his new book on the history of life on Britain’s waterways. Social history and showbiz chat. Hear it on the Radio Days Book Club podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or at this link.

Buy Water Gypsies by Julian Dutton via this link

Saturday Morning Book Club: True Tales of Greek village life, with Alex Kemp

Hear all episodes of the Book Club podcast

PODCAST: Ian Stone on how The Jam changed his life

Comedian Ian Stone on his memoir To Be Someone, a story of growing up in grey/grim north London in the 70s and having his life changed by The Jam. Listen here.

Zoomcast: The rise, fall and rise again of French football, with Matthew Spiro

France’s 1998 World Cup win was supposed to be the start of a golden era for the team and the country. But the next decade saw riots in the home towns of many of the players – and strikes and division in the dressing room too. Matt Spiro’s new book pieces together the story of a divided team and a divided nation. Hear him discuss it on the Radio Days Book Club Via Apple, Spotify or here

The Cycling Book Club

Free podcasts and Zoom specials with the sport’s leading authors, including William Fotheringham, Carlton Kirby, Matt Rendell, Emily Chappell, Kenny Pryde and Jeremy Whittle.

Zoomcast, Sept 10: John Sitton in conversation: tales of a lost world of London football

John Sitton’s testing time as boss of Leyton Orient has passed into legend, thanks to the notorious Channel 4 documentary, ‘Orient: Club for a Fiver’. Now, 25 years on, his book ‘A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing’ lifts the lid on the crazy, cash-strapped world of managing in the lower leagues – but also brings great tales from his life playing in all four divisions. Join us for an entertaining evening on Zoom. Info and tickets.

Recorded stream: Beryl Burton Night, with William Fotheringham

On August 13, 60 years to the day since Beryl Burton won the women’s world’s road race, her biographer William Fotheringham joined us for an evening to celebrate her life and achievements. We were delighted to welcome Sue Rogers (nee Fenwick) onto the panel too – as a teenager, Sue was the veteran Beryl Burton’s chief rival in the 1983 season and she shared some great memories with us. Info and tickets

Recorded stream: Emily Chappell in Conversation

Emily joined us on Zoom on August 12. Emily rode 4000km unassisted to win The Transcontinental race across Europe. Where There’s a Will, her book about the experience, was nominated at this year’s Telegraph Sports Book Awards. Info and tickets

RECORDED STREAM: Matt Rendell on Egan Bernal, Colombia, Marco Pantani, salsa and ITV’s coverage of the Tour de France

ITV Tour de France mainstay Matt Rendell joined us live on Zoom on July 23 to discuss his latest book, “Colombia es Pasion: The Generation of Racing Cyclists Who Changed Their Nation and the Tour de France”. Matt also gave great insights into his acclaimed biography of Marco Pantani, and his book on learning salsa. Our musical guest is Jim Howard and his golden trumpet. Tickets: £5.

Tickets and info here.

RECORDED STREAM: Carlton Kirby Behind Closed Doors: the 2020 season begins (again)!

Stream the recording of our second live Zoomcast with Carlton Kirby here. Tickets: £5. In another tour de force, Carlton previews the early season races and ponders his ill-fated 80s nightclub venture. Plus our special guests, beaming in down the Zoom tube from Cromer and Umbria respectively: the man with the world’s largest Tour memorabilia collection and Italy’s national champion accordionist!

Stream the recording of our first Zoomcast with Carlton Kirby here. Tour de France betting tips, behind-the-scenes stories of the peloton and musical guests direct from a Parisian courtyard at twilight!

Carlton Kirby’s Cycling Lock-In Podcast

Hear Eurosport’s lead cycling commentator’s weekly guide to all the races NOT happening this year on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google podcasts etc – or right here.

Click through to buy the e-book of ‘Magic Spanner’ by Carlton Kirby, via Kobo.com.

PODCAST: Kenny Pryde’s Inside story of Team GB/Sky

Kenny Pryde has spent five years investigating the story of the Team GB/Team Sky British cycling project. He wanted to find out how they became the most successful team in sports history – and what substance there was to allegations of sexism, bullying and doping. Kenny discusses his findings in this podcast, recorded at our event in Brighton.

Click through to preview and/or buy the e-book of ‘The Medal Factory’ by Kenny Pryde, via Kobo.com.

Podcast: Tour de France photographer
Pete Goding

Pete Goding reflects on 15 years of shooting the pro peloton – and introduces his free retrospective exhibition at The Dynamo in Putney. Listen here