EVENTS

Michael Zilkha, founder and publisher of ZE Books and co-founder of the influential ZE Records, joins Nina Hervé, co-director of Rough Trade Books, and poet Will Burns for a conversation about the connections between independent music and publishing. Both ZE Books and Rough Trade Books grew out of record-label cultures and carry that same independent spirit into the books they publish, bringing together literature, music, art, design, and counterculture.

The conversation will explore why record labels have moved into publishing, what books can offer musicians and artists that other formats cannot, and how the experience of discovering, developing, and presenting music can shape an editorial project. They will also discuss the relationship between books and physical objects, the importance of design and collaboration, and what independent cultural institutions can do differently from larger publishing houses.

WHEN: Sunday 18th October, 5pm
WHERE: The Wild Detectives - IDEAS, Dallas, Texas
TICKETS: BUY TICKETS

Songwriter, filmmaker, and music journalist Sama’an Ashrawi, author of Baba Was a Rolling Stone, is joined by legendary Texas rapper Bun B, acclaimed poet, essayist, and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib, and Baba, Sama’an’s father, for a conversation about music, writing, family, mentorship, and the relationships that shape a creative life.

Taking Baba Was a Rolling Stone as a point of departure, the conversation brings together different chapters of Sama’an’s relationship with music: from growing up with the story of his father, a founding member and lead vocalist of the pioneering Palestinian rock band Al-Bara’em (The Blooms), to his longtime friendship with Bun B, who became an important mentor as Sama’an began building his career writing about music and culture. Together with Abdurraqib, they will explore how music carries memory across generations and places, how personal relationships and mutual support can help shape creative paths, and how writing about music can become a way of understanding identity, belonging, history, and the communities we build around us.

WHEN: Sunday 18th October, 2pm
WHERE: Texas Theatre, Dallas, Texas
TICKETS: BUY HERE

Join us for an evening with Sama’an Ashrawi to celebrate celebrating the release of his debut book,  Baba Was a Rolling Stone.The event will feature readings from the book, with a discussion moderated by Aris Kian (Houston Poet Laureate, 2023-2025). Complimentary refreshments courtesy of Saint Arnold Brewing.

WHEN: Thursday 15th October, 5.30pm
WHERE: Cactus Music, Houston, Texas
TICKETS: FREE ENTRY

The devilishly intelligent and thought-provoking play comes to our stage with actors Maxine Peake, Diana Quick and Jodie Whittaker and artist Ana da Silva.

The award-winning playwright and screenwriter Hannah Patterson’s debut novel, Ungone, tells of one woman’s attempt to avoid confronting her mother’s dementia by hiring somebody else to play her part during care home visits.

There is perhaps no writer better equipped for such a formal experiment – in Patterson’s hands, the natural interiority of the novel, deft handling of the dialogue between the three central female characters and the high tension of the stage come together to create a compelling new work.

The play features acclaimed actors Maxine Peake, Diana Quick and Jodie Whittaker, and a live performance by Ana da Silva, artist and founding member of pioneering post-punk band The Raincoats.

WHERE: Purcell Rooms, Southbank Centre, London
WHEN: Saturday 18th October 3pm and 7pm
TICKETS: BUY HERE

As part of Rough Trade’s 50th anniversary celebrations, Rough Trade Books’ authors take their writings off the page through unique collaborations with musicians and performers.

Sam Reid brings his incredible book The Pin Jar to life with the help of musician Elspeth Anne, and writer Will Burns. The one and only Max Porter is accompanied by This Is The Kit’s Kate Stables for a richly sonic performance of his All of this Unreal Time. Anna Whitwham reads from her beautiful memoir Soft Tissue Damage, while Sylvie Poppy O’Brien and Francesca Thakorlal conjure the book’s physicality and embodied power through a dance performance. The award-winning poet Ella Frears collaborates with the legendary Arab Strap musician Aidan Moffat on an original take on the amazing Goodlord. Jen Calleja performs sections of their daring work Goblinhood with the aid of puppetry – is there anything she can’t do? Encounter Owen Williams and Kirsty Gunn reading from their recent Rough Trade Books masterpieces, and Babak Ganjei bringing his surrealist magic to the stage in a physical manifestation of his book, On the Bus Without a Phone. The stellar line-up is all held together by esteemed host Lily Blacksell.

WHERE: QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL, SOUTHBANK CENTRE, LONDON
WHEN: Friday 17th July, 7.30pm
TICKETS: BUY HERE

We can’t wait to welcome Babak Ganjei’s debut novel into the world, and we couldn’t think of a more fitting locale than The Social—possibly the place where we’ve had the most of our many incomparable conversations with Babak over the years—that we’re glad to say have always ended up with him writing something for us!

We’ve got a killer lineup for this, with readings from the legends that are Sophie Heawood, Richard Milward, Ben Pope and Harriet Richardson. Babak himself will be in conversation with Harriet Gibsone and there’ll be live music from Alice Costelloe. Not enough? The magnificent Tatty Devine DJs will be down there keeping us dancing long into the night as well…

WHEN: Saturday 25th April, 7.30pm
WHERE: The Social, Little Portland St, London
TICKETS: £12 BUY HERE

We're having a book launch party for OWEN WILLIAMS' Atrocity Exhibitions: Grieving in the TikTok Underworld

Readings from… JOSIE EDWARDS, EMMA GARLAND & OWEN WILLIAMS in conversation with TAYLOR STEWART
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Live Music from…THE TUBS

WHERE: Morocco Bound Bookshop, 1A Morocco St, SE1 3HB
WHEN: Monday 23rd March, 7pm
TICKETS: £10 BUY HERE

Not since The Wind in the Willows has there been a more auspicious bout of literary spring cleaning—we’re delighted to be announcing a ONE-OFF, ONE-DAY warehouse sale featuring our good selves and many more purveyors of printed matter…

Along with our good friends (Book Works, Caught By The River, Cheerio, Ecstatic Peace Library, Four Corners Books, Hajar Press, Heavenly Recordings, People of Print, Somesuch Editions, Sports Banger, Talker, Tangerine Press and Worms) we’re taking a van load of stock to sell at cut down prices.

Think massive discounts to all your counter-cultural favourites. Pamphlets, books, zines, posters, merch—we’ll have the lot, so come down, bring a few tote bags to fill, have a beer and get yourself stocked up for gifts and reading matter for the rest of the year. Well, until our new books come out, that is…

WHEN: Saturday 7th March 11am-6pm
WHERE: Farsight Collective Gallery, corner of Denmark St./Flitcroft St. London, WC2H 8DJ
HOW: Nearest Tube… Tottenham Court Road

We’re chuffed to be collaborating with ACTUALLY—publishers of, among others, the one and only 10Foot—on a very special LOVE MUSIC, HATE RACISM night at The Social, London this January. Featuring readings from some of our superstars of 2026—Owen Williams, Babak Ganjei and Charlie Fox, as well as appearances from ACTUALLY authors too—Matthias Connor, Dorothy Spencer and Ron Seal (iykyk)—there will be the usual wild and boundary-blurring blend of poetry, fiction, memoir and everything in between. We’ll also have live music from O aka Owen Williams (who you might know from his incredible band The Tubs), solo featuring Lan McArdle and Djs Shola Aleje and Sid Newman complete the bill! An amazing night, all in all—and for a very important cause.

WHEN: Wednesday 21st January, 7pm
WHERE: The Social, Little Portland St, London
TICKETS: £15 BUY HERE... ALL PROCEEDS GO TO LOVE MUSIC, HATE RACISM

We’re taking SAM REID’S The Pin Jar on the road—and where better to gather and hear tell of the Sussex countryside’s ghosts and witches, of its folksong and the particular power of its place than in one of the pubs that features in the book.
Discussing pubs in literature with WILL BURNS, author of The Paper Lantern, in situ with JOHN ANDREWS at the helm followed by folk music live in the pub...

WHEN: Sunday 7th December, 5pm
WHERE: The Trevor Arms, Glynde
TICKETS: ALL DONATIONS GO TO WAR CHILD. BUY HERE

Have you been working away in the lonely office of poetry?
Have you been mining or diving or spelunking in poetry’s caves?

It’s time we had a party!

To celebrate the publication of poetry writing game, Poetry Fruit Machine, ELLA FREARS and JESSICA TODD are throwing an office Christmas party for the poets.

Join us by the proverbial water cooler for a poetry gossip.
Take part in our short & sweet Poetry Office Quiz.
Win a copy of the card game by gambling on the Human Fruit Machine.
Forget poetry beef and win some actual beef in the Poetry Office Meat Raffle sponsored by BLOCK & BUTCHER (vegetarian/vegan prizes will be available).
There will be karaoke—both poetic and traditional.

Most importantly this is your chance to attend a poetry event where nobody reads their work.
This is for you all to have a catch up, a drink and maybe a dance with your colleagues.

Each ticket gains you entry and a collectable Christmas edition Poetry Fruit Machine card to add to your deck.

All welcome—long term employees, those seeking employment in poetry, as well as non-poet party-crashers.

Dress-code: workwear (miscellaneous)

WHEN: Monday 1st December, 7pm
WHERE: The Social, Little Portland St, London
TICKETS: BUY HERE

This Samhain, Charleston and Rough Trade Books come together to welcome in the darker half of the year with a night of folklore, spoken word, music and dance.

Samhain is the ancient Gaelic festival that marks the turning of the year: the end of harvest and the beginning of winter, the moment when the veil thins and the “darker half” begins. Traditionally celebrated on 1 November, with festivities beginning on the evening of 31 October, it is also the Irish and Scottish Gaelic name for the month of November itself.

Step into the haunting world of SAM REID'S wild new book ‘The Pin Jar’. In conversation with Rough Trade Books editor WILL BURNS, Reid explores how the stories and superstitions of ancient Sussex fuel his imagination. Poet CAMILLE RALPHS casts ‘spels’ and other dark poetic magic courtesy of her debut collection ‘After You Were, I Am’, alongside JEN CALLEJA who brings her weird and wonderful book ‘Goblinhood’ to the stage.
Brilliantly rewired folk comes from ANGELINE MORRISON, with elemental, otherworldly songs of heartbreak and loss. And to round out the night, the one and only BOSS MORRIS bring their joyful and unruly Morris dance to Charleston in a very special Samhain performance.

Embrace your darker side as the season turns and the spirits of Samhain cross over.

WHEN: Saturday 1st November, 7pm
WHERE: Charleston in Firle, East Sussex
TICKETS: BUY HERE

Join the Rough Trade Books crew to celebrate the publication of Ungone by HANNAH PATTERSON on the author’s native island of Jersey. Joined in conversation by Rough Trade Books editor WILL BURNS, Hannah will be discussing her remarkable debut as well as reading from it——all in the inspiring surroundings of artist JASON BUTLER’s studio whose latest exhibition Travellers will be on display.
There will be refreshments on the night too and plenty of time for questions and stimulating conversation after the event. Come on down!

WHEN: Wednesday 1st October, 6.30pm for 7pm start

WHERE: Jason Butler's Studio, Next to NORMAN's 10 Commercial Street JE1 3UD St Helier Jersey

TICKETS: BUY HERE