City Books

21/08/2026

✨️ Join us for an in-store signing with best-selling crime author, Peter James OBE. Peter will be signing his latest novel in the beloved Roy Grace series, 'Dead in Three Two One'.

This signing is free to attend - please go to our website, call us on 01273 725306, or email us at [email protected] for further details.

Copies of 'Dead in Three Two One' will be available to purchase at the signing.

28/07/2026

Join us for an evening with bestselling author and co-founder of the Women's Prize for Fiction Kate Mosse, to celebrate the release of her new book 'Autumn'.

📅 Tuesday 22nd September at 8pm
📍 Brighton Unitarian Church, BN1 1UF

An atmospheric memoir of the season of change from the no. 1 bestselling novelist Kate Mosse.

"When the leaves turn to copper and there is dew on the grass in the early morning, I still have that same spike of expectation and anticipation' In Autumn, Kate Mosse celebrates the season of shifting light and crisp mornings.

This magical journey through the turning year captures the ever-changing colours of the autumn landscape, the crunch of leaves underfoot, the drift of migrating birds and the last warmth of the sun. Starting in her own garden, Kate leads us out to the misty Fishbourne marshes of her childhood, with their vast skies and wading birds, and into ancient yew forests/ steeped in myth and mystery. We travel across the harvest fields, follow the river bends of the Ouse and the Lavant, and join the crowds at Lewes on Bonfire Night, where the air crackles with flame and torchlight.

Exploring nature, folklore, memory and history, Autumn is a love letter to Sussex and an atmospheric portrait of the season from one of our most celebrated writers."

City Books

16/06/2026

Join us for an evening with Mary Portas who will be talking about her latest book 'I Shop, Therefore I Am.'

📅 Monday 28th September at 7pm
📍 Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham

It’s the 1990s: Britpop is dominating the charts, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell are on the cover of every glossy magazine and British fashion is ripe for reinvention. Leading the charge is a 20-something Mary Portas who has been brought in to revitalise the department store Harvey Nichols, at the time more likely to be associated with dowagers than daring designers.

With two babies at home, a sceptical, all-male senior management team to impress, and pressure to bring in new brands and customers, Mary steps into a world she doesn’t fully understand. At first it shows, but that vulnerability quickly reveals itself as vision.

By the millennium, the store would be renowned for its outrageous, headline-grabbing, traffic-stopping window displays; patronage by style icon Lady Di and bolly-swigging duo Patsy and Edina of the iconic sitcom Ab Fab – no longer fusty old Harvey Nicols but Harvey Nicks, daaarling!

Part memoir, part manifesto for business as a creative act, I Shop, Therefore I Am is the story of how she did it.

16/06/2026

17/05/2026

Join us for an evening with Olivier-nominated choreographer, director, singer, Strictly Judge and bestselling author Craig Revel Horwood!

📅 Wednesday 7th October at 7pm
📍 Ironworks Studios, BN1 4GD

General admission: £18.00
General admission + a copy of 'The Book of Panto' (RRP £18.99): £30

"It's behind you!

Strictly Come Dancing's favourite love-to-hate judge explores the colourful history of pantomime. You might expect that, after twenty years performing in pantomime, Craig Revel Horwood has always been a fan, but he initially took against the genre. In The Book of Panto, he traces the moments that turned him from a sceptic to a whole-hearted fan of - and advocate for - panto, as he follows the artform's journey from its international roots to its current status as a beloved British phenomenon.

He explores the popular tropes and key characters of pantomime, talks to people working in panto - from celebrity performers to costumiers, set-designers, directors and producers - and quizzes historians of the art form. The result is a vivid portrait of a centuries-old art form that is proving more popular than ever before."

City Books

17/05/2026

Join us for an evening with journalist and author Daniel Trilling who will be discussing his new book 'If We Tolerate This'.

📅 Thursday 18th June at 7pm
📍 Brighton Unitarian Church

"The far right is now mainstream in British politics. If We Tolerate This is a short, gripping and essential book on how we got here, and what we can do about it. In 2025 we saw the biggest far-right rally in Britain’s history, after a summer of flag-waving protests.

The year before, racist mobs tried to attack mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers. Something incredibly dangerous has been unleashed, yet our political class seems at best indifferent and at worst to welcome it.

If We Tolerate This traces the origins of this moment and gives us the tools to stop this destructive narrative in its tracks. This is the essential, clear-sighted and informed response to a time of profound turbulence and misinformation."

'Racism and the rise of the far right in Britain are often discussed but rarely understood. Daniel Trilling is an exception . . . his voice must be heard' – Owen Jones

'Combining forensic enquiry with moral passion, Daniel Trilling has emerged as
one of our most intrepid and resourceful reporters' – Pankaj Mishra

Daniel Trilling writes about nationalism, migration and human rights for publications including the London Review of Books, the Guardian and the New York Times. His work has been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize, the Political Book Awards and the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing.

15/05/2026

Join us for an evening with Olivier-nominated choreographer, director, singer, Strictly Judge and bestselling author Craig Revel Horwood!

📅 Wednesday 27th October at 7pm
📍 Ironworks Studios, BN1 4GD

Full details on our website!

"It's behind you!

Strictly Come Dancing's favourite love-to-hate judge explores the colourful history of pantomime. You might expect that, after twenty years performing in pantomime, Craig Revel Horwood has always been a fan, but he initially took against the genre. In The Book of Panto, he traces the moments that turned him from a sceptic to a whole-hearted fan of - and advocate for - panto, as he follows the artform's journey from its international roots to its current status as a beloved British phenomenon.

He explores the popular tropes and key characters of pantomime, talks to people working in panto - from celebrity performers to costumiers, set-designers, directors and producers - and quizzes historians of the art form. The result is a vivid portrait of a centuries-old art form that is proving more popular than ever before."

15/05/2026

Join us for an evening with journalist and author Daniel Trilling who will be discussing his new book 'If We Tolerate This'.

📅 Thursday 18th June at 7pm
📍 Brighton Unitarian Church

Full details on our website!

"The far right is now mainstream in British politics. If We Tolerate This is a short, gripping and essential book on how we got here, and what we can do about it. In 2025 we saw the biggest far-right rally in Britain’s history, after a summer of flag-waving protests.

The year before, racist mobs tried to attack mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers. Something incredibly dangerous has been unleashed, yet our political class seems at best indifferent and at worst to welcome it.

If We Tolerate This traces the origins of this moment and gives us the tools to stop this destructive narrative in its tracks. This is the essential, clear-sighted and informed response to a time of profound turbulence and misinformation."

'Racism and the rise of the far right in Britain are often discussed but rarely understood. Daniel Trilling is an exception . . . his voice must be heard' – Owen Jones

'Combining forensic enquiry with moral passion, Daniel Trilling has emerged as
one of our most intrepid and resourceful reporters' – Pankaj Mishra

Daniel Trilling writes about nationalism, migration and human rights for publications including the London Review of Books, the Guardian and the New York Times. His work has been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize, the Political Book Awards and the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing.

25/04/2026

Ella Berthoud has been hosting 'Under the Covers' for the past 10 years, delving into the psyches of authors, actors and musicians to find out what books have made them, what they love to read, and how books feature in their lives. After baring his soul, Patrick will receive a prescription from Ella for the perfect book for him to read right now with an opportunity for the audience to get involved as well!

📅 Thursday 25th June at 7pm
📍 Brighton Unitarian Church, BN1 1UF

Signed copies of Patrick's new book, Love Lane, will be available to purchase at the event.

"A reunion. A journey. A longing for a place called home...

When veteran Canadian wheat farmer, Harry Cane is obliged to sell up and sail home to an England transformed by two world wars, his arrival triggers unwelcome self-examination for the family he abandoned, and for whom he has never been more than a distant myth. His daughter feels duty bound to take him in but is riven with doubt and ambushed by a long buried anger she has never before expressed.

Harry's effect on the next generation is less predictable, and enables his granddaughter to deal with an unspeakable trauma, while her gentle husband feels seen for who he truly is. Can Harry stay and make a new life before it's too late, or will he find himself cast out again, punished for having witnessed and understood too much?"