The Grove Bookshop

14/10/2026

We're catching up on Ilkley Lit Fest photos from our roving booksellers. Lots of you popped in to tell us how much you loved Andrew Graham Dixon's talk on Vermeer (we were so busy selling books, we didn't get a picture!).

Did you go to any of these?

📚 Melanie Ramdarshan Bold explored the journey of a displaced Peruvian bear into the British public's heart in her book 'Please Look After This Bear'.

📚 Beth Gardiner diacussed her eye-opening book Plastic Inc: Big Oil, Big Money, and the Plan to Trash Our Future. She also popped into the shop to say hello and to buy the books of her fellow guests at Tivoli Place B&B - how lovely!

📚 We love this photo of poets Kim Moore, Daljit Nagra, Emily Zobel Marshall and Antony Dunn. Antony's brand new collection InBetween Days was launched at the festival (we have signed copies of all four poets' books).

📚 Anthea Lawson spoke about her brilliantly titled book, How to Save the World: Doing Good Without Annoying Everyone - copies of this flew out afterwards!

📚 Samira Ahmed is pictured with interviewer Yvette Huddleston after the sold-out screening and Q&A about The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night at Ilkley Playhouse.

📚 Mike is pictured with poet Pam Ayres after her special matinee event, Doggedly Onward: A Life in Poems at Ilkley's King's Hall.

📚 Celebrated sports writer Duncan Hamilton talked about The Man Who Walked Out of the Sun, a book that follows the story of Garry Sobers, the West Indian cricketing great.

📚 Last night, at a packed King's Hall, comedian and author Lucy Porter set the world to rights with her humorous manifesto: Middle-Aged Women Get S**t Done.

📚 Meanwhile, over at All Saints' Church, award-winning neuroscientist, bestselling author and presenter Dr Hannah Critchlow demystified The 21st Century Brain.

Thanks to my bookselling colleagues for these fab photos. Thanks for supporting our bookstalls 🙏📚.

Ilkley Literature Festival

13/10/2026

In honour of our forthcoming SNIFF event with smells historian Will Tullett, manager Mike took on a SNIFF Challenge. But how did he do?

Coffee (aka bookseller fuel) was no problem... But could he sniff out his favourite book? The giggling in the background is me, sorry 🤣.

If you reckon you know your oranges from your washing powder, join us on Thursday, 29 October, from 7-8.30pm. Historian Will Tullett, from the University of York, will be bringing to life the subject of smells through the ages in an interactive, fascinating talk. Find his book, Sniff: A History of Smells, on our front table.

Tickets, including refreshments (and interactive scent strips 👃), are just £7. Follow the link in our bio to book your place 👈. This would be perfect for history students looking to widen their knowledge.



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13/10/2026

Peck & Peck is here! We know lots of you have been eagerly awaiting the second book by Lessons in Chemistry author Bonnie Garmus, and we're thrilled to have these signed, exclusive editions with bonus content.

Peck & Peck tells the story of Batter Gray, a down on his luck poet who manages to get a job at the eponymous poetry journal Peck & Peck. It's filled with memorable characters and a twisty plot about the shady goings on behind the journal's impeccably polished doors. It's also really interesting on creativity, who gets to decide what counts as 'good' poetry, and the tricky balance between art and commercial viability. Plus, there's a heroic dog. Is this one on your reading list?

11/10/2026

11/10/2026

We've been hearing such good things about this weekend's Ilkley Literature Festival events. Here are some photos from our roving booksellers:

📚 Gyles Brandreth and Finola Burrell delighted the King's Hall audience with The 7 Secrets of the Hundred-Year Life.

📚 Colin Grant was joined at Ilkley Playhouse by WritersMosaic writers Suzanne Harrington, Vayu Naidu and Chitra Ramaswamy, discussing What We Leave We Carry, a collection of oral history about the migrant experience.

📚 Mother and daughter bookselling duo Carmel and Caitlin were all smiles at Tim Ridley's The Coffee Tasting Handbook event at Church House.

📚 Explorer Lucy Shepherd gave an inspiring account of her adventures with an Amerindian team in Guyana's Amazon Rainforest. She's pictured signing her book, Into the Wild.

📚 Also at IGS, John Kampfner's Braver New World was in high demand after his sold-out event (these last two copies sold soon after).

📚 Emily Zobel Marshall kindly signed copies of her books after her workshop on Measuring Sky, Unmapping Land.

📚 Adrian Woolfson talked at Ilkley Playhouse about his fascinating book, On the Future of the Species.

📚 Meanwhile, David Lascelles gave a riveting account of the story behind his father's liberation from Colditz and the role played by a high-ranking N**i - he'll be repeating his talk on Out of Colditz next week at Ilkley Playhouse.

📚 Last but not least, a couple of photos of Rachael Stirling after her emotional interview about All About My Mother - The Life of Diana Rigg, who, at the age of 12, stood on the same stage to recite a poem in a competition.

We have signed copies of most of these books in the shop now 🙏📚.

Ilkley Literature Festival

10/10/2026

Phew - what a day! We've been busy selling books across Ilkley today, from IGS and Ilkley Playhouse to All Saints' Church and the King's Hall. It's been great to see so many of you - we'll share some pics tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Nikki sent this photo of a delighted Charlotte Oliver, who had just spotted her collection in the wild (aka Ilkley's Grove Bookshop!) for the very first time.

Find a signed copy of her brand new collection, Nothing Happens but Everything Happens, published by Valley Press, in our poetry section now. Charlotte is one of this year's New Northern Poets. Thanks for popping in 🙏!

Ilkley Literature Festival Valley Press

10/10/2026

Happy Bookshop Day from all of us (here's just some of today's friendly Saturday team - Liz, Marlee and Neal)! 🥳

We're busy with Ilkley Festival stalls today, so, if you're heading to events, we'll see you around Ilkley. Do come and say hello 👋.

As far as we're concerned, every day is bookshop day and we're ever grateful for everyone's support 🙏📚.

Ilkley Literature Festival Books Are My Bag

09/10/2026

We had such a wonderful time with literary legend Kate Atkinson at a packed King's Hall this afternoon. Getting the chance to interview Kate was such a thrill - I adore her writing. Scroll for more pics, including me () laughing like a drain after Kate cracked a particularly funny joke.

We were treated to a fantastic reading by Kate from Our Noble Selves, and had a discussion that covered The Festival of Britain setting, the lightness and fun it brought after the horrors of war, and the eclectic cast of characters in the book. Thanks to the audience for buying lots of copies! 📚

Thanks to stage manager Paula for the photos 🙏.



Alison Barrow Ilkley Literature Festival

09/10/2026

The signing queue almost stretched out of the King's Hall last night for Si King's Proper Home Cooking at Ilkley Literature Festival.

We had a look at the recipes, which include warming stews and even old school cornflake tart, and they look perfect for this time of year. Lots of customers were buying two - we have to agree, this would be an excellent gift for fans of Si's tasty comfort food.

After happily signing books for an hour, he also kindly signed a pile for the shop - and was still smiling, even though he had a trek to Salford ahead of him. Here he is, wearing the cosy scarf knitted for him by a fan. What a gent - we know this book's going to be very popular!

Ilkley Literature Festival

06/10/2026

We love these photos of tonight's Ilkley Lit Fest event with tennis coach and author Judy Murray.

It's extra fun for us booksellers when we can watch too - and Nikki really enjoyed hearing about Judy's cosy, gripping tennis-themed murder mystery, 'Game, Set & Murder' in the evocative setting of All Saints' Church. The book is about a group of friends discovering a shocking secret after their tennis coach is found dead. If you missed out, pop in for a signed copy 🎾📚.

Ilkley Literature Festival