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Monday 10am - 4pm Tuesday 10am - 4pm Wednesday 10am - 4pm Thursday 10am - 4pm Friday 10am - 4pm Saturday 10am - 4pm Sunday 10:30am - 3:30pm

Pickering Book Tree

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Pickering Book Tree

We are a family-run bookshop in Pickering, North Yorkshire.

Visit us for a large choice of books for all ages, a select range of art supplies, and regular events in our atmospheric upstairs space surrounded by the building’s old oak beams.

08/09/2026

‼️ Just a few places left

➡️ On Thursday we’ll be in conversation with author and filmmaker Jack Jewers to discuss his much anticipated follow-up to The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys.

⭐️ Jack’s new historical crime fiction crossover is the current Sunday Times historical fiction pick of the month — check out the second photo to read the review.

📚 Seething Lane is a compelling and inventive theatrical drama which brings to life the 17th century world of Samuel Pepys.

🎭 Set against the backdrop London theatre and amid the fallout from the scandalous affairs of King Charles II, Pepys’ famous diary is deftly reimagined, balancing rich historical detail, thrilling adventure, and a twisting murder mystery.

🎟️ FREE but please let us know you’ll be there by messaging us, asking at the shop counter, or online at pickeringbooktree.co.uk/event/jack-jewers

25/08/2026

THIS WEEK

➡️ We’re excited to welcome historical fiction author Naomi Kelsey back to the Book Tree to hear about her stunning new novel, Pale Mistress.

🎭 Part Shakespearean retelling, part psychological thriller, Pale Mistress reimagines the story of Othello from the point of view of Bianca, exploring the human cost of love, envy and ambition.

🗡️ Pale Mistress is a gripping read whether or not you know the story of the original play. Naomi brings out the psychological thriller elements of Shakespeare’s tragedy, a story of love, murder, jealousy, lies and betrayal.

🗣️ Who was the pale mistress? Liar or lied to? Instigator or victim? In this novel, Bianca, a character overlooked and maligned in Othello, is finally given a voice “Let them all cry shame against me, yet I’ll speak!”

📚 The story of Iago, one of literature’s most notorious villains, is woven into Bianca’s as she fights to prove her innocence and save her own life.

🎟️ FREE but please let us know you’ll be there by messaging us, asking at the shop counter, or online at pickeringbooktree.co.uk/event/pale-mistress

✨ We look forward to seeing you there if you’re joining us!

07/08/2026

🎵 TODAY at 19.30 in Pickering Book Tree
(doors and bar from 7pm)

Daria Kulesh “the voice of fairytales” will share spellbinding stories and songs.

There are still some seats if you’re tempted by a last minute evening out!

Tickets are £12 on the door or online at ticketsource.com/pickeringfestivalrooted/daria-kulesh/e-evdkez

04/08/2026

It was a privilege and delight to once again support Ryedale Festival in July. What a fantastic festival this is, and we’re so lucky to have these events on our doorstep here in Pickering and across Ryedale!

This year we were delighted to host four pre-concert events in the Book Tree, welcoming musicologist Katy Hamilton for two talks during Schubert Day; composer, writer and broadcaster Stephen Johnson; and earlier in the year, the Takács Quartet in conversation with Katy.

Thank you so much to Ryedale Festival for inviting us to be part of this very special programme of cultural events.

01/08/2026

🎵 Friday 7th August

Join us in Pickering Book Tree with award-winning storytelling songstress Daria Kulesh, who has been described by Mike Harding as “one of the finest voices and one of the most intriguing and interesting songwriters on the present folk scene”.

Daria’s most recent album, MotherLand, won the 2025 Celtic Music Radio Album of the Year and saw her nominated for the FATEA Female Artist of the Year. Dai Jeffries wrote in a 5 Star review for RnR Magazine that “MotherLand finds Daria at the height of her vocal powers and is destined to be one of the albums of 2025”.

She has toured extensively in the UK and Europe, sharing stories and songs that are deeply personal but feel universal and timeless. Every performance is an “emotional, compelling and uplifting experience”, leaving the audiences “completely spellbound”.

Born in Russia but based in the UK for the last 15 years, Daria fearlessly explores her heritage and turbulent family history in Ingushetia (North Caucasus) with songs that “aren’t just sung, but lived” (FATEA).

📆 Friday 7th August
🕖 7.30pm (doors and bar from 7pm)
📍 Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, YO18 7AE
🎟️ £12 from Pickering Book Tree or ticketsource.com/pickeringfestivalrooted/daria-kulesh/e-evdkez

This will be a bewitching evening of music, and we really hope to see you there to give Daria a warm Pickering welcome!

25/07/2026

☀️ Thursday 27th August

➡️ We’re excited to chat with Naomi Kelsey about her much anticipated third novel.

📚 Anyone who joined us for Naomi’s previous events or read The Darkening Globe or The Burnings will know what a brilliant storyteller she is. Part Shakespearean retelling, part psychological thriller, Pale Mistress is no exception!

🗡️ Naomi’s gripping new novel is an innovative and compelling reimagining of Othello set before, during and after the events of the play have unfolded.

🎭 Pale Mistress is told from the point of view of Bianca, giving voice to this mysterious and maligned character to explore the human cost of love, envy and ambition.

⭐️ “A bold and beautiful triumph. In prose as rich as Cyprus w**e and as sharp as a Venetian blade, Naomi Kelsey gives voice to the silenced and reshapes tragedy through a woman's eyes. Lyrical, haunting, and breathtakingly tense, this is historical fiction at its most electrifying” — Seth Insua, author of Human, Animal

⭐️ “Once again, Naomi Kelsey bestows us with a thrilling and infuriating story of love, lies and betrayal. An utterly convincing addition to Shakespeare's Othello” — Elle Machray, author of Havisham

⭐️ “Naomi Kelsey continues to cement her position as one of the most accomplished and empathetic writers of historical fiction” — Laura Shepperson, author of The Heroines

🎟️ The event is free to attend, but please let us know you’ll be there by messaging us or via the link below, as spaces are limited.

🌳 pickeringbooktree.co.uk/event/pale-mistress

✨ We look forward to seeing you there if you’re joining us!

19/07/2026

☀️ On Tuesday evening…

🐚 Join us in conversation with bestselling author and columnist Sally Coulthard to hear about the fascinating hidden history of the coast told through objects connected to its shoreline, and our enduring relationship with the land’s edges.

📚 Sally’s new book is described as “a true celebration of the flotsam and jetsam left by time and tide” (Rose Ferraby) and “a wonderfully rich and very different narrative that reeks of tang and pungent atmosphere” (Alistair Moffatt).

🐝 It is a much anticipated follow up to A Brief History of the Countryside in 100 Objects, which was a Waterstones Best Book of 2024 for Nature Writing, and is very popular here in the Book Tree too!

🎟️ The event is free to attend, but please let us know you’ll be there by messaging us or via the link below, as spaces are limited.

🌳 pickeringbooktree.co.uk/event/sally-coulthard/

⛵️ We look forward to seeing you there if you’re joining us!

17/07/2026

A little reel from a wonderful gig with Rachel Davis and Darren McMullen in the Book Tree a couple of Fridays ago…

We all had such a great time, with plenty of foot-tapping Celtic tunes (as you’ll see here!) alongside gorgeous vocals and harmonies from their award-winning album, Home.

Thank you so much Rachel and Darren for such a lovely evening of stunning music-making!

11/07/2026

Next Friday, our friends at Helmsley Arts Centre are hosting a spell-binding Yorkshire-made show which combines spoken word, storytelling and music inspired by myth…

The Ballad of Blea Wyke by Hannah Davies and Jack Woods is directed by Em Whitfield Brooks, and produced by Say Owt and Next Door But One.

Evocative and lyrical spoken word and musical storytelling that draws inspiration from the traditional Selkie myth, reimagining it for a not-too-distant future on the North Yorkshire coast.

A young woman wants to see the sea. A stranger stands on a cliff. The last grey seal swims towards the shore. On her eighteenth birthday, Cerys breaks the city’s lockdown to seek the coastal cliffs that birthed her, the crumbling landscape drawing her back to her mythic past.

This powerful blend of Hannah’s lyrical, captivating storytelling with Jack’s exquisite composition of live guitar, loops and harmonies, brings a haunting interweaving of story, music, poetry and song.

Watch the trailer here: youtu.be/-_4RywRmWH8?is=oRCK_jFXrs7nvXXl

The show will be opened by PitchWitches, the new vocal quintet led by Em Whitfield Brooks who brings together some of the finest singers in York for a soaring set of close harmony songs.

Friday 17 July | 7:30pm | Helmsley Arts Centre

Tickets: helmsleyarts.co.uk/whats-on/the-ballad-of-blea-wyke-by-hannah-davies-and-jack-woods

25/06/2026

Listen to this gorgeous tune played by Rachel Davis and Darren McMullen 🎶

We're the first stop on their tour, so join us in giving them a warm Book Tree welcome!

Message us for more info about the Book Tree gig or visit pickeringbooktree.co.uk/event/rachel-davis-darren-mcmullen/

Address

43a Market Place
Pickering
YO187AE

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 4pm
Tuesday	10am - 4pm
Wednesday	10am - 4pm
Thursday	10am - 4pm
Friday	10am - 4pm
Saturday	10am - 4pm
Sunday	10:30am - 3:30pm

Telephone

+441751469715

Website

https://www.pickeringbooktree.co.uk/, https://www.pickeringmidsummerfestival.co.uk/

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