Wednesday 7 September 2022
On the eve of the Festival, Torin Douglas and Jo James will showcase the wealth of local talent that Chiswick has to offer, with thanks to James Barber, manager of Waterstones Chiswick, who will be selling the authors’ books on-site. 20 authors each have just two minutes to speak about their book, making this a fast-paced, fun and fascinating evening.
At the Boston Room, George IV, Chiswick High Road (opposite Waterstones). This event is sold out. See details of the 2022 line-up and running order below (authors’ photos do not relate to order of speaking).
| Author first name | Author last name | Position | Book title | Genre |
| Calum | Kerr | 1 | Terrible Brothers | Crime |
| Michael | Parker | 2 | My Life, My Hurdles | Graphic Memoir |
| Jo | Pratt | 3 | The Flexible Baker | Cookery |
| Simon | Gompertz | 4 | Limb of Satan | Short stories, thrillers |
| Simon | Prentis | 5 | Speech! How Language Made Us Human | Science |
| Catherine | Pepinster | 6 | Defenders of the Faith: the British Monarchy, Religion and the Next Coronation | History / religion |
| Vyvyan | Kinross | 7 | Nazis on the Nile | History |
| Josephine | Perry | 8 | Ten Pillars of Success | Coaching |
| Richard (RD) Kay | Dikstra Hutchinson | 9 | Adventures of Captain Bobo | Children’s |
| SJ | Garrae | 10 | Death in Focus | Crime |
| Kevin | McNally | 11 | Sons of Sol | Novel, sci-fi |
| INTERVAL | ||||
| Anita | Hamilton | 12 | How to be A Happy Woman in Mid-Life | Coaching |
| Vanessa | Nitsche | 13 | Cocoa The Cat | Children’s |
| Bernard Annabel | Adams Rhys | 14 | Cosmo’s War | War memoir/play |
| Jeremy | Myerson | 15 | Unworking – the reinvention of the modern office | Business |
| Graham | Holderness | 16 | Ancestors: Adventures in a Foreign Country | Historical fiction / autobiography |
| Patrick | Grattan | 17 | Oasts and Hop Kilns: A History | History |
| Mary Clara | West Wilkinson | 18 | Making Murals | Craft |
| Geraldine | Gallacher | 19 | Coaching Women – Developing Female Leaders | Coaching |
| Martin | Venning | 20 | The End of the Road | Thriller |
| Robert | Gillespie | 21 | Are You Going to do That Little Jump? — The Adventure Continues | Actor’s memoir |
The 2022 Local Authors Party line-up
Once again, all human life will be here, with a wonderful range of books from speakers of all ages and backgrounds – headed by the actor Kevin McNally, who has just published his first novel, Sons of Sol, described by one reviewer as an “often hilarious and utterly thrilling homage to the Golden Age of science-fiction”.
SR Garrae returns with Death In Focus and Calum Kerr (Terrible Brothers). Former BBC business correspondent Simon Gompertz will introduce his first book of short stories, Limb of Satan, and, from the world of work, authors include Geraldine Gallagher (Coaching Women – Developing Female Leaders) and Jeremy Myerson (Unworking – the reinvention of the modern office). Historians include Patrick Grattan (Oasts and Hop Kilns: A History), Vyvyan Kinross (Nazis on the Nile) and Catherine Pepinster (Defenders of the Faith: the British Monarchy, Religion and the Next Coronation).
There are two children’s books, Adventures of Captain Bobo (RD Dikstra and Kay Hutchinson) and Cocoa the Cat (Vanessa Nitsche), a graphic memoir by former Olympic athlete Michael Parker – My Life, My Hurdles – and a play, Cosmo’s War, about the World War One experiences of Bedford Park artist, Cosmo Clark.
Among other speakers this year, cookery writer and broadcaster Jo Pratt returns with her latest book, The Flexible Baker; Mary West and Clara Wilkinson will share the secrets of Making Murals; leadership consultant Anita Hamilton will describe How to be Happy Woman in Mid-Life; and actor Robert Gillespie will unveil the second volume of his memoirs, Are You Going to do That Little Jump? — The Adventure Continues. Watch here for the full line-up and running order in September!
