Upcoming events at Backstory
(all at 71 Balham High Road)
Wednesday 15th February, 7.30pm
Author of The New Life, one of the hottest debuts of 2023, about forbidden love in Victorian London
Wednesday 8th March, 7.30pm
The author of Maame, an exciting debut novel that sharply depicts Maddie’s sense of being torn between two worlds as she navigates flat shares, dating apps, microaggressions at work, the shock of grief, and learning how to become the woman she wants to be – one frantic Google search at a time.
SOLD OUT David Nicholls
Wednesday 22nd February, 7.30pm
An evening with the bestselling author of One Day, Us & Sweet Sorrow
SOLD OUT Music night: Ben Cipolla
Saturday 25th February, Doors open 7pm
An evening of music with one of the UK’s most exciting up-and-coming jazz singer-songwriters
Team pick of the week
Rory recommends: Nightwalking by John Lewis-Stempel
This book is a delight: nature writing that engages all the senses. John Lewis-Stempel, a farmer and writer, keeps walking diaries of his midnight hikes, and presents them in this book by season. He waits for the sun to disappear and darkness to fall, and then, accompanied by his dog, embarks on night-time adventures, witnessing the natural world in all its human-less, nocturnal glory.
His writing is attentive and affectionate for his surroundings. He writes of the latticework of shadows in moonlight, he notes each and every creature’s night song. If you crave the country’s call, or merely need some fresh air, this book will transport and inspire you. - Rory
Our bestsellers this week
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Foster by Claire Keegan
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Damascus Station by David McCloskey
When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
Wahala by Nikki May
Send Nudes by Saba Sams
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
EVERYONE LOVES A BIG NAME. Stick it on a billboard surrounded by flashing lights; put it on the leaflets in 72pt font. One of my goals for Backstory’s first 100 days was to land a “big fish” for an event, to draw in the crowds and act as a statement of intent. One big fish catches the attention of another and before you know it there’s a veritable shoal, some more slippery than others, but all best served with white wine.
So when Marina Hyde agreed to do an event, I was delighted. Because she’s one of my favourite columnists and a very, very funny human, and because I knew it would make for a great evening. But also because, you know, she’s Marina Hyde.
The same goes for David Nicholls, of course, who we’re very excited to host very shortly. And for Craig Brown and Norma Percy…and Tina Turner, whose music I have had on repeat since seeing the Tina musical with my mum last month and who Rory assures me he is going to book for one of our music nights any day now.
But one of the joys of running an indie bookshop is the ability to champion the slightly less well-known names too. Our book buying software shows us the proportion of UK bookshops that stock a particular title we are thinking of ordering. Most of the time, reassurance is found in big numbers: ah yes, we better have one of those or goodness, mythological retellings are really in. But I’ll admit to a grin when I see a really low number, too: you heard it here first. Yes, I know no one outside of a few American newsrooms has heard of this guy, but he’s brilliant and we’ll have five more please.
In some cases, these authors will be the big fish of tomorrow. In others, they will continue to be rare gems, treasured nonetheless by those in the know.
So I am very excited that we are hosting two of 2023’s most exciting debut authors at Backstory in the next few weeks. The first is Tom Crewe, who is talking to me this Wednesday night about The New Life, a richly-drawn and erotically-charged novel about a group of radical Victorians experimenting with new ways of living (and loving) on the cusp of a new century. In part, as the headline on the review in the New York Times put it, it is about “the gay rights movement before the gay rights movement”. It’s gorgeously done and will no doubt prompt a lively discussion. Take a look at these write-ups in The Guardian and The Washington Post.
The second is Jessica George, who is coming to Backstory on Wednesday 8th March to talk about Maame, her “sparkling debut novel” about a 25-year-old Londoner struggling with normal twentysomething things (dating; how to pay the rent) and one abnormal one: being the primary carer for her father, who has Parkinson’s.
The New York Times praised George for letting “dark moments comingle with light ones, exactly as they do in real life. There are disappointments and worries, even devastation; but then, on the next page, there’s an old friend who shows up and takes Maddie out for brunch. There’s sunlight bursting through a window. George shows the details and scope of life with such confidence and joie de vivre, it’s easy to forget she’s a first-time novelist.”
I’d be really thrilled if you’d join us when we host Tom, or Jessica, or both. Especially if you’re a north Londoner who still hasn’t made it south of the river to our lovely shop! There’ll be wine, warmth and even warmer conversation. And, who knows, maybe when their names are in lights you can say you were right there at the start.
See you soon,
Tom