Laura Kay, Lily Lindon and Bethany Rutter at Blackwell’s

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

Book now

Laura Kay, Lily Lindon and Bethany Rutter discuss Life, Love and Identity.

11 August 2022

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Author Bethany Rutter.
Author Bethany Rutter.
Book now

Rescheduled from June, if you’re looking for some holiday reading, this might be the event you need, as Laura Kay, Lily Lindon and Bethany Rutter pop into the Blackwell’s shop to discuss life, love and identity, and their latest books – described as “three brilliant new laugh-out-loud romantic comedies”. They’ll be in conversation with host Kiley Dunbar, a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and a graduate of their New Writers’ Scheme, and author of The Borrow A Bookshop Holiday.

If you’re looking for some holiday reading, this might be the event you need, as Laura Kay, Lily Lindon and Bethany Rutter pop into the Blackwell’s shop to discuss life, love and identity, and their latest books – described as “three brilliant new laugh-out-loud romantic comedies”.

Author and journalist Laura Kay has an MA in American History from the University of Sheffield, and now lives in East London. In 2018, Laura was selected as one of the ten PRH WriteNow mentees, where she developed her debut novel, The Split. Tell Me Everything is her second novel, in which unlucky-in-love therapist Natasha is walking the line between self-actualisation and self-destruction and needs to take control of her own happiness. Lily Lindon, see below, says: “Laura Kay’s writing is so warm and open-hearted, but also has a dry wit that makes you snort with delighted recognition.”

Also London based, writer and editor Lily Lindon studied English at Cambridge, where she wrote, directed and performed in Footlights theatre and comedy shows at the Edinburgh Fringe and across the States. She then worked at Penguin Random House, where she published the Vintage Classics’ Love Letters of Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, and now she’s an editor on creative writing courses at The Novelry and hosts Wit Lit, an interview podcast about funny books. Double Booked is her debut novel, written during lockdown, described as: “A fresh, timely and genuinely laugh-out-loud romantic comedy about a sensible young woman in a long-term relationship who realises she’s bisexual.”

Bethany Rutter is a writer, podcaster and jewellery maker based in South East London. She writes books about women, bodies and clothes. Her latest, Welcome To Your Life, is “a story about love, forging your own path, and falling head over heels – with yourself”, following Serena Mills, who should be at her wedding but is instead “eating an ice cream sundae and drinking an obscenely large glass of wine in a Harvester off the M25”.

Where to go near Laura Kay, Lily Lindon and Bethany Rutter at Blackwell’s

Manchester Museum Tours at Manchester Museum
Manchester
Museum
Manchester Museum

The Manchester Museum isn’t one of the UK’s leading university museums for nothing – it has six million objects in its stores, including a full size T-Rex skeleton, and that’s just for starters.

The Manchester Museum on Oxford Road Manchester
Manchester
Gallery
The Study
at Manchester Museum

Manchester Museum opened The Study on 11 September 2015. A reworking of the entire top floor of its historic Grade II*-listed building, The Study has been reimagined as a space designed to spark wonder, curiosity and a passion for research in all of its visitors.

Utility Gift Shop
Manchester
Shop
Utility Gift Shop

Utility Gift Shop on Oxford Road is all about products that are new, unique, quirky and cool. High street shopping at its best.

Manchester
Restaurant
San Carlo Fumo

San Carlo Fumo is a sun trap on St Peter’s Square, serving up traditional Italian food at its best

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Kro Bar

Kro Bar, Manchester is an independent pub and music venue housed (somewhat ironically) in the former Temperance Society building.

Universally Manchester Festival 6-9 June 2024
Manchester
The University of Manchester

Celebrating its 200th year in 2024, The University of Manchester is the largest single-site university in the UK, and boasts come incredible cultural institutions, found on campus, across Manchester and…

Manchester
Shop
Want Not Waste

Want Not Waste is a student-run, not-for-profit zero waste shop operating out of Academy 1 at the University of Manchester Students’ Union.

What's on: Literature

Andrew McMillan and Maria Ferguson
Until
LiteratureLeeds
Leeds Lit Fest 2025

The award-winning Leeds Lit Fest is back, this year running from 14 to 22 June 2025, and bringing together local talent and big-name authors for a lively programme.

From £0.00
SLAMCHESTER Poster
LiteratureManchester
SLAMCHESTER at 53Two

This June, Manchester welcomes the launch of SLAMCHESTER, a one-night-only spoken word slam featuring a a special performance by Jardel Rodrigues.

From £6.00
Poet Tom Sastry.
LiteratureManchester
Verbose at The King’s Arms

Verbose is one of Manchester’s longest-running spoken word events, and welcomes Tom Sastry and Molly Naylor for June.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Experimental performance, thought-provoking new writing and our picks of Manchester International Festival - here’s what’s taking centre stage this summer.

A painting called Daphne, 2021, by Carolien Walker. The painting features Caroline’s own daughter as a toddler.
Exhibitions in the North

Captivating, urgent and intimate - we bring you our top exhibition picks, with even more art festivals, artist-led shows and new venues.

Cloudwater Production One
Tours and Activities in the North

Go forth with wild abandon to dance the pavements, dabble with the paint and down the pints in this month's tours and activities guide.

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.

A young boy with a white sash around his left arm cries.
Cinema in the North

Outdoor cinema announcements, a major retrospective at HOME, and the best of indie cinema.

Music in the North

Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.