WANSTEAD FRINGE

Wanstead Book Festival presents: Joanna Pocock in conversation with John Rogers
2025-09-07 15:00 - 16:30 (Europe/London) | The Bull, 129 High Street, Wanstead, E11 2RL
PLEASE NOTE: CHANGE OF VENUE – this event will now be upstairs at the Bull, 129 High St. *
Twenty years ago, Joanna Pocock travelled by Greyhound bus across the US. Nearly 20 years later, she repeated the journey, revisiting the same cities, edgelands, highways and motels.
In Greyhound she explores the overlapping area of place and memory as she navigates two different landscapes – an earlier, less atomized society and a current one mired in inequality and teetering on the brink of environmental calamity. Greyhound combines memoir, reportage and literary criticism, and is a moving and immersive exploration of modern day America with all its beauty, horror and complexity.
Joanna will be in conversation with Wanstead Fringe favourite John Rogers whose calling as psychogeographer has led him to explore the link between place, memory and people.
* The upstairs room at the Bull is accessible only by stairs. If this is going to cause you problems, please accept our apologies and contact us for a refund.

Wanstead Book Festival presents: Stephen Colegrave in conversation with Victor Adebowale
2025-09-11 19:30 - 21:00 | Wanstead Library Churchill Room, Spratt Hall Road, Wanstead, E11 2RQ
Join us for an evening with Stephen Colegrave, co-founder and executive editor of Byline Times—the independent news platform known for holding power to account and championing investigative journalism in an age of disinformation. A driving force behind Byline Festival and Byline TV, Stephen has been at the heart of a new media movement that blends activism, journalism and culture. In conversation with Wanstead Book Festival favourite Lord Victor Adebowale, Stephen will reflect on the state of the press, politics and public trust—and offer a preview of his forthcoming landmark book on punk, a lifelong passion rooted in rebellion, creativity and social change. Thoughtful, provocative, and not to be missed.

Suffer Little Children: The lost family of Wanstead House
2025-09-16 19:30 - 21:00 | Wanstead Cricket Club, Overton Drive, Wanstead, E11 2LW
The tragic story of Wanstead House, and the dramatic relationship between Catherine and ‘Wicked’ William Long-Wellesley, is a vibrant part of Wanstead’s history. But lesser known is what exactly happened to their three children after the palatial mansion was demolished to pay off William’s debts. Local historian Greg Roberts who has researched the subject for years reveals some of the secrets lurking in Wanstead’s back story.

Wanstead Book Festival presents: Rory Cellan-Jones
2025-09-18 19:30 - 21:00 | Wanstead Library Churchill Room, Spratt Hall Road, Wanstead, E11 2RQ
Join us for a special return visit from Rory Cellan-Jones, former BBC Technology correspondent and a familiar face to millions. Rory will be talking about his heartwarming book Sophie from Romania, which tells the story of how he and his wife adopted a traumatised rescue dog and shared her journey—from paralysed fear behind the sofa to joyful, tail-wagging confidence—with a growing online following. A moving, funny and ultimately uplifting tale of patience, love, and the strange power of social media.

The Things that Make us Alive – Rain and Crosswords, Quiz and Comedy: Wanstead Book Festival presents Alan Connor
2025-09-19 19:30 - 21:00 | Wanstead Library Churchill Room, Spratt Hall Road, Wanstead, E11 2RQ
Join us for a fascinating evening with Alan Connor, a multi-talented writer with an uncanny instinct for uncovering the strange and delightful corners of British life. As well as being authors of books on rain, the Shipping Forecast, quizzes and crosswords, he’s written for Borat 2 and Have I Got News For You. He’s crossword editor of the Guardian, and former quiz editor for Only Connect. He’s witty, insightful and endlessly curious.

Family Book Day
2025-09-20 11:00 - 16:00 | Wanstead Library, 18 Spratt Hall Road, Wanstead, England, E11 2RQ
Come along for a day filled with fun, stories and activities as the second Wanstead Family Book Day comes to Wanstead Library! Entry is free and all are invited. This year three authors will be leading sessions:

11am SOPHY HENN
Learn to draw Mr Big Fluff the hamster and the rest of the Happy Hills crew, design your own comic character, and lots more fun.
Sophy Henn is an award-winning picture book author and illustrator. She is the creator of the much-loved Bad Nana series, the Pom Pom series, the Ted board book series, and the nonfiction titles Lifesize and Lifesize Dinosaurs, among others. Her debut picture book, Where Bear?, was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal.
The Happy Hills series are hilariously funny full-colour graphic novels, filled with CUTE and NOT SO CUTE characters, perfect for fans of Bunny vs Monkey, Dogman and Donut Squad! Can be enjoyed by all ages, from 5-11.

1.30pm DARREN CHETTY
Join author Darren Chetty for a heartwarming event based around his new picture book I’m Going To Make A Friend. Find out all about the many challenges of making new friends and how long it will take – and maybe make a few new friends yourself!

Darren Chetty is a Welsh Indian South African Dutch Londoner. He teaches in primary schools and at university and writes for people of all ages. He loves football and music and collects children’s books, snow globes and toy robots. (Please note, due to unforeseen circumstances our previous guest author Nima Patel is unable to attend.)

3pm CRYSTAL SUNG
Author Crystal Sung, creator of the Spellcasters series, will introduce the characters with their various different magic powers and talismans and help you imagine what your own powers would look like. It’s intriguing and empowering.

Wanstead Book Festival presents: Bazball and the future of cricket with Lawrence Booth and Nick Hoult
2025-09-26 19:30 - 21:00 | Wanstead Cricket Club, Overton Drive, Wanstead, E11 2LW
Join us for an evening with Lawrence Booth, editor of Wisden, and Nick Hoult, Chief Cricket Correspondent at the Daily Telegraph. They will reflect on a thrilling summer for English cricket and look ahead to this winter’s Ashes in Australia – possibly Ben Stokes’s final chance to claim the urn as captain. They will also explore the wider state of the game: from the pressures on club and county cricket to the impact of The Hundred, and what the future holds for cricket in England. Essential insight from two of the game’s leading journalists.
