Mini literary festival brings top authors to town

Dark Peak Books & Gifts and George Street Community bookshop are bringing some great authors to Glossop over the next four weeks in what is almost a mini-literature festival for the town!

On 15th April, join Tom Chesshyre in conversation with Anna Paxton at The Partington Theatre Club as we wander well-trodden paths, pause at old inns and admire iconic landmarks on an adventure around the undulating, magical terrain of the Peak District…

Celebrated travel writer Tom Chesshyre has penned Wild Peaks to mark the 75th anniversary of England’s first national park. In conversation with local hillwalker and ultrarunner Anna Paxton, Tom will transport listeners to the heart of the Peak District as he recounts his month-long tour of the area. Get your tickets online here or in person at Dark Peak Books. £20.00 including a signed copy of Wild Peaks or £5.00 general admission.

Learn of his diverse meetings with a rich cast of landowners, farmers, historians, climbers, publicans, rangers, right-to-roamers, mountain rescue members, dreamers, fellow hikers – and not forgetting booksellers. Tom spends the first chapter here in Glossop, where he details visiting Dark Peak Books, staying at the Norfolk Arms and Windy Harbour and eating at Ruchi.

Tom Chesshyre is the author of 12 travel books. He has previously contributed to The Times, Sporting Life, the Independent, Sky Sports, the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, the Daily Mail and National Geographic.

On 17th April we welcome Sarah Hilary to the Oakwood in conversation with Anna Caig for the publication of The Drowning Place.

Set in the fictional town of Edenscar in The Peak District, the first instalment in this new police procedural series follows DS Joseph Ashe, a young man haunted by the ghosts of his past and struggling with survivor’s guilt, and DI Laurie Bower, an outsider fighting to fit in. Get your tickets online here or in person at Dark Peak Books. Tickets £16.99 including a signed copy of The Drowning Place or £5.00 general admission.

Sarah is the critically-acclaimed author of nine novels. Her debut, Someone Else’s Skin, won the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year 2015 and was also a World Book Night selection, a Richard & Judy Book Club pick and a finalist for both the Silver Falchion and Macavity Awards in the US.

Sarah will discuss her new work with local author Anna Caig whose debut novel, The Wise Witch of Orkney, was published in February.

George Street Bookshop and The Black Circle present a Freak District special on 23rd April at Glossop Band Room for ‘Everything We Do is Music’, with Elizabeth Alker and Various Artist

A panoramic exploration of the ways in which pop and rock were transformed by the pioneering visionaries of classical music, with author & BBC Radio 3 presenter Elizabeth Alker.

The evening’s events unfold through talks, live performances, DJ sets and interactive musical experiments. Featuring an ‘in conversation’ between Elizabeth and Glossop-based sound artist Clare Savory.

Plus music and DJ sets from artists inspired by the themes explored in the book, including Dark Peak Music Lab, Sensory Leakage, Glossop Record Club and Elizabeth Alker herself.

Copies of her book ‘Everything We Do Is Music’ will be available to purchase on the night, courtesy of Dark Peak Books.

Event starts 7.30pm; talk starts 8pm, event ends 10.15pm. Tickets available here

On 29th April Dark Peak Books will be hosting Sarah Lonsdale, author of Wildly Different and Rebel Women, for a book launch in collaboration with George Street Books.

Traverse the globe on an empowering journey with historian Sarah Lonsdale to discover how five women reclaimed nature in a man’s world – from our doorstep in the Peak District to sub-Saharan Africa.

In Wildly Different meet Ethel Haythornthwaite, who helped make the Peak District Britain’s first National Park. And Wangari Maathai, who started a movement to plant millions of trees across sub-Saharan Africa. Discover the story of Mina Hubbard, who outraged the exploration community when she stepped into a canoe in northern Labrador. Evelyn Cheesman, who became the first female keeper of insects at London Zoo. Dorothy Pilley, who shocked polite society by donning men’s climbing breeches…

The book launch event will include an author Q&A and signing, drinks and nibbles, plus a chance to talk to Sarah about her other book, Rebel Women Between the Wars: Breaking Boundaries, 1918–39. Tickets £12.99 with signed copy of the book, or £3 general admission. Tickets can be purchased here

And finally on May 6th join Glossop Curiosity Club at the Labour Club as Brian Groom returns to Glossop to talk about his new book These Isles: A People’s History of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, published 26th February 2026. Tickets pay-as-you-feel available here.

What is These Isles: A People’s History of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales by Brian Groom about?

An inventive new look at the entwined histories of Britain and Ireland’s nations – and the people who have called them home.

Brian Groom, author of the bestselling Northerners, reveals a colourful and often-contested story of the Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Normans and others who have occupied these islands, along with their culture, languages and passions.

Groom explores the role of religion and the British Empire, international diasporas and internal migration, gender relations and war in this entertaining narrative.

With forays into popular culture, sport, music, language, literature and art, These Isles stretches from 800,000-year-old footprints on a Norfolk beach to the changing fortunes of the early 21st century. It offers a uniquely rich and kaleidoscopic vision of the shared stories of people across Britain and Ireland – past and present.

Books available to buy at Dark Peak Books & Gifts or on the night.

Details of all events, including ticket links can be found at https://darkpeakbooks.co.uk/events/