St Andrew's Book Festival

08/10/2026

HE'S BACK. AND LAST TIME, HE GATECRASHED IAN RANKIN'S EVENT WITH A GUITAR.

Colin MacIntyre first appeared at the London St Andrew’s Book Festival in 2024, to talk about his novel When The Needle Drops.

Invited by festival director, Susan Pym, he then joined the Ian Rankin event, guitar in hand, and proceeded to play Auld Lang Syne.

The result? A packed room singing along together and a magnificent end to the 2024 festival.

Now Colin is back. And this time, he's bringing someone very special with him.

Alan Johnson Books meets Mull Historical Society

Alan Johnson, author and former Labour politician, joins Colin MacIntyre for a warm, entertaining conversation about music, memory, friendship and the remarkable story behind their collaboration. Alan features on Colin's latest album, In My Mind There's A Photograph, which brings together Colin's music with words and memories from an extraordinary group of writers.

Expect stories. Expect music. Expect plenty of laughs. And, given Colin's previous form, perhaps expect the unexpected.

Chaired by the fabulous Nicola Meighan

📅 Friday 20th November 8pm to 9pm
📍St Columba's Church of Scotland in Knightsbridge, London.
🎟️ £12 from https://www.standrewsbookfestival.org

08/10/2026

Gaelic Event!

CAN A LANGUAGE CHANGE WHO YOU ARE?

What happens when a language you didn't grow up speaking becomes part of your identity?

Join acclaimed poet, writer and songwriter Marcas Mac an Tuairneir for a unique evening of poetry, conversation and live music at the London St Andrew’s Book Festival.

Marcas explores the connections between Gaelic language, Scottish and LGBTQ+ identity, resilience and belonging, drawing on his own journey from an English upbringing to becoming an important contemporary voice in Gaelic literature.

His poetry will be brought to life through musical settings, alongside a special performance by The London Gaelic Choir.

You don't need to speak Gaelic to understand questions of identity, belonging and finding your place in the world.

Come and discover a different side of contemporary Scotland.

Gaelic Voices: Poetry & Song with Marcas Mac an Tuairneir

Part of the London St Andrew’s Book Festival
📅 16th to 22nd November 2026
🎟️ https://www.standrewsbookfestival.org

08/10/2026

YOU KNOW THE KING JAMES BIBLE.
BUT DO YOU KNOW THE MAN BEHIND IT?

He had six great loves.

He surrounded himself with powerful and beautiful men.

There was s*x, scandal, political intrigue, betrayal and a murder that threatened to shake the monarchy to its foundations.

And now the extraordinary story of King James VI and I is on BBC iPlayer in the documentary Queen James.

On Saturday 21st November, historian and broadcaster Gareth Russell comes to the London St Andrew’s Book Festival to discuss the book behind the documentary, Queen James: The Life and Loves of Britain’s First King, in conversation with Fiona Lindsay.

This is not the James you remember from school.

It is a story of passion and power, love and politics, secrets and scandal. A portrait of a king whose relationships with the men he loved were deeply entangled with the business of ruling Britain.

Watch the documentary. Read the book. Then come and hear Gareth Russell reveal the stories behind the story.

The Life and Loves of Queen James
📅 Saturday 21st November
6:30pm to 7:30pm
🎟️ £12
Https://www.standrewsbookfestival.org

07/10/2026

Join us to hear from four magnificent Scottish debut authors, including Avril Millar FERAL. Her book Feral is the result of a lifetime working inside the system and the wisdom to make it irrelevant. She’ll be alongside Mhairi Collie, Christina Riley and Kirsty Lockwood.
📅 Wed 18 Nov
📍St Columba’s Church, Pont St, Knightsbridge SW1.
🎟️ https://www.standrewsbookfestival.org

In 1987, interviewers could legally ask me who'd look after my kids if I took the job. They did, repeatedly.
I wasn't applying for anything senior. Just something with room to grow. I couldn't buy a job.
I ended up in commission-only financial services, hated every minute, then built something of my own instead. It took years before it paid properly.
The lesson wasn't about resilience. It was about realising a job is one client. Work is a skill. Nobody tells you that distinction when you need it most.

06/10/2026

Some novels ask you to imagine another world. Others make you question this one.

Award winning Scottish novelist and poet Jenni Fagan joins Fiona Lindsay to discuss The Delusions - a strange, dark and deeply human exploration of love, mortality and the afterlife.

Thought provoking, imaginative and unforgettable, this is a conversation about the ideas and questions that sit at the heart of Fagan’s latest novel.

📅 Saturday 21 November
3.30–4.30pm
St Columba’s Church – Lower Hall
Pont Street, Knightsbridge, SW1

https://www.ticketsource.com/standrewsbookfestival

06/10/2026

Event in Knightsbridge.

06/10/2026

VAL McDERMID AND JO SHARP: THIS DOOR OF THE SEAS

Two distinctive perspectives on one of the most extraordinary chapters in Scotland’s history.

Bestselling crime writer Val McDermid and Geographer Royal for Scotland Jo Sharp come together to discuss This Door of the Seas, their contribution to the acclaimed Darkland Tales series.

In conversation with Nicola Meighan, they explore the ill fated Darien scheme, a story of ambition, adventure and catastrophe that would have profound consequences for Scotland. What drove the scheme? Why did it fail? And how did events thousands of miles away help shape the course of Scottish history?

This is history brought to life through two very different perspectives, with Val McDermid's storytelling alongside Jo Sharp's geographical insight.

📅Saturday 21st November 3:30pm to 4:30pm 🎟️Tickets £12
Come for the story. Stay for the history, the ideas and the questions it raises about Scotland's past.

Book your tickets: https://www.ticketsource.com/standrewsbookfestival

06/10/2026

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE WORLD OF PROFESSIONAL GOLF TURNS DEADLY?

Former sports writer Gordon Simpson knows the world of professional golf from the inside.

During a career in media management, he worked with some of the biggest names in the game, including Tiger Woods, Colin Montgomerie, Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo.

Now he has turned that experience into a gripping new thriller.

Four Deadly Swings takes us behind the immaculate fairways and polished image of professional golf and into a world of rivalry, ambition and murder. And if the promise of a jaw dropping finale isn't enough, Gordon will also reflect on his extraordinary life in professional sport.

Join him in conversation with Clark McGinn for an evening that combines insider stories from the world of golf with a thrilling new mystery.

📅 Monday 16th November 6:30pm to 7:30pm
The Caledonian Club, 9 Halkin Street 🎟️ Tickets £12, including a glass of w**e on arrival
🏌🏽‍♂️🏌🏻‍♀️Golf. Murder. Ambition. Rivalry. What could possibly go wrong?
Book your tickets: http://www.ticketsource.com/standrewsbookfestival

05/10/2026

Come and hear Andrew Lownie!