The best online talks to book this month

A Night In with Bridgerton author Julia Quinn

If you've been left with a Bridgerton-shaped hole in your diary having binged your way through the hit Netflix series, re-enter the Regency era and immerse yourself in its decadent style and prudish parties once more, through this talk with Julia Quinn, author of the best-selling Bridgerton books. Hosted by Fane Online, the talk sees Quinn explore the revolution of romance novels and her own journey – one that saw her drop out of medical school, sell her first book aged 24 and go on to write 18 consecutive New York Times bestsellers. Quinn will also be delving into the minds of her beloved characters and answering any burning questions her audience has about the series.

Price: £10 / £20 with a copy of the book

Book tickets

Raven Leilani: Luster

Luster hasn’t even landed on our shelves and already the debut novel from American writer Raven Leilani is one of the most talked about, eagerly anticipated works of fiction this year. Here, as part of the Southbank Centre’s Inside Out series, Leilani is in conversation with celebrated novelist Diana Evans about her new novel and the inspiration for writing it.

Price: £7.50 / £14.99 with a copy of the book

Book tickets

Life Drawing with Alison Bechdel

Hear from American cartoonist and creator of the Bechdel Test, Alison Bechdel, as she delivers the British Library’s annual Bryant Lecture (rescheduled from 2020) online. As well as creating the famous representational test, which assesses whether a work features at least two women who talk to one another about something other than a man (if it does, the work passess the Bechdel Test), Bechdel is the author of the long-running comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, and graphic memoir Fun Home, which was adapted into a Tony Award-winning musical.

Price: £5 / free for members

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A Night in with Ethan Hawke

Described by Patti Smith as ‘riveting work’, A Bright Ray of Darkness is actor and novelist Ethan Hawke’s first novel in 20 years. The book, which on the surface focuses on a young man making his Broadway debut as his marriage implodes, is said to be a ‘passionate love letter to the world of theatre’, riddled with ‘rage and sex, longing and despair’. Hear from Hawke first-hand in this online event, presented by the Southbank Centre in partnership with Penguin Live.

Price: £7.50 / £16.99 with a copy of the book

Book tickets

An Evening With Fiona Shaw

From My Left Foot to Harry Potter, Fleabag to Killing Eve, Fiona Shaw has, over the past three decades, cemented herself as an integral presence on our screens and behind our stages (Shaw is also a prominent opera director). This virtual How To Academy talk is a chance to hear Shaw in conversation with journalist Matthew Stadlen, reflecting on her life’s journey, from her upbringing in County Cork in Ireland, through to her Bafta-winning triumph in Killing Eve.

Price: £15

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Caleb Azumah Nelson in conversation: Open Water

Open Water, the debut novel by 26-year-old British-Ghanaian author and photographer Caleb Azumah Nelson, is tipped to be one of the most important book releases of the year. The novel traces a relationship between two young Londoners, both budding artists on scholarships at private schools where their skin colour marks them as 'other'. Hear Nelson discuss his writing process and the themes of the book (including art, love, police violence and black masculinity) in this British Library talk.

Price: £5 / £12.99 with a copy of the book

Book tickets

Fearne Cotton: Speak Your Truth

In this exclusive pre-recording for the Southbank Centre, presenter, podcaster and mental wellness advocate Fearne Cotton is speaking about her new book Speak Your Truth, pitched as ‘a story about connecting with your inner truth and learning to find your voice’.

Price: £7.50 / £16.99 with a copy of the book

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Bill Gates – How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

Bill Gates may have made his name as the co-founder of tech giant Microsoft, but the entrepreneur, billionaire and philanthropist is also a passionate climate change activist. To celebrate the publication of his ‘urgent and authoritative’ new book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Gates is speaking to a virtual audience at this How To Academy event, stressing why we need to work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, and how best to go about achieving it.

Price: £20 for talk and a copy of the book

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A Night In with Marian Keyes

To celebrate the paperback release of her 2020 bestseller Grown Ups, author Marian Keyes is delivering a Fane Online talk, discussing her passion for writing about contemporary issues and finding a humorous voice on the page.

Price: £10 / £20 with a copy of the book

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A Night In with Kiley Reid

Kiley Reid’s fiction debut Such A Fun Age was one of the most read page-turners of 2020, throwing up questions of racial prejudice and false allyship within its thoroughly gripping narrative. To celebrate the book’s paperback release, Reid is discussing the success of the book with journalist and Slay in Your Lane author Yomi Adegoke.

Price: £10 / £15 with a copy of the book

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Peter Frankopan Meets Ai Weiwei: Stories from the Global Refugee Crisis

World-renowned artist and political activist Ai Weiwei joins bestselling author of The New Silk Roads Peter Frankopan to discuss the most urgent humanitarian crisis of our time: the refugee crisis. In the course of making his feature documentary Human Flow, Ai Weiwei and his collaborators interviewed more than 600 refugees, who shared their experiences of migrating across borders and attempting to rebuild their lives in unfamiliar territories. Meanwhile, Frankopan’s books offer an original account of how the world came to be and where the 21st century will take us. Here, the two figures discuss their works and predictions for the future.

Price: £15 / £30 with a copy of the book

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V&A: Bags – Style, Statement, Sustainability

Inspired by the V&A’s Bags: Inside Out exhibition, this day-long event brings together designers, curators and fashion historians in a series of talks investigating our longstanding fascination with bags – from their shifting political significance to the alternative materials and adaptable designs of the future. V&A curator Lucia Savi, design entrepreneur Femi Olayebi and award-winning material innovator Kresse Wesling are among those sharing pearls of wisdom.

Price: £17 - £35

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Fortunately… with Fi and Jane: LIVE, Southbank Centre

If you love listening to BBC presenters Jane Garvey and Fi Glover muse over everyday shenanigans in their weekly podcast Fortunately, this is your chance to step behind the scenes. The duo are recording a live episode at the Southbank Centre. Together with a very special guest, the witty pair promise to take mid-life by its elasticated waist – right before your eyes – and give it a brisk going-over with a stiff brush.

Price: £15 - £35