Newsletter - St Helen's Enterprises
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Events at St Helen's School

From Our Community

Particularly good for the family. The food was top quality and the service was really good. We’ll definitely come back!
Richard
Event Guest
The event was really fun! Such a nice atmosphere.

Event Guest
A good environment to be in. It’s the perfect place to be with your friends and family.

Event Guest

Past Events

October 2023

An evening with Louis de Bernières

It was a wonderful evening in October as we welcomed top-selling and world-renowned author Louis de Bernières to our monthly Book Club event. You could hear a pin drop as he captivated the room by speaking about his writing process, sharing what inspires him and revealing how his passion for understanding the world around him is what drives him to write. It is this passion for researching and exploring various concepts which allows him to author complex stories built within vivid worlds which cause the readers to question reality.

Interestingly, though, while his latest novel, Light Over Liskeard, explores complex topics such as quantum computing and apocalyptic worlds, he explained that love is the central theme in all his books, and this one is no different. He believes that love is the most powerful and complex emotion. It can be a source of joy, pain, hope and despair and it is this along with its different expressions, such as romantic love, familial love, platonic love and even a love for animals, that he intertwines into his stories.

We were given a sneak preview into the Light Over Liskeard as he read two excerpts from the novel. This left our audience wanting to explore it further, evidenced by the long queue of people waiting to get their hands on a copy and have Louis sign it.

It was a very inspiring evening spent with a remarkable man.

September 2023

An evening with Louise Doughty and Catherine Ryan Howard

In September we were joined by best-selling thriller authors Louise Doughty (A Bird in Winter) and Catherine Ryan Howard (The Trap). Both authors shared a window into their creative processes, and interestingly, how they took completely opposite approaches to one another. Catherine claiming to be a ‘plotter’ – with a well-defined plan before she begins writing; and Louise stating that she was a ‘plunger’ – with a tendency to dive into her story and figure it out along with her characters.

Both authors shared the delights and challenges of adapting their works for the screen, as well as revealing which of their works were currently in the pipeline, with production houses from ITV to Amazon Studios. Questions from our lively audience sparked conversations ranging from how modern reader appetites are changing, to how to believe in your own ability as a writer.

L
July 2023

Trust no one… An evening with Lisa Jewell

There was a real sense of excitement and expectation in the air as Lisa Jewell was welcomed onto the stage by our host Joe Haddow (presenter and host of the BBC Radio 2 show The Book Club).

Lisa is a world-renowned, best-selling, and highly accomplished author who has authored several popular books. Over the course of the evening, Lisa shared insights into her creative processes, revealed what inspires her and answered questions directly from the audience. There were more than a few laughs as Joe and Lisa recalled various moments from her books and Lisa revealed how those moments were inspired. The real highlight, however, was having Lisa read a section of her latest book, None of This is True, and based on the long queue for a copy afterwards, this left an impression on us all.