On Wednesday July 10th we are thrilled to announce a very special Double Author Supper at the Sussex Produce Company Cafe, welcoming novelists Mike Gayle and Ruth Hogan to Steyning for the first time. A perfect pairing of two very popular novelists known for their heartfelt, moving and uplifting stories.
Mike Gayle was born and raised in Birmingham. After graduating from university with a degree in Sociology, he moved to London to pursue a career as a journalist, features editor and agony uncle. The success of his first novel, My Legendary Girlfriend, meant he could turn to writing full-time, and he has now published 16 novels! Mike’s bestselling novels have taken his millions of readers through every significant occasion for the modern man – friendship, courtship, stag weekends, marriage, work, holidays, infidelity, mid-life crises….all tackled with his trademark wit, warmth and wisdom – supremely readable and more-ish! His latest novel Half a World Away follows single mum Kerry as she begins to search for the sibling who was torn away from her when she was taken into care as a child…a heart-breaking mission which will turn lives upside down and have far-reaching consequences.
Ruth Hogan’s first novel The Keeper of Lost Things was published in 2017, to huge acclaim. Winner of the Richard & Judy Reader’s Award, a Sunday Times best-seller, and one of the Mail on Sunday‘s ‘Best books to read on the beach this summer’, it is a poignant story with vivid and lovable characters. Ruth’s second novel, The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes was a Prima Best Book of 2018, and continued to show Ruth’s gift for creating eccentric characters amidst a heart-rending story. Ruth will discuss her new novel, Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel – a colourful exploration of mother-daughter relationships, set partly in Brighton. Ruth has had a rocky journey to writing; a car accident and a brush with cancer caused her to give up her day job in local government but allowed her to devote more time to the writing she had always loved.
We can’t wait to meet Mike and Ruth and hear more about their writing lives!
Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30 start. Tickets priced £30 include a delicious 2 course hot meal and a signed copy of either Mike’s new novel Half a World Away or Ruth’s latest: Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel.