Independent Book shop in Downham Market
Upcoming Events
We try to keep our events FREE so they are accessible to all ( and you can spend more on books!) But please register your attendance by emailing, phoning us or calling in the shop.
Friday 17th April 6pm - 8pm Downham Market Town Hall
Sebastian Faulks in conversation with James Newcome
Tickets £20 (subject to a small booking fee) available via eventbrite - Sebastian-Faulks.eventbrite.co.uk
All ticket proceeds will go to support the work of the Swan Youth Project.
Join us for an evening of conversation between two old school friends as they ponder life and writing.
Sebastian Faulks has written nineteen books, of which A Week in December and The Fatal Englishman were number one in the Sunday Times bestseller lists. He is best known for Birdsong, part of his French trilogy, and Human Traces, the first in an ongoing Austrian trilogy. His latest book is Fires Which Burned Brightly, a memoir of sorts. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked as a journalist on national papers. He has also written screenplays and has appeared in small roles on stage.
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James Newcome is former Bishop of Carlisle and an old school friend of Sebastian.
​Doors open at 6pm, the event will start at 6.30pm.
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All ticket proceeds will go to the Downham Market Swan Youth Project.
Swan Youth Project aims to create high quality services that facilitate growth, development, aspiration and a positive sense of community for young people and their families. The engagement will enable service users to overcome disadvantage and have the confidence, strategies and support to make positive choices for their future and the wider community. Our Community Liaison, the Food Hub and the Shop allows us to reach out to a larger demographic, promoting cohesion and positivity.
We support young people and their families from the age of 8 – 18 (24 with SEND) at our main centre. Our Shop and Community Liaison give us enhanced access to the wider community.
Our services are built from the need and demand locally and are being driven by feedback and local knowledge.
In working to achieve our Mission we will strive to create a climate of mutual respect, understanding and equality.
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Words & Wonder Books would like to thank James Bagge for his help with this event.
Thursday 30th April 6.30pm
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The Bookshop, the Draper, the Candlestick Maker - A History of the High Street - Annie Gray
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What makes a high street?
It's not just the shopping; these are spaces where local life and culture unfold, the beating hearts of our towns and cities.​
From preserved medieval marketplaces to post-war concrete precincts, our high streets are playgrounds of personal indulgence, hubs for community spirit, sites of contentious debates and public politicking.
Join historian Annie Gray on an expedition down the street and through the ages, through arcades, department stores and backstreet shopping malls.
Peeping through the windows of tailors, tea rooms and grocers, Gray writes an essential reflection on how we lived in days gone by - and what the future might bring.
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Annie Gray is one of Britain's leading food historians. She works as a consultant and broadcaster, as well as a writer. You may have heard her on BBC Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet for which she's been a panellist since 2012, or seen her pop up as a talking head on all manner of TV shows. Her books include The Greedy Queen: eating with Victoria, Victory in the Kitchen: the life of Churchill's Cook, and At Christmas we Feast, as well as the subject of tonight's talk, The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker: a history of the High Street. Annie lives in Ely, and grew up in Norwich, making her practically local.
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This is a FREE event but please register your attendance via email, phone or calling into the shop.
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WRITE YOUR LIFE
A 6-WEEK Memoir/Life Writing Course for Beginners.
Everyone has a story worth telling. This supportive, practical, beginner-friendly course will help turn your life experiences into powerful memoir writing. You may have long held a desire to finally write that book, or simply want to write your life story for yourself and your family. Whatever your reasons, join us for a relaxed and supportive course.
In this 6-week course, you will:
* Uncover stories that matter.
* Turn memories into vivid scenes.
* Learn the craft of writing and storytelling.
* Build confidence and a sustainable writing habit.
* Receive feedback in a safe and encouraging space.
* By the end of the course, you will have written at least 2000 words of your story.
The 6-week course is taught by award-winning author Camilla Balshaw, whose debut memoir, Named: A Story of Names and Reclaiming Who We Are, was published in 2025. Camilla's memoir won the category award for the best Memoir/Biography in the prestigious East Anglian Book Awards, which celebrates the best writing in the region.
Camilla has written for the Guardian and Observer, and writes both fiction and nonfiction. She holds a PGCE in post-16 Education and an MA (Distinction) in Creative & Life Writing. Her teaching style is engaging, curious, insightful and, above all, fun.
Start date:
Wednesday, 22nd April, 1230 - 230 pm, at Words & Wonder Books, Downham Market.
Cost £180
Bookings: camillabalshaw@gmail.com
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Bloody Murder! How to Write Crime Fiction with Piper Terrett
Starting May 2026
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Are you a fan of cosy crime, Scandi noir or Inspector Morse? Learn about the history of crime fiction, the different genres within it and how to plot and write your own crime fiction novel. The course includes practical exercises and feedback on your writing in small, friendly groups. No experience necessary. Led by author Piper Terrett, ex-Financial Times Group journalist and former lecturer in writing at London Metropolitan University.
£250 for 8 weeks of 2-hour sessions on Thursday mornings from May 2026. For more information or to book visit Norfolkwritingschool.com or email piperterrett@gmail.com
Thursday 7th May 6.30pm
Why Q Needs U - Danny Bate
Danny's book is an invitation to reacquaint yourself with the alphabet, to look at its letters with fresh eyes and to bask in their brilliance. With an engaging narrative and lively anecdotes, it strikes a perfect balance between academic and accessible.
The letters of the English alphabet have been on a long journey to reach this page, and you are the latest link in a chain of countless (and mostly nameless) people in history who took the parcel and passed it on. When you read these words and write them yourself, you connect yourself to the traders, teachers, sailors, soldiers, priests, printers, slaves and kings who handed down the alphabet to you.
Some interesting nuggets include:
How the letter 'A' evolved from the shape of an ox's head
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How knowing the Greeks lost the letter F from their language can help make better sense of the Iliad and Odyssey
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How the letter G was born out of the letter C
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How the Vikings gave us some of our most used words - leg, egg, kid, take, want, they
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How the Battle of Hastings turned 'CW' words into 'QU' words
Danny is fascinated by the study of historical languages and etymology. He took his BA and MPhil degrees from the University of York and the University of Cambridge respectively, and his PhD in linguistics from the University of Edinburgh. He can be found online at dannybate.com, on social media @DannyBate4 and @dannybate.bsky.social and at his podcast A Language I Love is....
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This is a FREE event but please register your attendance via email, phone or calling into the shop.
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Thursday 21st May 6.30pm
Rob Parker - Forbidden Waters - A Norfolk Crime evening
It starts with the knife. Found at the bottom of a hidden lake in the Norfolk Broads, covered in blood and heart tissue so fresh the water hasn't yet washed it all away. What salvage diver Cam Killick has found is a murder weapon from a very recent crime – but how do you solve a murder without a body?
The remoteness of the setting is itself a clue. Only a handful of people know the location of the lake, let alone how to access it. But no sooner have Cam and DS Claire Rogers started working through this ready-made suspect pool than one of them disappears.
The ripples from Cam's discovery have disturbed a dangerous predator, one who knows the water even better than Cam himself. The question now is what they want – and how many more people will die before Cam can stop them?
A serial killer is on the loose in Norfolk in this breathtaking thriller from 'the master of the stone-cold twist', perfect for fans of Elly Griffiths, Peter James and Ann Cleeves.
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Join us as Rob Parker tells us all about the second in the series of his brilliant Norfolk crime novels and his love for our wonderful county.
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BLISTERING' Heat Book of the Week'UNMISSABLE' Crime Monthly
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This event is FREE but please register your attendance via email, phone or calling in to the shop.