Our Public Event Series
Explore our talks, workshop, bookclubs and translation events, hosted by us or through our various partners
What’s on
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Domestic Feminism: The Bookless Bookclub
A new guest session of the Bookless Bookclub with Katie!
This session will be an introduction to the novels of Dorothy Canfield Fisher, an undeservedly neglected twentieth-century author. Canfield Fisher’s fiction is a perfect example of ‘domestic feminism’, as it is profound in its domesticity: her novels detail the deep and meaningful moments of everyday life which allow us to glimpse the profound, insightful truths of life, experienced when tending the garden, sending children off to school, or tidying the house.
Central to Canfield Fisher’s fiction is the truth that the life of the home and of wider society are intertwined, as are the lives of all human beings who influence, learn from, and depend on one another even as they forge their own independent paths through life.In this session, we will read extracts from four of her novels, published between 1912 and 1930, featuring examples of some of these profoundly domestic moments.
As ever, this is a bookclub that requires no reading in advance - texts will be provided and read together during the session--and it's free to all. No need to book, just show up!
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WONDERLAND - an evening with author Hanna Nordenhök
Tills and In Other Words are thrilled to host Hanna Nordenhök for the launch of 'Wonderland' (tr. Saskia Vogel): a chilling, post-truth novel that moves between Athens, the Pacific coast, and Sweden in an ominous and surreal global landscape.
Full of suspense, ‘Wonderland’ explores fake news, moral uncertainty and modern identity through a range of unreliable and unexpected characters.
We loved hosting the launch of Hanna previous collaboration, 'Caesaria', and we have been eagerly waiting for 'Wonderland'. It has exceeded all of our expectations!
Join us for an evening discussing ‘Wonderland’ - we will explore power and women's bodies, writing and translating in today's political climate, and much, much more.
Tickets are redeemable against a copy of the book on the night of the event. No proof is required for concession tickets.
From £2
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Before I Forget: an evening with Stevens Prize-winning translator, Dina Leifer
"Before I Forget" is a daughter's narration in the aftermath of her father's death. She sifts through her memories alongside his remaining belongings, considering the complicated, contradictory man she knew with tenderness and dark humor.
Join us for a discussion on difficult relationships, absurdity in death, and translating grief.
Tickets are redeemable against a copy of the book on the night of the event. No proof is required for concession tickets.
From £2
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Beelines: Edinburgh
On behalf of Apicentre, Cultural Commons CIC invites you to join Beelines; Edinburgh — an interdisciplinary afternoon of conversation, swarming around the topic of bees and biodiversity.
Beelines events think about bees as a positive symbol for humanity, spanning multiple disciplines to inspire and nourish our culture and our ecosystem. Beelines; Edinburgh follows Beelines; Brussels (March 2026) and the A Volo d’Ape editions held in Gubbio (Italy) in 2024 and 2025.
Free
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Readers of Edinburgh - Competition Party
Join us to celebrate the winners of the inaugural Readers of Edinburgh photography competition!
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READERS 3.2: The Bookless Bookclub
AGITATE bring READERS to the Bookless Bookclub — "a friendly and accessible reading group exploring photography & visual culture".
Short texts are read together on the day: fiction, poetry, theory, song lyrics, writing on visual art. There is no prior reading to be done before the meet-up, and no background in the subject is assumed. Free to attend and open to anyone.
Buy TicketsTickets via Eventbrite
Past Work
Everything we have run and helped to run, most recent first.
2026
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Tills Bookshop
The Sea - The Bookless Bookclub
This Sunday, Claudia will host another Women in Translation session of The Bookless Bookclub, and the theme will be... The Sea!
We will read about bodies in the sea, eyes staring at it, and creatures trying to understand it. We will read from Mariette Navarro's hazy and mesmerising "Ultramarine" (tr. Cory Stockwell), from Tove Jannson's piercing "Moominpappa at Sea" (tr. Kingsley Hart) and from Marguerite Duras' iconic coming of age novel "The Easy Life" (tr. Olivia Baes and Emma Ramadan).
As always, the Bookless Bookclub is free for all, no booking is needed, and you never have to read anything in advance!
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Tills Bookshop
Ghosts in the Machine: The Bookless Bookclub
A new session of the Hauntings Bookless Bookclub with Ella!
This session will be all about stories of the violent revenants of scientific advances run amok and the Promethean ghosts that haunt our contemporary technological landscape. We'll read from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (of course), Jean Baudrillard's essay on J.G. Ballard's Crash, and Nalo Hopkinson's short story "A Habit of Waste"!
As ever, this is a bookclub that requires no reading in advance - texts will be provided and read together during the session--and it's free to all. No need to book, just show up!
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Tills Bookshop
Borges, Lasswitz and the Infinite Library: The Bookless Bookclub
A new session of the Global Sci Fi Bookless Bookclub led by our bookseller Javi!
Have you ever imagined a Library which contains not only all human knowledge produced so far, but all knowledge that will ever be produced? A library so great it contains all that is expressible through language? Well, Kurd Lasswitz (1848- 1910, Germany) and Jorge Luis Borges (1899 – 1986, Argentina) certainly did! So this session is an invitation to join us to collectively reflect on the beauty and the horrors of this image, through the stories and essays of these two pioneers of (global) science fiction.
As ever, this is a bookclub that requires no reading in advance - texts will be provided and read together during the session - and it's free to all. No need to book, just show up!
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Tills Bookshop
When Mothers Get Sick: The Bookless Booklcub
A new session of the Bodies Bookless Bookclub with Kate!
We'll explore what can happen when standard care roles get reversed, and the child becomes the mother, or the mother becomes the child.
We'll read narratives by daughters, drawing on fiction from Deborah Levy (Hot Milk), non-fiction from Helen Charman (Mother State), near fiction from Sara Torres (X is Where I Am), and essay-memoir from Marianne Brooker (Intervals).
As ever, this is a bookclub that requires no reading in advance - texts will be provided and read together during the session - and it's free to all. No need to book, just show up!
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Tills Bookshop
The Great Tills Bookshop End of Fringe Party
Come and join us for a free drink and cheese board surrounded by books, and send off Fringe 2026!
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Tills Bookshop
Gaelic Ghosts: The Bookless Bookclub
A new session of the Hauntings Bookless Booklclub with Ella!
Poetry, folklore, and drama about haunted Scotland and the violent phantoms of nation-building. We'll read from Aonghas MacNeacail's poem "salm an fhearainn"/"psalm of the land," Sorche Nic Leodhas' rendering of the Highland folk story "Man o' the Clan," and Shakespeare's Macbeth!
As ever, this is a bookclub that requires no reading in advance - texts will be provided and read together during the session - and it's free to all. No need to book, just show up!
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
The patriarchy passes through the body: Elena Ferrante in conversation with feminist writers
For a third summer in a row, a series of four Friday seminars on Elena Ferrante's standalone novels — Troubling Love, The Days of Abandonment, The Lost Daughter, and The Lying Life of Adults — read alongside feminist writing. Meeting 7, 14, 21, 28 August at Tills Bookshop by the Meadows, 19:00. Open to all levels of familiarity; read Ferrante in Italian, in Ann Goldstein's English translation, or any other language.
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
“To translate a book is to live with it, and within it”: A conversation with Mima Simić on translating Ivana Sajko's work
A conversation with writer, translator, film critic, and political activist Mima Simić on Every Time We Say Goodbye (V&Q Books), her ongoing collaboration with Ivana Sajko, placelessness and translation, and writing and translating from the margins. She has translated two of Sajko's novels, Love Novel and Every Time We Say Goodbye, and is working on a third. Tickets redeemable against the cost of the book(s) on the night.
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Tills Bookshop
Diamond Life: a conversation with Anna Maconochie
Author Anna Maconochie discusses her new book Diamond Life, a collection of short stories about the love and work lives of creative millennials in London, published by Heloise Press. Tickets redeemable against a copy of the book on the evening of the event.
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
The Villain's Dance: a conversation with Fiston Mwanza Mujila and Roland Glasser
Author Fiston Mwanza Mujila and translator Roland Glasser in conversation to celebrate the UK publication of The Villain's Dance (And Other Stories) — Zaire in the late 90s, Mobutu's tottering reign, street kids, diamond hunters, and the Villain's Dance from dusk till dawn. Tickets redeemable against a copy of the book on the night. Supported by Institut Francais in the UK.
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Tills Bookshop
A Bookless Bookclub Special: Cristina Rivera Garza
Two evening sessions delving into the work of Cristina Rivera Garza, Bookless Bookclub style: excerpts from The Taiga Syndrome (tr. Suzanne Jill Levine and Aviva Kana), The Iliac Crest (tr. Sarah Booker), the forthcoming Autobiography of Cotton (tr. Christina MacSweeney), and more — translation, violence, disappearances, fairy tales. No preparation needed; sessions free with limited seats. 24 April and 29 May, 6.30-8pm at Tills Bookshop by the Meadows.
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Tills Bookshop
Imperfect Bodies: a conversation with Ali Isaac
A conversation with Ali Isaac about her book Imperfect Bodies, a literary memoir on mothering a girl with a rare genetic disease — exploring social and political definitions of normality, motherhood, identity, and the able and dis-abled body. Tickets redeemable against a copy of the book on the night. Sold out.
2025
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Tills Bookshop
Aonghas & Alasdair: A celebration of literary friendship with Gerda Stevenson and Peter Mackay
An evening celebrating the life-long friendship between Gaelic poet Aonghas MacNeacail and Glaswegian novelist Alasdair Gray. Aonghas' wife Gerda Stevenson, actress and writer, in conversation with Makar Peter Mackay, hosted as part of Book Week Scotland, in collaboration with the Alasdair Gray Archive in Glasgow — with a display of inscribed books from Aonghas' personal library, including a collection of his poems inscribed by Alasdair. Ticket price redeemable against a copy of beyond, Aonghas' posthumously published book of English poetry.
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
Balkan Rhapsody: A roundtable on Balkan languages in translation with Iliyana Nedkova-Byrne
A conversation with Iliyana Nedkova-Byrne around translation, Balkan women's writing, and exile, drawing on her translation of Balkan Rhapsody by Maria Kassimova-Moisset, published by the independent Scottish press Tippermuir Books in Perth.
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
Capitalists Must Starve: a conversation with Park Seolyeon and Anton Hur
Author Park Seolyeon and translator Anton Hur in conversation about writing and translating political fiction, explored through their latest novel, Capitalists Must Starve.
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
An Evening With Kate Briggs
An evening at Tills Bookshop with Windham-Campbell Prize-winning author and translator Kate Briggs.
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
Woman, Idle: Laura Vogt in conversation with Annie Rutherford
The Edinburgh launch of Laura Vogt's latest novel to be translated into English, Woman, Idle — published in the UK by Heloise Press and translated by Caroline Waight. What kind of woman have I become? What kind of woman do I want to be?
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Tills Bookshop
Reading Through the Seasons: Ali Smith's Summer
July reading group discussing Ali Smith's Summer — the fourth in a year-round literary journey through Ali Smith's Seasonal Quartet, hosted by Tills booksellers. The Quartet was a publishing experiment, written quickly over a single year and printed weeks after the manuscripts were finished; Summer is a shimmering, elegiac tapestry of voices capturing the restless pulse of a world on edge. Ticket includes 10% off the book and 33% off A3 posters of the series.
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
Crossing Terrains: A discussion on translation, the natural world, and colonialism with Nedra Rodrigo
An intimate roundtable with translator Nedra Rodrigo about translation as a decolonial practice focusing on the land.
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
Our Brilliant Friends: Three Seminars on the Neapolitan Novels
For a second summer in a row, a series of three seminars delving into Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels, following Elena Greco and Lila Cerullo across their sixty-year friendship — novels that changed how we understand authorship and translation.
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In Other Words · the Biblioteca Femminista, Florence
The Translation Table at the Feminist Library, Florence, 2025
A special series of Translation Table events at the Biblioteca Femminista in Florence — the reading group dedicated to translated literature and literature about translation, held in a historic feminist space and directly supporting its work, moving between Italian and English.
2024
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
Chronicles of a Heartache: four seminars on Elena Ferrante's standalone novels
A series of four summer seminars, each exploring one of Ferrante's standalone novels: Troubling Love, The Days of Abandonment, The Lost Daughter, and The Lying Life of Adults.
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
Translation Table: Diamela Eltit, 'Never Did the Fire' (tr. Daniel Hahn) and Daniel Hahn, 'Catching Fire'
Never Did the Fire is a peculiar novel, full of ambiguity, strangeness and repetitions — Eltit's experimental style hand in hand with her political commitment. How to translate a language so embedded in its time and circumstances?
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
Translation Table: Sharon Dodua Otoo, 'Ada's Realm' (tr. Jon Cho-Polizzi) and Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, 'The Language of Languages'
On the hierarchical relationship between languages under colonialism: Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's The Language of Languages and its idea of a network of languages with translation at its centre, alongside Jon Cho-Polizzi's reflections as translator of Ada's Realm on decentralising a historically eurocentric translation theory.
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
Translation Table: Shushan Avagyan, 'A Book, Untitled' (tr. Deanna Cachoian-Schanz) and 'Violent Phenomena' (ed. Kavita Bhanot and Jeremy Tiang)
To read A Book, Untitled is no mean feat: on both levels — Avagyan's original writing and Cachoian-Schanz's translation — Girq asks its readers to accept not always understanding what is going on, or whose voice we are reading.
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
Translation Table: Mireille Gansel, 'Translation as Transhumance' (tr. Ros Schwartz) and Yoko Tawada, 'Scattered All Over the Earth' (tr. Margaret Mitsutani)
Two works on language and identity as interconnected — able to create, transform, and mould each other. Reflections on forced displacement, losing one's native language, and rebuilding one's self around, and through, an entirely new one.
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In Other Words · Tills Bookshop
Translation Table: Kate Briggs' 'This Little Art'
This Little Art is a dense, bold and thought-provoking essay exploring translation in a personal, heartfelt way — a great introduction to complex ideas about translation that makes the reader feel intimately involved in the translator's world.