Why We Love Author Events (And Why You Should Revisit Our Chat with A.J. West)

One of the things we love to do is meeting fascinating people and hearing the stories behind the stories.

On Monday night (yes a school night!), of few of us Book Clubbers headed into Nottingham to see author A.J. West speak at Five Leaves Bookshop about his forthcoming book, How Queer Bookshops Changed the World. The event explored the remarkable role LGBTQ+ bookshops have played in creating communities, championing writers and preserving stories that may otherwise have been lost to history.

It's exactly the kind of event we love. Not just because we're book nerds (although that certainly helps), but because there's something special about hearing an author talk about their work in person. You get to see the passion behind the pages, the research that went into the writing and the little stories that never make it into the finished book.

Listening to A.J. today reminded us why we enjoyed speaking to him so much when he joined us for one of our earliest podcast interviews.

Back then, we chatted about writing, history, storytelling and the journey that led him to become one of the country's most exciting historical fiction authors. Since then, his profile has continued to grow, with readers embracing books such as The Spirit Engineer and The Betrayal of Thomas True, and now his latest non-fiction work shining a light on a fascinating and often overlooked part of cultural history.

One of the unexpected joys of podcasting is having the excuse to contact people out of the blue and (if they're up for it) ask them lots of questions.

A.J. was one of our first guests. Warm, funny, thoughtful and endlessly knowledgeable, he was exactly the sort of person you hope will say yes when you send that first nervous email invitation.

Today's event also got us thinking about why stories matter so much. Whether they're found in novels, memoirs, podcasts or tucked away on the shelves of independent bookshops, stories help us understand people whose lives may be very different from our own. They challenge us, entertain us and occasionally change the way we see the world.

So, while we wait for How Queer Bookshops Changed the World to arrive on bookshelves, we'd love to invite you to take a trip back into the archives and revisit our conversation with A.J. West.

If you're already a fan, you'll enjoy hearing more about the man behind the books. If you've only just discovered his work, it's a great place to start.

Pop the kettle on, settle into your favourite chair and spend an hour in the company of one of our favourite podcast guests.

You can listen to our interview with A.J. West here or wherever you normally get your podcasts.

And if today's event taught us anything, it's that great stories don't just belong in books. They belong in conversations too.