Next week is Margate Week at the Bookie! We’ll be celebrating the amazing talent and incredible book-loving community in the town and across Thanet.

We’ve been talking about all things Bookie on Academy FM. On Saturday, the Bookie team joined presenter Paul Rutters live on his breakfast show to talk about all the exciting things we’ve got coming up this year.

Join us this weekend for two days of practical workshops with professional writers. They will show you how to develop your practice in numerous ways, whether you’re just starting out or looking to push your career up to the next step.

We kick off with our Write Up weekend on 4 October

AI is here and it’s already making big changes. But is it really something to be feared? As part of this year’s Write Up programme, writers Andreas Loizou and Paul Dornan will lead a workshop on creativity and humanity in the AI age.Ahead of that, we caught up with Paul to find out more about why he’s optimistic about human creativity in an AI world.

As part of this year’s Margate Bookie, David Whitehouse will be in conversation with fellow author Lisa Owens about Saltwater Mansions. They will discuss the impact of grief and the dangerous allure of taking true crime stories into your own hands. We caught up with David to find out more about Saltwater Mansions and his plans for the future.  

Comedian Rosie Wilby is the host of award-winning podcast The Breakup Monologues. On Tuesday 7 October she hosts Queer Women’s Voices, part of our Margate Week line up of events. Ahead of the event, we caught up with Rosie to find out more.  

Part of our Write Up programme on 4 October, Iain Aitch’s Writing Margate workshop will draw from his work on Margate’s cultural history and ever-changing face, giving experienced and beginner writers alike the impetus and inspiration to interpret the town in new ways. We caught up with him to find out more about how Margate has inspired him and what to expect from his workshop.

We’re very excited to bring a Little Book Stop book-sharing box to Margate as part of Penguin Books’ 90th birthday celebrations. Our application was chosen from more than 2000 and we’re delighted to see it now set up in its new home. We’re really looking forward to seeing it in use.