News

Days Like These in North America

News

At last! I’m delighted to announce that my most recent book Days Like These is finally available for pre-order in North America. It will officially publish there in hardcover on 5th December and is available through all good bookstores and also Amazon.

It contains a poem for every day of the year, each one inspired by an event associated with that day – from the invention of television to World Bee Day; from the first appearance of Barbie to the banning of flirting in New York; from Independence Day to the first transatlantic phone call.

Subjects I’ve written about along the way include: quarks, morse code, Wittgenstein, bananas, unicorns, the unification of Italy, the Rubik’s Cube, water, Waiting for Godot, the moon, Jane Austen, Esperanto, beer, Doris Day, Lego, kindness, Pluto (the ex-planet not the dog) and Elvis.

Days Like These joins You Took the Last Bus Home, Alexa, what is there to know about love? and Refugees in being available in North America.

Sorry to mention the C word but my book of Christmas poems– And So This is Christmas –  which publishes in the UK in October won’t be available in print in North America until next year (presumably to prevent too much excitement happening in any one year).

And for those of you outside of North America, Days Like These publishes in paperback on 9th November: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/295/9781035001668

UPDATE ON TICKETS – INCLUDING NEW SHOWS

News

Here’s one of those mildly boring updates about when and where I’ll be reading poems over the coming months.

First, a couple of new shows to announce for March 2024. Tickets have just gone on sale for CHESTER (Storyhouse) and LINCOLN (Theatre Royal). Earlier this week, tickets also went on sale for a couple of events next May in Cornwall (FALMOUTH and LAUNCESTON). I hope to announce some new shows for next year in Scotland soon.

For this year, most shows have now sold out. But there are a few tickets left for Lytham St Anne’s, Stamford, Caerphilly, Crickhowell, Frome and Bridport.

I’ll also be at the Morecambe Poetry Festival next month with the brilliant Henry Normal. Tickets are selling fast for that. There’s a stellar line-up of poets all week.

And on the subject of Henry, the two of us are on tour together next year when we’ll be coming to: Bexhill-on-Sea, Salford, Sunderland, Leeds, Bury St Edmonds, Stroud and Bath (in February); Monmouth, Exeter, Oxford, Coventry, Wolverhampton, London (in March); Ilkley and Nottingham (in April).

After all that, I’ll be going easy on events for a while, catching up on laundry etc, maybe even writing some poems.

Details of all these events can be found here: https://brianbilston.com/upcoming-events-and-shows/

Hope to get to see you at one of these soon.

WARNING: Blog Post May Contain Traces of Christmas

News

I’m delighted to share with you some exciting – if somewhat unseasonal – news …

I have a new poetry collection coming out in October, perfectly timed for Christmas: which is a good job really because it’s a book of Christmas poems. It’s called ‘And So This is Christmas’ and is now available to preorder.

The book will be available through your local bookshop, or online. If ordered online through the link below, you can also support an independent bookshop of your choosing: Preorder here

A very Merry July and a Happy New August to you all.

New shows for 2024

News

I’m delighted to announce a series of new shows* coming in early 2024 – alongside the brilliant Henry Normal.

We’re coming to Bath, Bexhill, Bury St Edmonds, Exeter, Ilkley, Leeds, London, Monmouth, Nottingham, Oxford, Salford, Stroud, Sunderland, Warwick and Wolverhampton.

Tickets will go on general sale at 10am this Friday. I’ll send around links to tickets then (if I remember).

*well, evenings of poetry

2023 Tour: Some Questions and Answers

News

As many of you know, I will be embarking on a tour over the coming months, on which I shall be reading some of my poems in front of mildly perplexed and bewildered audiences around the UK. I thought I would take this opportunity to answer some of the most common questions I get asked in response to this news.

1. Will books be on sale – and will I be signing them?

Yes, the plan is to partner with a local bookshop wherever possible and have them on sale at the event. I have made a note to bring a pen with me should anyone want their copy signed.

2. Will I actually be visible at the event or do I plan to read the poems behind a curtain / wear some elaborate disguise such as a giant papier-mache head?

Unfortunately, I will be present and visible at all events. Tickets have been discounted on this basis.

3. Are you intending to be two and a half hours late for all your events, like you were for that one in Glasgow the other week?

No, it is my intention to be on time for all future events, despite travelling by network rail to most of them. I am factoring in a cushion of 72 hours into my journey times to offset any rail delays.

4. Will I be accompanied by my cat?

Sadly not. Buttons, the beautiful cat who appears on many of my author pics passed away 18 months ago. While I now have two new cats, both seem keen to distance themselves from my work, preferring the poetry of Simon Armitage and Carol Ann Duffy.

5. Will I read that poem about the Daily Mail?

Almost certainly.

6. Cornwall?

This is not really a question as such, more just a place-name followed by a question mark. The same goes for ‘Scotland?’, ‘The North-East?’ and ‘Melbourne?‘. If the question is “Will I be doing any shows in Cornwall (Scotland, the North-East, Melbourne etc)?” then the answer is that I would love to, but I’m all booked up for 2023. Over time, I’d like to read my poems in all sorts of places. Even the Isle of Wight.

7. Are there tickets still available?

About half the shows are now sold out – and some are close to selling out – but there are currently tickets still on sale for the following (in chronological order): Swindon; Portsmouth; Worcester; Morecambe; Buxton; Lytham St Anne’s; Kendal; Sheffield; Sale; Banbury; Caerphilly; Crickhowell; Clevedon; Bellaghy; Cheltenham; Frome; Chippenham; Bridport; Southampton.

Information on all the shows are available through the link below:

Events and Shows

8. I am a policeman. How likely is it that I will find myself bitten if I attend one of your events?

That incident is behind me. I have learnt my lesson the hard way. Please be assured that precautions are now in place to prevent any recurrence.

Thanks very much and hope to see some of you in the course of the year.

Tickets are selling like warm buns …

News

for my upcoming shows and events, for some reason which is currently unclear to me.

Anyhow, if you want to come along to a night of poetry, jokes, juggling, breakdancing etc, you can find more info here … https://brianbilston.com/upcoming-events-and-shows/

Please note that the two London shows, Norwich and Sudbury have now sold out.

Autumn tour

News

I’m very excited to announce details of a series of new shows (aka ‘a tour’) taking place this autumn, in which I’ll be reading poems and making shrewd observations about the human condition and/or bin day.

There are around 30 dates and tickets are on sale now. Details & links are here …

Events and Shows

Tickets are now available for:
Banbury; Belfast; Bellaghy; Bridport; Brighton; Buxton; Cheltenham; Chippenham; Chorley; Clevedon; Colchester; Crickhowell; Frome; Kendal; Liverpool; Lytham St Annes; Milton Keynes; Norwich; Otley; Painswick; Pocklington; Sale; Selby; Sheffield; Stamford; Sudbury; Swindon; Worcester.

Caerphilly and Deal will be on sale soon.

I’ll also be at various festivals from the late Spring onwards. More on that, when I have all the details.

Finally, this month I’ll be at the Laugharne Weekend in Carmarthenshire, (24-26th March) and then in Newcastle on 28th. Tickets are still available for both.

More shows announced

News

Tickets have gone on sale this morning for four new shows in June: Painswick; Corsham; Swindon; and Bristol. There will be poems, ruminations, and a minimum of two laughs or your money back.

More info is here: brianbilston.com/events/

Alexa, what is there to know about when the paperback is coming out?

Assorted Poems, News

I’m delighted to receive some advance paperback copies of my book ‘Alexa, what is there to know about love?’. It publishes on 3rd Feb and is available to pre-order.

I’ve taken a photo of it next to a plant because that’s what book bloggers sometimes do if a cup of cappuccino is unavailable.

Photo of a book next to a plant

It’s available through all the bookshops, particularly the independent ones. The book may or may not be appropriate for Valentine’s Day or be put to a variety of other sundry uses.

I’ve also attached a few poems from it, what always used to refer to as ‘bonus promotional content’.

Assorted Poems, News
Some books

It’s December so I suppose I should mention these books in case you might want to incorporate any of them into your Christmas shopping.

‘50 Ways to Score a Goal’ is a collection of poems, perfect for the football obsessive in your life, whether they’re aged eight or eighty (but not thirty-four for some reason).

‘Alexa, what is there to know about love?’ published earlier this year in a splendid-looking hardcover edition. It’s a collection of poems about love (plus a few other things like Brexit and pasta), making it the ideal gift for Sagittarians, vegetarians and Presbyterians.

‘Diary of a Somebody’ is a novel, in the form of a diary, about a complete loser called Brian Bilston (no relation). It also contains over 100 poems and for shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award. Goes well with a tomato and basil sauce.

‘You Took the Last Bus Home’ is, at heart, a book with some words in it. Many of these have been arranged into poems along with punctuation marks and the occasional line break. Appropriate for mums, uncles, nephews and sister-in-laws.

And ‘Refugees’ is my forwardy-backwardy poem in picture book format for children. The poem is accompanied by the beautiful artwork of José Sanabria.

They’re available from a bookshop near you. Unless you’re in North America, where generally you can only get hold of You Took the Last Bus Home and Refugees.

Also, you can find all the titles here, alongside some of my favourite books: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/brianbilston

I hope to bring news quite soon of a new book on the way but more on that anon (and on and on).