Coming up in-person!
Johnny Ball: Stories That Must Be Told!
Wednesday 22 April 2026, 7.00pm - 8.15pm, Waterstones MK; £10/£7 • £5 Livestream on Zoom
Legendary educator, presenter and entertainer Johnny Ball has led a roller-coaster life encountering everything from Butlins and The Beatles to engineering and big business. After 87 years of laugh-a-minute adventure, it’s been a lifetime full of Stories That Must Be Told!
MinK#6 Creative Writing Awards and Anthology Launch
Thursday 23 April 2026, 6.30pm - 7.15pm, The Box Arts Club, Kiln Farm; FREE (also livestream on Zoom)
Join us as we announce the prize-winners of our 2026 Creative Writing Competition, and launch the sixth issue of our fabulous #MinK anthology of the best local creative writing, featuring forty-eight poems, flash and creative non-fiction pieces exploring the theme of The Trees.
John Grindrod: Tales of the Suburbs - LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains
Thursday 23 April 2026, 8.00pm - 9.00pm, The Box Arts Club, Kiln Farm; £10/£7 • £5 Livestream on Zoom
Through archive material and original interviews, social historian John Grindrod reveals the messy, moving, dark, funny, uplifting, extraordinary – and above all true - stories of queer people growing up and living in the twitching curtains and pebble-dash of suburban towns and villages.
Borders: Jonn Elledge - A History of the World in 47 Borders
Friday 24 April 2026, 6.00pm - 7.00pm, Waterstones MK; £10/£7 • Free on Zoom
In a witty and surprising look at world history as told through its borders, Jonn Elledge explores their fascinating stories with The Open University’s Daria Chernysheva: what they reveal about how countries’ identities are shaped, why the world looks as it does – and human folly.
Geoff Andrews: Radicals - Labour's Hidden Histories
Friday 24 April 2026, 8.00pm - 9.00pm, Waterstones MK; £10/£7 • £5 Livestream on Zoom
The political Left in Britain rose out of the Industrial Revolution, when the working classes emerged as a leading force in movements for social change. Join Geoff Andrews to explore Labour's hidden history and radicalisms through the ideas of its leading thinkers.
Demystifying Dialogue: Workshop with Toby Litt
Saturday 25 April 2026, 11.00am - 1.00pm, MK Central Library; £20/£15 (places limited)
Does your dialogue seem clunky or embarrassing to you? Do you avoid writing it altogether? In this workshop, experienced Creative Writing tutor Toby Litt will give you advice, ideas, and even some tricks for writing better dialogue, and writing it with greater ease and confidence.
Matty Long: Draw Along with Croaky! (Age 5+)
Saturday 25 April 2026, 12.00pm - 1.00pm, MK Central Library; £5 per child/£3 per accompanying adult (required)
Join Matty Long for a fun drawing workshop and discover how to draw characters from his brilliant Croaky books! You’ll design your own hero, and learn how to start creating all sorts of exciting stories.
Thrilling Crime: Ruth Mancini
Saturday 25 April 2026, 12.30pm - 1.30pm,MK Central Library; £10/£7 • £5 Livestream on Zoom
Bestseller Ruth Mancini’s new novel, The Stranger on the Stairs, is a gripping psychological thriller inspired by a shocking real-life case. Ruth’s background as a solicitor, representing those accused of crimes and navigating courtrooms, adds authenticity to her fiction, and her thrilling reads keep you guessing until the very end.
Ash Bond: Peregrine Quinn and the Battle for Olympus (Age 7+)
Saturday 25 April 2026, 1.30pm - 2.30pm, MK Central Library; £5 per child/£3 per accompanying adult (required)
In Ash Bond’s magical, mythical event from the cosmic Peregrine Quinn series, you’ll discover the legends, literature and ancient history that inspired this electrifying series, along with creative activities based on the books! Join us for fantasy, adventure and wit.
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Poetry Spotlight: Isabelle Baafi and John McCullough
Saturday 25 April 2026, 2.00pm - 3.00pm, MK Central Library; £10/£7 • £5 Livestream on Zoom
Two award-winning poets – Isabelle Baafi and John McCullough – explore identity, togetherness and separation, and the human search for joy, in two of the most feted and anticipated poetry collections of the last year. Hosted by poet Caroline Davies.
Nizrana Farook: The Boy Who Saved a Bear (Age 9+)
Saturday 25 April 2026, 3.00pm - 4.00pm, MK Central Library; £5 per child/£3 per accompanying adult (required)
Nizrana Farook, bestselling author of The Boy Who Saved a Bear and The Girl Who Stole an Elephant, writes stories of courage, daring escape and hidden treasure inspired by her Sri Lankan childhood. Discover her exciting, imaginative tales!
Fresh Voices: Derek Owusu and Madeleine Dunnigan
Saturday 25 April 2026, 3.30pm - 4.30pm, MK Central Library; £10/£7 • £5 Livestream on Zoom
Acclaimed authors Derek Owusu and Madeleine Dunnigan bring fresh takes to the coming of age novel as they follow the lives of young men searching for love and authenticity. Hear them talk about their novels, their inspirations and their writing careers.
The Climate Stories We Need to Tell: Natalie Bennett and Solitaire Townsend
Saturday 25 April 2026, 6.00pm - 7.00pm, Waterstones MK; £10/£7 • £5 Livestream on Zoom
Climate change is one of the defining themes of our time. Green Party peer Natalie Bennett joins novelist and sustainability advisor Solitaire Townsend to discuss the role that stories about it – fiction or otherwise – can play in helping us create a different, longer future.
Crime Night: Harriet Tyce in conversation with Sarah Pinborough
Saturday 25 April 2026, 8.00pm - 9.00pm, Waterstones MK; £10/£7 • £5 Livestream on Zoom
Join Harriet Tyce – Sunday Times bestseller and Traitors star – for a criminally entertaining evening. Talking to international bestseller Sarah Pinborough, Harriet discusses her compulsive new book, Witch Trial, and how she’s turned her experience as a criminal barrister into huge success as a crime writer.
Writing for Broadcast: Workshop with James McDermott
Sunday 26 April 2026, 12.30pm - 2.30pm, The Box Arts Club, Kiln Farm; £20/£15 (places limited)
Learn the different tools and techniques of writing stories, characters and dialogue for TV, film and radio with acclaimed stage and radio playwright, EastEnders scriptwriter, creative writing lecturer and poet James McDermott.
Mining our Memories: Workshop with Simon Maddrell
Sunday 26 April 2026, 3.30pm - 5.30pm, The Box Arts Club, Kiln Farm; £20/£15 (places limited)
A two-hour writing workshop with poet, editor and wellbeing facilitator Simon Maddrell, helping participants to mine personal memories to create new poems and stories, and showing you ways to elevate your narratives. Suitable for writers at all levels.
Voices of Milton Keynes (NB submissions for this event close on 30 March)
Sunday 26 April 2026, 6.30pm - 8.00pm, The Box Arts Club, Kiln Farm; FREE (also livestream on Zoom)
The Raising Voices Project is curating writing inspired by places in Milton Keynes in our online, interactive StoryMap. Hear live readings of some of our favourite recent pieces by writers from across the city with poems and stories to intrigue and entertain. Pay bar available. Submit your writing by 30 March.