Coming Up Online!
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.
Livestream events from our April Festival
Wednesday 22 - Sunday 26 April 2026; various times and prices on Zoom;
We're livestreaming 11 of the events from our April Festival in 2026 - if you can't come to Milton Keynes, it can come to you! Memoirs, crime fiction, climate change, geopolitics, poetry, emerging writers and more... all available to watch from wherever you may be. See the April programme for full details.
Previous Events
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Borders: The Barriers in our Heads with Abda Khan and Karina von Lindeiner-Stráský
Monday 30 March 2026, 7.00pm, on Zoom; Free/donations welcome
Cultural borders – built from equal measures of human differences and of preconceptions – can be as difficult as physical barriers to cross. In conversation with Karina von Lindeiner-Stráský, writer/lawyer Abda Khan will explore how to dismantle the prejudices and biases that build them.
Growing Up and I’m Fine (Now): 3 Poets for LGBTQ History Month
Tuesday 24 February, 7.00 - 8.00p, on Zoom; £6/£4
For LGTBQ History Month, three poets – Len Lukowski, Julia Bell and Simon Maddrell - share fragments of their own histories as told in their writings, demonstrating the diversity of experience within the community across decades of social change.
Up in the Air: A History of High Rise Britain with Holly Smith and John Grindrod
Tuesday 3 February, 7.30 - 8.30p, on Zoom; £8/£6
High-rise estates are some of the most visible and contentious symbols of Britain's post-war dreams. Join historian Holly Smith and writer John Grindrod for an evening exploring the origins, history and legacy of Britain's tower blocks. Enjoy a different, more human side to these familiar icons on our skyline.
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Borders: Drawing the Line? with Tim Marshall and Philip Seargeant
Monday 9 March 2026, 7.00pm, on Zoom; Free/donations welcome
Tim Marshall, bestselling author of Prisoners of Geography, discusses with Philip Seargeant why physical borders are such a live issue in today’s globalised, interconnected world, how communities and states act in relation to one another, and how considering geography might help us understand the rise of populist politics.
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Borders: Routes and Roots: Breaking Through the Class Ceiling - Kit de Waal & Dan Taylor
Monday 16 March 2026, 7.00pm, on Zoom; Free/donations welcome
Kit de Waal’s new novel, The Best of Everything, follows Paulette, who migrates from St Kitts to 1970s Birmingham, rebuilding her life through an unlikely found family crossing racial and cultural boundaries. A leading voice for working class writers, Kit joins Dr Dan Taylor to discuss the class ceiling in British society, and how to challenge it.
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Borders: Looking Beyond Borders with Gracie Mae Bradley and Gunjan Sondhi
Monday 23 March 2026, 7.00pm, on Zoom; Free/donations welcome
Gracie Mae Bradley, civil liberties expert and co-author of Against Borders, talks to the Open University’s Gunjan Sondhi about ways in which we might reshape our current, populism-tarnished world to overcome the barriers that fuel division and disparities.