book launch: The Map Of Leaves by Yarrow Townsend

Friday 6th May

in the shop - 6.30pm - book launch - free entry

Please register via Eventbrite if you wish to attend so we know how many people to expect.

Yarrow Townsend will be joining us in the shop to celebrate the launch of her debut children’s novel The Map of Leaves, published by Chicken House.

Set in a world where plants talk, friendship is hard-won and adventure is around the bend of every river...

Orla has lived on her own since Ma died, with only her beloved garden for company. When sickness comes and nature is blamed, Orla knows she must find a cure. Armed with her mother's book of plants and remedies, she steals away on a river boat with two other stowaways, Idris and Ariana. Soon the trio must navigate the rapids of the Inkwater to a poisonous place from which they may never return...

The debut novel from an astonishingly talented new writer Yarrow Townsend, The Map of Leaves is a wild rapids-ride of a story, suffused at every turn with authentic details of the natural world.

Yarrow Townsend spent her childhood among the moss, oak and heather of the New Forest. After working as a teacher, and then as a stable hand, Yarrow completed an MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University, before returning to the forest to work for the RSPB. Always in search of ways to be closer to the outdoors, Yarrow now lives on a narrowboat, travelling the canals with her garden on the roof. The Map of Leaves is inspired by her life by the woods and the water.

Please register via Eventbrite for instructions to join and to help us with book ordering and to manage numbers on the shop floor. We are operating with Covid caution here at October Books, so please respect your fellow attendees by maintaining some distance. We are requesting that people attending events/gatherings in the shop please wear a face covering, and take a lateral flow test on the day of the event - to ensure all people feel safe. This is a free entry event, but if you'd like to sling October Books a donation, please do.

If you would like to reserve a copy of ‘The Map Of Leaves’ to collect from the shop please email us at info@octoberbooks.org

If you would like to order a copy for delivery to your door, you can do so here.

Find out more about Yarrow Townsend on these social channels - Twitter: @yarrowtownsend Instagram: @yarrowtownsend

Find out more about the Chicken House publishing - Twitter: @chickenhsebooks Instagram: @chickenhousebooks FB: @chickenhousebooks