Entry
Prices vary
Dates
Fri 30 Jan - Sun 22 Feb
Location
Foyle Rooms, Turner Contemporary
Margate Bookie Big Weekend is back! Discover all Margate Bookie events taking place at Turner. There'll be readings, in conversations and workshops for schools, families and adults alike.
Big Weekend Events
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Talks & ToursKiller Stories - Crime Fiction
Sat 11 Oct 2025, 10.30–11.30am£8 + booking feeJoin crime fiction writers GD Wright, LV Matthews and Naomi Williams discuss their approaches to the chilling genre, in conversation with Academy FM presenter Paul Rutters.
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Talks & ToursDavid Whitehouse
Sat 11 Oct 2025, 12–1pm£8 + booking feeJoin award-winning author and screenwriter David Whitehouse and novelist and screenwriter Lisa Owens as they discuss his latest book, Saltwater Mansions, a real life mystery centering on the disappearance of a Margate woman named Caroline Lane.
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Talks & ToursRaymond Antrobus & Victoria Adukwei Bulley
Sat 11 Oct 2025, 1.30–2.30pm£8 + booking feeJoin Margate-based poets Raymond Antrobus and Victoria Adukwei Bulley as they talk through their careers, in conversation with author Jacqueline Crooks.
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Talks & ToursJay Rayner
Sat 11 Oct 2025, 3–4pm£12 + booking feeJoin award-winning writer, journalist and broadcaster Jay Rayner share stories from his 25 year career as a restaurant critic, in conversation with Sophie Haydock.
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Talks & Tours14 Anthology
Sun 12 Oct 2025, 10.30–11.30am£8 + booking feeJoin us for the launch of this year’s edition of 14 Magazine.
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Talks & ToursAdam Weymouth
Sun 12 Oct 2025, 12–1pm£8 + booking feeWriter and journalist, Adam Weymouth, shares the story behind his latest book Lone Wolf.
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Talks & ToursWomen by the Sea
Sun 12 Oct 2025, 1.30–2.30pm£8 + booking feeJoin authors Xiaolu Guo and Jacqueline Crooks for a lyrical and thought-provoking conversation on migration, creativity, and coastal life.
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Talks & ToursThe Secrets of Successful Friendships
Sun 12 Oct 2025, 3–4pm£8 + booking feeLed by The School of Life, The Secrets of Successful Friendships offers a thoughtful exploration of why friendship is both more complex and more rewarding than we typically imagine.
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Children's Bookie Events
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Workshops & CoursesMysteries, Magic and the Art of Potion Creation with Tamara Macfarlane
Sat 11 Oct 2025, 10.30–11.30am£3.50Join authors Tamara Macfarlane (The Book of Mysteries, Magic and the Unexplained), and Hayley of My Real Fairy Kits to explore mysteries, magic, and the art of potion creation.
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Workshops & CoursesWolf and the City with Rachel Tilda Wolf
Sat 11 Oct 2025, 12–1pm£3.50Join author and illustrator Rachel Tilda Wolf for an interactive story time and craft workshop where children will create their own characters to take home.
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Workshops & CoursesLockett & Wilde’s Dreadfully Haunting Mysteries with Lucy Strange and Pam Smy
Sat 11 Oct 2025, 1.30–2:30pm£3.50Join author and illustrator team Lucy Strange and Pam Smy as they share the secrets behind their ghostly new series Lockett & Wilde’s Dreadfully Haunting Mysteries.
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Workshops & CoursesNursery Rhyme draw-a-long with Ben Coppin
Sat 11 Oct 2025, 1–4pmFreeEnjoy your favourite nursery rhymes and songs with storytellers bringing them to life.
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Workshops & CoursesPablo and Splash with Sheena Dempsey
Sun 12 Oct 2025, 10.30–11.30am£3.50Get ready for a hilarious and creative comic book event as audiences join time-travelling penguins Pablo and Splash on their adventures.
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Workshops & CoursesThe Dinosaur That Pooped Draw-Along with Garry Parsons
Sun 12 Oct 2025, 12–1pm£3.50Join illustrator Garry Parsons for a dinosaur draw-a-long. Learn how to draw the star of The Dinosaur That Pooped series, written by Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter.
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Workshops & CoursesThe Pocket Book of Pocket Poems with AF Harrold
Sun 12 Oct 2025, 1.30–2.30pm£3.50Prepare for a wild ride with beards, cats, the unexpected and some very short verse, with his latest book, The Pocket Book of Pocket Poems.
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Workshops & CoursesThe Evolution of Bums with the Crab Museum
Sun 12 Oct 2025, 3–4pmFreeJoin Margate's own Crab Museum as they attempt to answer a series of bottom-related questions in their new book A Natural History of Bums.
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