An Evening with M. P. Wright at the Age UK Bookshop
My collection of signed books has grown even bigger after the Age UK bookshop were visited by local bestselling author, M.P Wright, who launched his exclusive collection of short stories No Pockets in a Shroud at Age UK on 6th October.
M. P. Wright was joined by journalist and editor, Tony R Cox, to discuss all things writing. First published in 2014, M.P Wright’s novel Heartman started out as a script featuring fictional detective, J.T. Ellington, until feedback from fellow creative writers saw his story form a novel. Seven years and five novels later, the entire series was concluded, until now! It seems Ellington remained on Wright’s mind, leading him to write ‘Kiss Them for Me’ – a novella which features alongside two previously written short stories in the No Pockets in a Shroud collection.
After growing up in Syston himself, M.P. Wright shared stories of his time in the area, leading us all to reminisce about our Syston memories – particularly the pubs! Having lived in the area all my life, it was nice to find someone so close to home who has been successful in the writing world, giving me yet more inspiration to achieve my own writing dreams.
What made the evening particularly interesting was hearing about the changes in the publishing industry that have taken place over Wright’s career, including the challenges he faced with writing about the Windrush era. I cannot wait to read the series to find out more about this fascinating period.
As well as discussing his previous work, M. P. Wright also gave us a sneak preview of his new novel which is being taken in a different direction to his original series, with a new pen name and a new protagonist at the heart of the plot.
Of course, an evening at the bookshop would not be complete without homemade cakes and a surprise glass of Prosecco! A massive thanks to the staff and volunteers at the bookshop for organising this brilliant event, and of course to M.P Wright and Tony Cox for being such down to earth, humorous and informative hosts.
The book club takes place on the first Monday of every month. We are a friendly, welcoming group who chat, eat cake, drink tea and most importantly, have a good old giggle. All ages and reading abilities welcome. For more information, please contact on 0116 464 9300… or pop into the bookshop.
No Pockets in a Shroud is exclusively available from Age UK and will not be available elsewhere. Grab your copy while you can!
By Claire Suzanne
