Pickering Book Tree

Ellie Levenson
2026-05-15 19:00 - 20:00 (Europe/London) | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
New date — this event had to be rescheduled due to Ellie’s train being at an hours long standstill last time. We’re so glad that it’s been possible to find a new date when Ellie will be able to travel up to us again!

We’re delighted to welcome Ellie Levenson to the Book Tree to discuss her deeply suspenseful and original debut novel!
Room 706 is both reflective and pacy with the tension of a very real threat looming over the narrator throughout. Caught somewhere she shouldn’t be when the worst happens — in the wrong place at precisely the worst time — she must face the most confronting situation of her life and discover what matters most.
Built upon a brilliant concept brought to life sensitively, and led by a deeply layered and very believable main character, this story is gripping and emotional in equal measure and lingers long after turning the final page.
This event will start at the slightly earlier time of 7pm, and the shop door will be open from 6.30pm with complementary wine and cordial available on arrival.
Tickets are free and guarantee entry to the event. Please contact the shop or use the booking form below to reserve your seats.
We look forward to seeing you there!

About the Book
A tense, riveting read about the unpredictable ripple effects luck and choices can have — Tracy Sierra
A love story wrapped in a grenade — Cecelia Ahern
If she knew it would end this way, would it ever have begun?
When mother of two Kate goes to meet her lover James in a hotel room, she watches in horror when she switches on the TV and realises their hotel has been taken under terrorist siege. Told to stay silent and hidden, Kate is trapped in a room with a man she’s been having an affair with for years – her escape hatch, her release valve – but who she doesn’t really know at all.
In one room, with the possibility of death looming, Kate is left to contemplate what has led her here. She reflects on the grief and heartbreak of her young life, the complexities of her relationship with her husband, Vic, and the pure, unadulterated love she feels for her children. Intricately weaving Kate’s past in with her present, Room 706 follows one woman taking stock of her life, and considering what life might hold in store – if she makes it home.
I devoured it… I haven’t stopped thinking about it — Jennie Godfrey
A suspenseful real-time page-turner with an ending that demands to be talked about — Erin Kelly

About the Author
Ellie Levenson has worked as a journalist, writer and lecturer for many years.
Her freelance work as a feature writer and columnist saw articles published across national newspapers, consumer magazines and specialist publications, with a special focus on writing accessibly about politics, language and social issues.
Ellie has extensive experience as a lecturer in journalism at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and has been a guest lecturer at many other institutions. She has also worked as an Adjunct Professor at the London programmes of Boston University and Syracuse University.
Before becoming a novelist, Ellie wrote non-fiction books for adults and non-fiction and picture books for children. These include Politics in 100 words (Quarto, 2020), Creativity and Feature Writing: How to get hundreds of new ideas every day (Routledge, 2015), The Election (Fisherton Press, 2015) and The Noughtie Girl’s Guide to Feminism (Oneworld, 2009).

Katie Carr
2026-05-29 19:30 - 21:00 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
We very much look forward to welcoming Katie Carr to mark the much anticipated publication of her memoir Thundery at Times.
Katie’s first book Moderate Becoming Good Later follows her brother Toby as he faces a life‑limiting illness through sea kayaking and the solace of the natural world, written from his recordings and notes.
Thundery at Times is her own memoir of finishing his Shipping Forecast journey while navigating loss, a difficult family past, and midlife in Barcelona.
This event will start at 7.30pm and the shop door will be open from 7pm with complementary wine and cordial available on arrival.
Tickets are free and guarantee entry to the event. Please contact the shop or use the booking form below to reserve your seats.
We look forward to seeing you there!

About the Book:
Thundery at Times announces Katie Carr as a terrific writer on her own terms. Having continued her brother’s journey and book in the beautiful Moderate Becoming Good Later, here she sets out on the next epic series of voyages, revealing herself to be not only resilient, determined and courageous, but possessing a rare ability to distil those qualities into exquisite prose. Thundery at Times is a profound depiction of the long tail of grief, but most of all it is a voyage into the best of humanity and how it can be found in the remotest of locations. Like the Shipping Forecast itself, Thundery at Times is quirky and eccentric but underpinned by extraordinary heart and substance. A remarkable book. More, please — Charlie Connelly, author of Attention All Shipping
Katie had never been in a sea kayak, but when her brother Toby died in the middle of his challenge to paddle in every area of the Shipping Forecast, she decided to honour his memory by completing his adventure. On a journey that takes her from the monotonies of motherhood in urban Barcelona to the far reaches of the Shipping Forecast through the wilds of the British Isles, Katie is forced to face her past and question her present, exploring the loss of her family members as well as her own identity. After two years of inelegant paddling and potentially worse parenting, can she complete the challenge?
Thundery at Times is not a story of battling high seas or completing daring tasks, but one of making your own rules and living life to the full. It is about finding joy and hope in nature, motherhood and middle age, in nurturing your own adventures and embracing connection and peace. It is a story of female resilience in the face of adversity; of staring down grief and asking, what’s possible from here?
Thundery at Times captures something essential about grief – that it asks us to keep going even when we don’t know how. Carr’s honest, heartfelt writing about finishing her brother’s challenge is a story of small braveries and the quiet strength found in honouring those we love — Freya Bromley, author of The Tidal Year

About the Author
Katie Carr is a British author, coach and trainer based in Barcelona. Her work sits where sea and city, loss and possibility meet: she writes narrative non‑fiction and helps people find steadier ways of leading and living; her narrative non‑fiction is rooted in sea, weather and family, and includes Moderate Becoming Good Later and Thundery at Times.

Oak Book Club: June 2026
2026-06-01 19:00 - 20:00 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
Join us for a welcoming book club to discuss the current novel and choose the next month’s read.
We meet on the first Monday of each month for a relaxed conversation, sharing our thoughts in the friendly atmosphere amongst the bookshelves.
The bookshop door will be open from 6.50pm for a 7pm start in our upstairs event space.
Book club meetings are free to attend, and we offer a 10% discount on each month’s paperback choice.

This Month’s Book
The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin
Supple, horrifying and mordantly droll — New York Times, who chose The Director as a Notable Book of 2025
From ‘one of the brightest, most pleasure-giving writers at work today’ (Jeffrey Eugenides), a visionary tale inspired by the life of the 20th century film director G.W. Pabst, who left Europe for Hollywood to resist the Nazis and then returned to his homeland with his wife and young son and began making films for the German Reich. An artist’s life, a pact with the devil, a novel about the dangerous illusions of the silver screen.
G.W. Pabst, one of cinema’s greatest, perhaps the greatest director of his era: when the Nazis seized power he was filming in France, to escape the horrors of the new Germany he flees to Hollywood. But under the blinding California sun, the world-famous director suddenly looks like a nobody.
Not even Greta Garbo, who he made famous, can help him. And thus, almost through no fault of his own, he finds himself back in his homeland of Austria, which is now called Ostmark. The returning family is confronted with the barbaric nature of the regime.
But Goebbels, the minister of propaganda in Berlin, wants the film genius, he won’t take no for an answer and makes big promises. While Pabst still believes that he will be able to resist these advances, that he will not submit to any dictatorship other than art, he has already taken the first steps into a hopeless entanglement. Daniel Kehlmann’s novel about art and power, beauty and barbarism is a triumph.
The Director shows what literature is capable of.
A subtle, often darkly funny novel about the relationship between art and power — Sunday Times

Hawthorn Book Club: June 2026
2026-06-11 19:00 - 20:00 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
Join us for our next Thursday book club!
We meet on the second Thursday of each month for a relaxed and friendly conversation about the current book.
The bookshop door will be open from 6.50pm for a 7pm start in our atmospheric upstairs space.
Our book club meetings are free to attend, and we offer a 10% discount on each month’s paperback choice.

This Month’s Book
The Tiger’s Share by Keshava Guha
Brilliantly rendered … Guha poignantly balances individual lives and threats of political and ecological disaster — Literary Review
A stylish and engaging tragi-comedy of manners . . . Keshava Guha is an astute and insightful observer of contemporary India — Amitav Ghosh, author of the Ibis trilogy
A waspishly witty eye cast on the war between sisters and brothers in polluted, high-achieving Delhi — Francis Spufford
The fiercest wars are fought between siblings.
Tara, a successful Dehli lawyer, is everything her younger brother isn’t: dedicated, independent, thriving. When their beloved father retires, he summons them to a meeting. But what he has to say threatens to tear the family apart.
Tara’s friend Lila has it all: a great job, a lovely home, a beautiful family. But when Lila’s father dies unexpectedly, her brother wastes no time in claiming what he thinks is his.
Together, Tara and Lila are forced to confront the challenge that their ambition poses to patriarchal Delhi society. Set against a backdrop of ecological collapse and political unrest, The Tiger’s Share is both a family and a state-of-the-nation novel unlike anything else in contemporary Indian fiction.
An extraordinary new kind of Indian novel in English, as attuned to life in contemporary New Delhi as to the choices ecological collapse eventually will force upon us all. It’s also the story of two unforgettable families, told with a controlled emotional precision that only intensifies the power of the novel’s shocking conclusion — Nell Freudenberger, author of The Newlyweds
Exciting young minds are a joy forever, and Guha is true superstar … destined for greatness — Amol Rajan
Guha offers a wide, chaotic and morally ambiguous portrait of contemporary Delhi society … Its breadth and ambition – with even the most minor characters fleshed out, each bookshop or park or neighbourhood visited an opportunity for Guha to thicken the text with some historical, political context – has echoes of Zadie Smith’s early maximalist style — Guardian

Midsummer Festival: Wyl Menmuir
2026-06-18 19:30 - 21:00 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
The Spirit of Stone
Pickering Book Tree | Doors from 7pm | Tickets FREE

Full of wonder, hope and fascinating tales of stones and their people — Fiona Robertson, author of Stone Lands
From the lonely heights of mountains to the womblike depths of caves, stone has always drawn us in. In The Spirit of Stone, Wyl Menmuir explores the many ways in which rock and earth form part of our identities, histories and futures.
Across Britain and Ireland – from Mull to the Isles of Scilly – rock is everywhere beneath our feet, shaping not only our landscapes but also our imaginations and the ways we live together.
Moving across these lands, Wyl Menmuir’s essays combine travelogue, social history and memoir, bringing together interviews, folklore and personal encounters with the landscapes themselves.
From sacred monuments to modern sculpture, this book reveals how stone grounds us, challenges us and inspires us, such as:

Mountains and caves as places of pilgrimage, danger, refuge and wonder.
Ancient pathways and stone circles that leave traces of our ancestors written into the land.
Marks and monuments, from Neolithic carvings to contemporary sculpture, art that endures across centuries.
Everyday stone, for example the quarries, buildings and raw materials that underpin our daily lives.

The Spirit of Stone follows on from The Draw of the Sea and The Heart of the Woods, completing a trilogy of explorations into our relationship with place. Where the first two books took readers to the water’s edge and into the forest, this book journeys into the landscapes of rock, stone and earth, reflecting on how they continue to define us.
Resonant with the work of Robert Macfarlane, Kathleen Jamie and Peter Ross, yet strikingly original in its breadth and vision, The Spirit of Stone is a profound meditation on belonging, endurance and our shared human story written in stone.
A warm and generous guide to the bedrock of our land, and the characters who champion it — Ruth Allen, author of Weathering and Grounded

About the Author
Wyl Menmuir is an author and creative writing lecturer based in Cornwall. His 2016 debut novel, The Many, was nominated for the Man Booker Prize and was an Observer Best Fiction of the year pick. His short fiction has appeared in Best British Short Stories and he has been published by Nightjar Press, Kneehigh Theatre and the National Trust.
Wyl’s non-fiction books have been awarded the Roger Deakin Award from the Society of Authors, the Award for Excellence from the OWPG, a Holyer an Gof Award, and the 2026 Blue Metropolis Planet Literature Prize, awarded for a body of work that demonstrates the beauty and fragility of the living world and promotes greater ecological awareness.
A former journalist, Wyl has written for Radio 4, The Guardian and The Observer. He lectures in creative writing at Falmouth University.

Tickets
FREE from the shop counter or online at ticketsource.com

Direct link to booking page here

Doors will be open from 7pm for a 7.30pm start. The event will be held in our atmospheric upstairs event space.

Midsummer Festival: Toni Bunnell
2026-06-19 19:30 - 21:30 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
New Songs, Traditional Sound
Pickering Book Tree | Doors from 7pm | Tickets £5+

Join us in the Book Tree to hear Toni Bunnell perform original songs, music and stories, with all proceeds going to Protect the Wild.
Toni’s self-penned songs in the traditional style speak of social conscience and love of the natural world, bringing audiences and communities together with her rousing performances.
During the evening Toni will share songs and tunes from her new album, Between the Moon and Sea, including two pieces linked to her recent memoir Ferret in a Rucksack, which is inspired by her rescue ferrets. In between songs Toni will talk about where she gets her ideas from, some of which evolve into books while others result in songs she’ll sing on the night.

About the Musician
Toni Bunnell is a singer-songwriter who has played on the folk circuit in the UK and Germany for many years. She has recorded nine albums of her songs which she accompanies using the guitar, bouzouki, dulcimer and hurdy gurdy, plus an album of hurdy gurdy tunes. Toni has produced a book of 100 of her songs, called Across the Years.
Toni’s album, Tracking the Changes, received a 4 star review in RNR music magazine: ’These are songs that respect ‘the spirit of people throughout the world’, songs that remind us to ‘move to the future but remember the past’. Tracking the Changes is a living heritage’ — Andrew Darlington, RNR, 2024.
Toni is also the author of fifteen books, including two books of poems, one non-fiction on music therapy and two about hedgehogs, based on her work running a hedgehog rescue since 1990 and her background as a wildlife biologist. Ten works of fiction venture into parallel worlds and the supernatural.

Tickets
Pay what you feel (suggested price £10, min £5) with all proceeds going to Protect the Wild.

Available from the shop counter (currently cash only) or online at ticketsource.com

Direct link to booking page here

Doors will be open from 7pm for a 7.30pm start. The event will be held in our atmospheric upstairs event space.

Midsummer Festival: Pre-Ceilidh Meet Up
2026-06-20 17:00 - 18:30 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
Get to Know Some Other People Going to the Ceilidh
Pickering Book Tree | from 5pm | Tickets FREE

If you’re attending the Midsummer Ceilidh and would like to get to know some friendly faces before the dancing begins, join us for this relaxed gathering in Pickering Book Tree.
The pre-ceilidh meet up is free to attend, but please RSVP via the booking page linked below.
We’ll mingle in the welcoming atmosphere of the bookshop, enjoying an informal chat and a drink. There’ll also be the opportunity to browse the books if you’d like to do so. We’ll then walk to the Memorial Hall together as a group to arrive in good time before the music and dancing begins!
Anyone booked for the ceilidh is welcome to join us, especially if you’re new to the area, haven’t been to a ceilidh before or aren’t sure if you know anyone else going to the dance.
We hope that this will be a lovely way to feel comfortable and meet each other before the evening fully starts.

Tickets
Free, but please RSVP

Available from the shop counter or online at ticketsource.com

Direct link to booking page here

The bookshop will be open from 5pm and we’ll leave for the Memorial Hall at around 6.30pm.

Midsummer Festival: Clodhoppers Ceilidh
2026-06-20 19:00 - 22:00 | Pickering Memorial Hall, Potter Hill, Pickering, YO18 8AA
A Traditional Community Dance
Pickering Memorial Hall | 7-10pm | Tickets £10

Join us for the perfect event on the eve of the Summer Solstice, in the joyful company of the Clodhoppers Ceilidh Band, to welcome in the night before the longest day and celebrate the height of summer together.
We’ll dance to traditional tunes as communities have for generations past, led by this excellent folk ensemble with full instructions given for each dance.
The word ceilidh comes from the Gaelic for gathering or party, and this event is about having fun and connecting with each other through music and dance. Expect a lively evening of reels, polkas, waltzes, jigs and more. Even if we meet at the start of the evening as strangers, joining in these welcoming group dances will have us laughing and celebrating together as new friends.
There will be seats around the edge of the hall to rest in between dances, and a bar serving alcohol and soft drinks will be open from 6.30pm until 10pm. Bring your own food if you’d like something to eat during the evening, or perhaps stop off at Potter Hill Fish & Chip shop just a few doors up the road on your way to the event.
No experience needed as all dances will be guided by an experienced caller. Whether you’ve been to many ceilidhs, or this will be your first, everyone is welcome.

***
If you’d like to get to know a few people before the ceilidh, please join us for a relaxed gathering in Pickering Book Tree from 5pm. This is free to attend, but please RSVP here.
We’ll mingle in the friendly atmosphere of the bookshop, with some drinks available and the opportunity to browse the books if you’d like to, and then walk to the Memorial Hall together as a group in good time before the ceilidh begins.
Anyone booked for the ceilidh is welcome for the pre-dance gathering, especially if you’re new to the area, haven’t been to a ceilidh before or aren’t sure if you know anyone else going to the dance. We hope that this will be a lovely way to feel comfortable and know some friendly faces before the evening fully starts.

Clodhoppers Ceilidh Band
Clodhoppers ceilidhs were first held from the mid 1970’s for expat audiences in Hong Kong. The caller, Richard Abrahall, has therefore five decades of experience. He will teach the dancers what they need to know before the band strikes up so beginners and more experienced dancers can enjoy traditional country music and dances some of which are centuries old.
The musicians are local, mostly Pickering based, and play a variety of instruments including fiddles, tin whistle, flute, accordion and the bodhran which drive the beat.
Although they are all skilled and experienced musicians the band that you will dance to has only been recently assembled and their debut was a sold out dance to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in March with a lot of positive feedback.

Tickets
£10 from the shop counter (currently cash only) or online at ticketsource.com

Direct link to booking page here

The Memorial Hall door and bar will be open from 6.30pm. The ceilidh start at 7pm and finish around 10pm.

Midsummer Festival: Solstice Yoga
2026-06-21 10:00 - 11:00 | Pickering Castle, Castle Road, Pickering, YO18 7BA, United Kingdom
Midsummer Yoga with Liz Vowles
Outdoors at Pickering Castle | 10-11am | Tickets £15

We’re delighted that Liz Vowles is leading an additional Castle Yoga session for the Summer Solstice as part of the Midsummer Festival.
Pickering Castle is a wonderful outdoors venue for these classes, which are running monthly until September (more info here).

About Midsummer Yoga (from Liz’s website)
Celebrate the longest day of the year in one of North Yorkshire’s most magical settings. As the solstice sun climbs high over the ancient walls of Pickering Castle, join us for an outdoor yoga class that marks the turning of the year — a moment to breathe, ground yourself, and soak in the pure summer energy around you.
This is yoga as it was always meant to feel — unhurried, connected to nature, and completely alive. Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or simply curious, you’ll move through a mindful, accessible sequence designed to open the body and still the mind, all within the beautiful medieval fortress.
There are few better ways to honour Midsummer than this.
What to bring:

Your yoga mat and blanket
Comfortable layers
Water bottle

Suitable for all levels. Outdoors — dress for the weather.

About the Teacher
Liz Vowles specialises in mindful yoga and pilates practices that help you return to balance and flow.
Through inspiring classes and soulful workshops, you’ll rekindle your creativity, restore your vitality, and feel grounded, radiant, and alive.
Even in difficult times, Liz believes we can find our centre, and reconnect to what truly matters. Together, we can thrive with calm strength and vitality.

Tickets
£15 directly from Liz online here

Direct link to booking page here
Arrive in time for the start time of 10am.
At the end of the practice, you are invited to stay and enjoy the castle grounds at no extra cost (entry to the Castle for participant only).
The session will be held outdoors in the grounds of Pickering Castle, unless the weather is very poor in which case it will take place undercover.

Midsummer Festival: Old Songs
2026-06-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
Stories Told Through Music, Words and Art
Pickering Book Tree | Doors from 6.30pm | Tickets £15

As the Summer Solstice twilight nears, we welcome you to the Book Tree to travel into a selection of Britain’s folktales through a stunning artistic collaboration.
Old Songs is based on the book of the same name, written by Amy and illustrated by Gwen. Natalie will lead the trio in performing beautiful renditions of the traditional ballads featured in the book, while animated versions of Gwen’s illustrations will be projected onto a screen to accompany the songs. Giving deeper context to the stories, Amy will share readings and historical insights throughout the evening.

Old Songs
An astonishing collaboration of words and images that immerses readers in a magical folkloric world . . . These remarkable stories dice with the dangers around us and within us, and they challenge us to emerge triumphant — Juno Magazine
Old Songs fuses short stories, histories, lyrics and illustrations in an enthralling reimagining of traditional folk ballads. Sunday Times Bestselling historian Amy Jeffs and Illustrator Gwen Burns combine forces to create a rich compendium, singing of travel, mystery, magic and the essential urges of humanity.
Featuring iterations of fairy tales and sinister descendants of Greek myths and bible stories, as well as a cast of lesser-known characters with names like Tam Lim, Child Wynd and Maisery, Old Songs threads a tapestry of Britain’s landscape, history and cultures. At the base of hills we can visit to this day, elf queens kidnap hapless poets and carry them through rivers of blood; and at the foot of a tree whose offspring still stand in the forests of Northumberland, a girl mimes combing the hairless head of a dragon who was once her brother.
In spellbinding tales of brown-skinned girls who danced on their lovers’ graves, of golden-masted ships captained by the Devil, of fiddles that cried “Murder!”, of men kidnapped by fairies and boys married at fourteen, we find narrative motifs as ancient as humanity itself.
In the histories interconnecting the stories, we find the fantastical rooted in the everyday, bringing to light the real experiences of great swathes of people to whom such story-songs were not only familiar, but a way of escaping into the extraordinary and returning gratefully home. Bringing enchantment to familiar landscapes, ballads were created anew by each singer and passed down from fireside to fireside, at the knees of childhood nurses, in manuscripts and in early printed pamphlets. Now, ten stories are gathered here, beautifully recreated for modern readers.
The stories absorb you instantly . . . A treat for those captivated by the medieval, grisly and historic — The Northern Echo

Tickets
£15 from the shop counter (currently cash only) or online at ticketsource.com

Direct link to booking page here

Doors will be open from 6.30pm for a 7pm start. The event will be held in our atmospheric upstairs event space.

Midsummer Festival: Amy Jeffs
2026-06-22 13:00 - 14:00 | St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church, Hallgarth, Pickering, YO18 7BE, United Kingdom
Saints
St.Peter and St. Paul’s Church | Doors from 12.30pm | Tickets £5
Join us for an event steeped in mythological history with author, medieval culture historian and artist, Amy Jeffs. Hear about the history and legends of Saints featured in Amy’s book of the same name, in the setting of St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church where we’ll be surrounded by the famous and rarely preserved medieval wall paintings depicting these stories.
Amy will be in conversation with Alex from Pickering Book Tree, whose background is also in medieval history. It’s set to be a fascinating discussion about Amy’s retellings of the legends and the histories behind them in her book Saints, which is thoroughly researched, thoughtfully compiled and beautifully illustrated with her own black paper cut-outs. On Amy’s website, she says of her work: “All my books are based on primary research. I care about faithfully and rigorously drawing readers into the sources I work with: historical manuscripts, literature, music and art. All my books are invitations to discussion, close-looking and wonder, rooted in real places and lives. My illustrations are made at home, with wood, Lino, ink and paper.”
The Tablet, who chose Saints as their Book of the Year, described it as “a book of remarkable beauty, mystery and originality“ and that “the legends are beautifully told and illustrated . . . The writer’s approach is both imaginative and scholarly”.

About the Book
A rewarding and beguiling collection of legends that are little known, a wide-ranging introduction to medieval saints’ lives — The Literary Review
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Storyland and Wild, comes a sweeping new legendary of miracles, magic, human frailty and heroic strength. Illustrated with over thirty original paper cutouts by the author.
Saints’ legends suffused medieval European culture. Their heroes’ suffering and wonder-working shaped landscapes, rituals and folk beliefs. Their tales spoke of men raised by wolves, women communing with flocks of birds and severed heads calling from between bristling paws.
In Saints, Amy Jeffs retells legends born of the medieval cult of saints. She draws on ‘official’ lives, vernacular romances, artworks and obscene poetry, all spanning from the fourth to the sixteenth centuries. The legends’ heroes originate from as far east as Turkey and North Africa and as far west as Britain and Ireland. Saints includes such enduring super saints as Brigid, George, Patrick and Michael, as well as some whose legends are less well known (Scoithín, Euphrosyne and Ia) or else couched in prejudice (William of Norwich).
The commentaries following the stories offer a history of each saint and, together, trace the rise and fall of the medieval cult of saints from the first martyrs to the Protestant Reformation. And all this maps onto the passing year: from St Mungo in January to St Thomas Becket in December.
Jeffs guides her readers from images high on the walls of medieval churches, through surviving treasures of the elite and into the shifting silt of the Thames, where lie the lowly image-bearing badges once treasured by pilgrims. She opens manuscripts that hold wondrous stories of the lives and deaths of wayfaring monks, oak-felling missionaries and mighty martyrs. With tales of demons and dragons, with the stubborn skull of a giant, with stories of sleepers in a concealed Greek cave, Saints will enchant and transport readers to other worlds.
Wonderful . . . Each lifestory is a gem . . . It’s beautifully written, evocative, informative, compulsive reading — Scottish Field Magazine

About the Author
Amy Jeffs writes and illustrates her critically acclaimed books from her home in Somerset. Her work engages with Britain’s medieval and early modern storytelling cultures. She has a PhD in Art History from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
Her work combines a love of nature and natural history with her academic training as a medievalist and art historian. She takes part in podcasts, Youtube shows and television documentaries and travels widely to speak about medieval and early modern cultures and how they can open our eyes to Britain’s heritage and oldest recorded stories.
Jeffs’ first book, Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain, was a Sunday Times bestseller, shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year and named a Times Historical Fiction Book of the Year. Her second book, Wild: Tales from Early Medieval Britain, explores an old idea of the wilderness through medieval stories of outcasts, monsters and the natural world. The audiobook, illustrated with song, was named audiobook of the week by the Times and the Guardian.
Saints: Legends of Heroes, Humans and Magic is her third book, and this was followed by Old Songs: Stories of Love and Death from Traditional Ballads in 2025.

Tickets
£5 from the shop counter (currently cash only) or online at ticketsource.com

Direct link to booking page here
The event will be held in the beautiful setting of St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church in Pickering, which is a perfect venue for this event with its incredible Medieval wall paintings.
£2 from each ticket will be donated towards the Church to help with maintenance and the ongoing restoration project.
Doors will be open from 12.30pm for a 1pm start.

Midsummer Festival: Aidan Meighan
2026-06-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
The Folklore of Trees
Pickering Book Tree | Doors from 6.30pm | Tickets FREE

The Folklore of Trees explores the fascinating stories and intriguing superstitions behind nature’s guardians. Insightfully written and beautifully illustrated by Aidan Meighan, it’s the perfect reading companion for every lover of the natural — and mythological — world.
This book reminds us of the enduring power of stories to connect us to our history, to nature and hopefully to an ever-greener future. We need to love life, we need to love trees — Chris Packham, wildlife TV presenter & campaigner
Uncover the myths, legends and secrets of the world’s most iconic trees.
Did you know that laurel is said to protect against snakebites and shield against witchcraft? Or that yews are often planted near graveyards to keep the devil out? Across cultures and centuries, trees have stood as guardians of life, inspiring stories that connect us to nature, spirituality and tradition.
The Folklore of Trees brings these tales together in a stunning hardback featuring a foreword by acclaimed naturalist, Chris Packham. Inside, you’ll explore 36 legendary species from around the globe, each paired with an intricate illustration and rich cultural context.
You’ll discover:

The Major Oak, said to shelter Robin Hood, and the baobabs of Madagascar, revered for their longevity.
Sacred trees of Celtic, Norse, Greek, Roman, Hindu, Buddhist and Indigenous traditions.
Fascinating myths behind olive branches of peace, dragon blood trees that bleed red sap and Japanese cherry blossoms symbolising life’s impermanence.
Seasonal customs, protective charms and superstitions.
A compact, beautifully designed format, perfect for gifting or personal reflection.

Whether you’re a nature lover, folklore enthusiast or simply curious about the stories rooted in our landscapes and forests, this book is your invitation to wander the cultural canopy.

About the Author
Aidan Meighan is an author, illustrator and arboreal devotee living in Somerset, with a passion for nature and storytelling. For fifteen years, Aidan has been passionately drawing trees, maps and beautiful places from around the world, working with travel and lifestyle books and magazines, brands and destinations, in his distinctive style.
Aidan is an enthusiast for the written word and print, being instrumental in the production of the Glastonbury Free Press newspaper since its inception in 2013. He is also a keen gardener and back-yard conservationist.
The Folklore of Trees is a joyful coming together of Aidan’s passions and interests.
You can find Aidan on his website, www.aidanmeighan.com, and on Instagram, @aidan_meighan.

Tickets
FREE from the shop counter or online at ticketsource.com

Direct link to booking page here

Doors will be open from 6.30pm for a 7pm start. The event will be held in our atmospheric upstairs event space.

Midsummer Festival: Tree Walk
2026-06-23 11:00 - 12:30 | Beck Isle Museum, Bridge Street, Pickering, YO18 8DU, United Kingdom
Tree Walk with Aidan Meighan
Meet outside Beck Isle Museum | Starts at 11am | Tickets £8 or £16 including sandwiches
Explore the folklore of the trees found on our doorstep here in Pickering!
Join arboreal devotee and author of The Folklore of Trees, Aidan Meighan, on an approximately two mile walk starting outside the Beck Isle Museum and following the Pickering Beck, before branching off around the Castle and down Burgate to the Church.
Along the way we’ll stop to hear about the legends, secrets and myths of the different tree species living on this beautiful route.
We’ll end the walk at The Forest and Vale Hotel garden, home to a 300+ year old sweet chestnut tree, with a sandwich buffet for those who choose to add this on to the walk. Drinks aren’t included, but the bar will be open for you to choose your favourite, from a cup of tea to an afternoon tipple!
The walk is generally considered an easy route along footpaths. If you have any questions about the route or accessibility, please contact Pickering Book Tree to discuss.
The event will go ahead in most weathers, so please come prepared for the day’s forecast. We’ll move inside at the Forest and Vale if it is raining.

About the Book
The Folklore of Trees explores the fascinating stories and intriguing superstitions behind nature’s guardians. Insightfully written and beautifully illustrated by Aidan Meighan, it’s the perfect reading companion for every lover of the natural — and mythological — world.
This book reminds us of the enduring power of stories to connect us to our history, to nature and hopefully to an ever-greener future. We need to love life, we need to love trees — Chris Packham, wildlife TV presenter & campaigner
Uncover the myths, legends and secrets of the world’s most iconic trees.
Did you know that laurel is said to protect against snakebites and shield against witchcraft? Or that yews are often planted near graveyards to keep the devil out? Across cultures and centuries, trees have stood as guardians of life, inspiring stories that connect us to nature, spirituality and tradition.
The Folklore of Trees brings these tales together in a stunning hardback featuring a foreword by acclaimed naturalist, Chris Packham. Inside, you’ll explore 36 legendary species from around the globe, each paired with an intricate illustration and rich cultural context.
You’ll discover:

The Major Oak, said to shelter Robin Hood, and the baobabs of Madagascar, revered for their longevity.
Sacred trees of Celtic, Norse, Greek, Roman, Hindu, Buddhist and Indigenous traditions.
Fascinating myths behind olive branches of peace, dragon blood trees that bleed red sap and Japanese cherry blossoms symbolising life’s impermanence.
Seasonal customs, protective charms and superstitions.
A compact, beautifully designed format, perfect for gifting or personal reflection.

Whether you’re a nature lover, folklore enthusiast or simply curious about the stories rooted in our landscapes and forests, this book is your invitation to wander the cultural canopy.

About the Author
Aidan Meighan is an author, illustrator and arboreal devotee living in Somerset, with a passion for nature and storytelling. For fifteen years, Aidan has been passionately drawing trees, maps and beautiful places from around the world, working with travel and lifestyle books and magazines, brands and destinations, in his distinctive style.
Aidan is an enthusiast for the written word and print, being instrumental in the production of the Glastonbury Free Press newspaper since its inception in 2013. He is also a keen gardener and back-yard conservationist.
The Folklore of Trees is a joyful coming together of Aidan’s passions and interests.
You can find Aidan on his website, www.aidanmeighan.com, and on Instagram, @aidan_meighan.

Tickets
£8 from the shop counter (currently cash only) or online at ticketsource.com

Direct link to booking page here
We’ll meet outside the Beck Isle Museum and start the walk at 11am, heading along the Beck and up to Pickering Castle.
We’ll end the walk in The Forest and Vale Hotel with sandwiches in the garden for those who have added this on. In the case of poor weather, we will move inside!
Sandwiches are an additional £8 per person and need to be booked in advance through the booking page or Pickering Book Tree, letting us know of any dietary requirements.

Midsummer Festival: Beth Burrows
2026-06-23 19:00 - 21:00 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
The Living Tradition
Pickering Book Tree | Doors from 7pm | Tickets £8

As this year’s Midsummer Festival draws to a close, join us to learn about the relevance of folk song today and how to be part of keeping the tradition alive.
Beth Burrows is deeply rooted in traditional folk music and has a long career in a cappella performances of songs from the living tradition at workshops, folk clubs and festivals across Yorkshire and beyond.
During this welcoming event, Beth will be accompanied by friend and fellow musician Alison Lawson for what promises to be a wonderful blend of workshop and performance.
Beth will introduce traditional folk songs passed down from generation to generation, living and evolving over time as each singer weaves their own musicality into the storytelling.
She will discuss her own personal journey in learning and singing these songs, explaining how they have survived and why they are as relevant today as ever. She will share her wisdom on performing from memory and the importance of meaningful song interpretation, as well as opening the floor to discuss our own experiences and understanding of the folk tradition.
Throughout the evening Beth and Alison will lead in song, performing as a duo as well as encouraging us to sing together.
As all who love folk know, sharing songs which have been sung through the ages is a joyful way to connect with the beating heart of these islands, and with each other. Folk tradition grounds us in the history of the working people and the natural world, while also looking forward to keep these timeless songs about human experience alive.
Whether you are a lover of traditional song or just inquisitive about folk, why not join us for this special evening of music, bringing a beautiful conclusion to the inaugural Pickering Midsummer Festival.

Tickets
£8 from the shop counter (currently cash only) or online at ticketsource.com

Direct link to booking page here

Doors will be open from 6.30pm for a 7pm start. The event will be held in our atmospheric upstairs event space.

Rachel Davis & Darren McMullen
2026-07-03 19:30 - 22:00 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
Rachel Davis and Darren McMullen ignite the stage with a bold, fiery blend of Celtic tradition and contemporary folk energy. Their music is a thrilling fusion of driving rhythms, haunting melodies, and masterful instrumentation, at once deeply rooted and refreshingly modern.
With a dynamic mix of vocals, fiddles, guitar, banjo, mandolin, viola, bouzouki, and whistles, they breathe new life into age-old tunes while crafting original songs that feel instantly timeless. Every performance is a vibrant journey through sound. Passionate, precise, and irresistibly alive.
With over a decade of international touring and recording as core members of the award-winning Cape Breton Celtic supergroup Còig, Rachel and Darren are now forging a new path with their latest collaborative project, Home. This bold new venture has already garnered critical acclaim, winning the 2024 Music Nova Scotia Award for Roots/Traditional Recording of the Year, and earning nominations from both the Canadian Folk Music Awards and the East Coast Music Awards.
The gig will be in our atmospheric upstairs event space, surrounded by the building’s old oak beams. Drinks will be available to purchase at an informal bar before the show and during the interval.
Doors will open from 7pm, and the show will start at 7.30pm.

About the Musicians
Fans will be happy to know that the whole album lives up to the extraordinarily high standards that Darren and Rachel have already set for themselves. They really had nothing left to prove coming into this project, but they’ve managed to outdo themselves, nonetheless — Roots Music Canada
Rachel Davis is a masterful fiddler known for her emotive playing and rich, expressive voice. She won the prestigious Canadian Folk Music Award for Traditional Singer of the Year in 2020.
Darren McMullen is a versatile and highly respected multi-instrumentalist, bringing deep musicality and rhythmic drive to the duo’s sound.
Between them, they have performed across Canada, the US, UK, Denmark, Belgium and Australia, with multiple East Coast Music Awards and a JUNO nomination to their names.
Set to release a highly anticipated new album in June 2026, Rachel and Darren continue to expand their artistry while staying grounded in the Celtic traditions that inspire them.
The first single, River and the Road is a touching folk track that blends evocative lyrics with a haunting melody, creating a deeply moving experience … Overall, this album seamlessly blends a variety of musical elements, creating a captivating tapestry of sound that invites listeners to immerse themselves in its rich textures and explore its compelling narratives — Canadian Beats

Find Out More
Read more about Rachel and Darren on their website
Follow Rachel and Darren on Facebook or Instagram
Explore Rachel and Darren’s music on YouTube or go straight to the videos for River and the Road and Long House with examples of their live performances here and here.

Oak Book Club: July 2026
2026-07-06 19:00 - 20:00 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
Join us for a welcoming book club to discuss the current novel and choose the next month’s read.
We meet on the first Monday of each month for a relaxed conversation, sharing our thoughts in the friendly atmosphere amongst the bookshelves.
The bookshop door will be open from 6.50pm for a 7pm start in our upstairs event space.
Book club meetings are free to attend, and we offer a 10% discount on each month’s paperback choice.

This Month’s Book
Hum by Helen Phillips
WINNER OF THE CLIMATE FICTION PRIZE 2026
Ingenious and unsettling — Observer
This sleek ride of a novel further cements Phillips’s position as one of our most profound writers of speculative fiction — New York Times
In a hot and gritty city populated by super-intelligent robots called ‘Hums’, May seeks some reprieve from recent hardships and from her family’s addiction to their devices. She splurges on a weekend away at the Botanical Garden – a rare, green refuge in the heart of the city, where forests, streams and animals flourish.
But when it becomes clear that the Garden is not the idyll she hoped it would be, and her children come under threat, May is forced to put her trust in a Hum of uncertain motives in order to restore the life of her family.
Gripping and unflinching, Hum is about our most cherished human relationships in a world compromised by climate change and dizzying technological revolution, a world with both dystopian and utopian possibilities.

Hawthorn Book Club: July 2026
2026-07-16 19:00 - 20:00 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
Join us for our next Thursday book club!
We usually meet on the second Thursday of each month for a relaxed and friendly conversation about the current book.
This month we will meet on the third Thursday (16th July), returning to the second week in August (Thursday 13th).
The bookshop door will be open from 6.50pm for a 7pm start in our atmospheric upstairs space.
Our book club meetings are free to attend, and we offer a 10% discount on each month’s paperback choice.

This Month’s Book
The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson
A sharply-witted and tender portrait of a young girl’s quiet rebellion and her refusal to be broken.
Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2026
Winner of the British Book Award – Discover Prize
Dark, humorous, and passionately captures the unique realities of the northern Black experience — The Observer
Set in 1960s Bradford, The Mercy Step follows Mercy, a precocious young child facing a world far too big for her small body. She lives with her Windrush generation parents in a crowded household where her mother’s attention is stretched between church and family, and her father’s temper is something to be endured or avoided.
Feeling like an outsider within her own home, Mercy retreats into books and the companionship of her beloved doll, Dolly, while learning early how to navigate the flaws and failings of the adults around her. Yet Mercy is nothing if not resilient. Armed with humour, style and fierce imagination, she quietly begins to plot her escape from a traumatic childhood.
Raw and deeply affecting, Mercy’s story is one of Black British culture, childhood, family and survival in 1960s Britain. Critical to understanding these untold stories, Marcia’s debut is not to be missed.

Sally Coulthard
2026-07-21 19:30 - 21:00 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
We are excited to welcome Sally Coulthard back to Pickering Book Tree to discuss her fascinating new book, A Brief History of the Coast in 100 Objects, which offers a wealth of insight into the often surprising objects connected to the coast and the people who live and work there.
Sally has authored more than thirty non-fiction books spanning a wonderful range of interests including nature writing, social history, folklore, and anthropology — always brilliantly researched, engaging, and informed by an immersion in the subjects she writes about through her own rural life in her Yorkshire smallholding.
We’ll chat with Sally about the book, her writing, research and inspiration. There’ll also be a chance to ask your questions and Sally will sign copies of the book at the end of the evening.
The shop door will be open from 7pm with complementary drinks available on arrival until the event starts at 7.30pm.
The event is free to attend, but booking is essential. Please contact the shop or use the form below to reserve your seats.
We look forward to seeing you there!

About the Book
A genuine delight, this richly woven tale of our maritime nation is as crafted as the objects it highlights. I’ve loved every page, and learnt and laughed along the way — Jules Hudson
An immersive history of our coasts and the people who have shaped them
The coast means something different to everyone.
It’s a place of pleasure and reckless pursuits, of fishing, fearless endeavours and a crashing, rugged beauty. The coast is, and always has been, our first line of defence and our springboard to other cultures.
Through the lens of 100 carefully selected objects, this treasure chest of a book delves into the myriad ways our coastlines have shaped, and been shaped by, our history, culture, and identity. From Roman lighthouses to rosary beads, knitted jumpers to Viking slave shackles, each object serves as a portal to a unique story.
Sally Coulthard’s engaging narrative goes far beyond the traditional seaside holiday to illuminate the coast’s role as a first line of defence, a site of trade, and a catalyst for cultural exchange. Readers will discover how the coast has influenced our beliefs, economy, and even our domestic lives. And, looking out to sea, this book will show how Britain’s story is anchored to those of our European neighbours and of faraway lands.
From one of Britain’s finest historians of material culture, this book vividly captures the enduring magic and significance of our shores. Whether it’s smugglers’ underpants or sailor’s hoaxes, whale vomit or pickled puffin – it all washes up on the British coast…
A rich, perfect jigsaw of 100 genuinely fascinating pieces, building a deep and wide picture of Britain’s history through its salty edges. Prehistoric harpoons, slave shackles and a Pepysian fake nose all contribute to this superbly researched, lively tale of our islands. Enriching, engaging and a pleasure to read — Jo Bell

About the Author
Bestselling author and columnist Sally Coulthard has spent the last two decades writing about her favourite things – nature, history, and craft. Many of her books delve into the traditions of rural life – from artisans to agriculture – the people, plants, and creatures who make the countryside tick.
Sally’s work often weaves together different disciplines, pulling threads from social history, anthropology, archaeology, design, and nature writing to bring her diverse subjects to life.

Naomi Kelsey
2026-07-28 19:30 - 21:00 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
We are excited to welcome Naomi Kelsey back to the Book Tree to discuss her atmospheric and intriguing historical fiction novel, Pale Mistress.
Those of you who joined us when Naomi visited with her previous novels, or have read The Burnings and The Darkening Globe, will know what a fabulous storyteller she is. Her books are infused with historical detail and pack a page-turning punch. Part Shakespearean retelling, part psychological thriller, Pale Mistress is no exception!
Atmospheric, immersive and engrossing, Pale Mistress tells the story from the point of view of Bianca, a character both dismissed and villainised in Othello, overshadowed by the virtuous Desdemona, the courageous Emilia, the tragic Othello and the cunning Iago.
This reimagining is set before, during and after the events of the play have unfolded, exploring the human cost of love, envy and ambition. The story of Iago, one of literature’s most notorious villains, is woven into Bianca’s as she fights to prove her innocence and save her own life.
We will chat with Naomi about the book, her writing, research and inspiration. There will be a chance for the audience to ask questions and Naomi will sign copies of the book at the end of the evening.
The bookshop door will be open from 7pm and complementary drinks will be available until the event starts at 7.30pm.
The event is free to attend, but booking is essential. Please contact the shop or use the form below to reserve your seats.
We hope to see you there!

About the Book
A bold and beautiful triumph. In prose as rich as Cyprus wine and as sharp as a Venetian blade, Naomi Kelsey gives voice to the silenced and reshapes tragedy through a woman’s eyes. Lyrical, haunting, and breathtakingly tense, this is historical fiction at its most electrifying — Seth Insua, author of Human, Animal
“Let heaven and men and devils, let them all, all, cry shame against me, yet I’ll speak…”
Cyprus, 16th century. Murder, lies and vengeance has left lovers dead, promises broken and no one to trust. Only one woman survives, Bianca.
The slain? History knows their names: Emilia, Desdemona, Othello.
But why do we not know Bianca? Who was the pale mistress? Liar or lied to? Instigator or victim? In telling one woman’s story, Naomi Kelsey dazzlingly recasts a Shakespearean tragedy as a psychological thriller of jealousy and gaslighting, ambition and envy, and the making and breaking of one of Shakespeare’s most notorious villains, Iago.
Naomi Kelsey cements her position as one of the foremost writers of historical fiction today… I could not put it down until every secret was exposed — Laura Shepperson, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Heroines, on The Darkening Globe

About the Author
Naomi Kelsey is the winner of two Northern Writer’s Awards and the HWA Dorothy Dunnett Competition. Her fiction has been published in Mslexia magazine and shortlisted for several further awards including the Bridport Prize and the Bristol Prize.
Her debut novel, The Burnings, was published to critical acclaim in 2023 and The Darkening Globe, an Elizabethan gothic tale, has captivated readers and booksellers alike.

Daria Kulesh
2026-08-07 19:30 - 22:00 | Pickering Book Tree, 43a Market Place, Pickering, YO18 7AE
Join us for an evening of glorious, emotive and distinctive music-making with award-winning storytelling songstress Daria Kulesh.
Daria’s four highly acclaimed albums to date have established her as one of the finest musicians on the folk scene. To see a Daria Kulesh gig is to experience something memorable and magical. Peter Shaw of Folk Radio UK described her live performance as “mesmerising… (with) breathtaking vocals. A true star”.
Daria’s most recent album, MotherLand, won the 2025 Celtic Music Radio Album of the Year and saw Daria nominated for the FATEA Female Artist of the Year. Dai Jeffries wrote in a 5 Star review for RnR Magazine that “MotherLand finds Daria at the height of her vocal powers and is destined to be one of the albums of 2025”.
The gig will be in our atmospheric upstairs event space, surrounded by the building’s old oak beams. Drinks will be available to purchase at an informal bar before the show and during the interval.
The bookshop door will open from 7pm, and the show will start at 7.30pm.

About the Musician
A concert in which Daria Kulesh appears is no ordinary gig… The audience were totally enthralled, you may even say bewitched by the songs and stories — Tony Collins, Hot Music Live (Read More)
An amazing album. It’s probably one of the best anti-war albums I’ve ever heard, and beautifully produced — Hugh Taylor, Celtic Music Radio, on MotherLand
Daria Kulesh has been described by Mike Harding as “one of the finest voices and one of the most intriguing and interesting songwriters on the present folk scene”.
Her debut release Eternal Child was described as “phenomenal”, her second album Long Lost Home has enjoyed rave reviews and multiple awards, including LCM Album of the Year, her third offering Earthly Delights was named “one of the year’s finest albums” by Folk Radio UK, and her latest studio release MotherLand is “near perfect” and “astonishing”, according to Liverpool Sound and Vision.
Daria has toured extensively in the UK and Europe, sharing stories and songs that are deeply personal but feel universal and timeless. Every performance is an “emotional, compelling and uplifting experience”, leaving the audiences “completely spellbound”.
Born in Russia but based in the UK for the last 15 years, she fearlessly explores her heritage and turbulent family history in Ingushetia (North Caucasus) with songs that “aren’t just sung, but lived” (FATEA).
Sensational Russian songstress… A tour-de-force performance… Her voice is incredibly expressive and strikingly pure, and her songs reach deep into the emotions — Colin Bailey, Readifolk, on Daria in concert
Dripping with mystical power and presence… stirring and hypnotic… Daria Kulesh uses her singular voice to present thoughtful, reflective and sometimes impassioned music that draws on the past, the troubled present and hopes for the future — Marc Higgins, Time Past and Time Passing, on MotherLand

Find Out More
Read more about Daria on her website
Follow Daria on Facebook or Instagram
Explore Daria’s music on YouTube or Bandcamp
