Welcome
books on the walls: where stories, sounds and spirits intertwine in the heart of Chester.
Nestled within Chester's historic city walls, books on the walls is more than just a bookshop – we're a haven where stories come alive and individuals connect.
Our carefully curated space brings together a perfect blend of contemporary culture and timeless traditions.
Discover Your Perfect Reading Companion
Step into our welcoming space and explore our thoughtfully selected collection of books spanning every genre.
Whether you’re seeking your next literary adventure, diving into challenging histories or browsing for the perfect Chester gift, our friendly staff are here to guide you through our selection.
You’ll discover the unexpected as well as revel in familiar favourites.
We’re also always happy to source your own requests.
More Than books
Banish your phone and immerse yourself in our unique atmosphere where literature meets lifestyle:
Artisanal Coffee Bar: Start your day with lovingly nurtured and locally roasted coffee while enjoying your latest read
Craft Beer, Cider and Fine Martinis: Unwind with our handpicked selection of local beers, ciders and spirits
Vinyl & Music Collection: Spin some grooves from our record collection on our in-house turntable and peruse our treasury of new vinyl, cds and cassettes for sale
Daily Press: Stay informed with our wide range of local and national newspapers and periodicals
Art Space: Explore contemporary works by local artists, available to purchase
Board Game Library: Make a new connection over a game of Chester Monopoly
Salty and Sugary Snacks: Graze upon our small but perfectly formed range for our canine as well as human visitors
Our Local Suppliers Include:
Bread Together, Chester
Providence Gin, Chester
The Ice Cream Farm, Tattenhall
Orchards Farm, Tattenhall
Adams and Russell Coffee Roasters, Birkenhead
Hafod Brewing Company, Mold
Nicaragua, The Tierre Madre Women's Co-operative
From Bristol, Zuma
Costa Rica, San Jorge produced by Coopeagri Cooperative
Peru produced by Lambayeque Women's Cooperative
Quinteassential Fine Teas, Chester
Sophia Shaw, Art & Illustration, Chester
em in stitches designs, Chester
Untamed Photography Boutique. Chester
Find Us in Historic Chester
Located at 2 City Walls, Chester, Cheshire CH1 2JG, we’re proud to be part of the fabric of this fantastic city.
Our incredible location on Chester’s famous walls makes us the perfect destination for both locals and visitors seeking a unique experience.
Whether you’re searching for your next favourite book, the perfect album or simply a peaceful spot to enjoy quality coffee and good company, books on the walls welcomes you.
Our friendly team is ready to help you discover something special and truly social.
Don’t Miss Out on Local Events
Want to hear about upcoming books on the walls events and other exciting happenings at your local bookshops?
Sign up at National Book Tokens to get updates on author visits, community events, and bookstore news — all straight to your inbox.
CraftTea
Weekly Event
Wednesdays 2-3pm
A relaxed, chatty crafting hour. Bring along some bits and bobs and get making with a pot of tea and good company at books on the walls
National Book Tokens Award
We’re delighted to share that books on the walls was awarded National Book Tokens Bookshop of the Month for August 2025!
We are also proud to be both a supplier and redeemer of National Book Tokens – the perfect gift for book lovers.
Upcoming events at books on the walls (March 2026)
Journalling our Journeys Workshop with
Julia McGuinness
Thursday 12 March 2026
6-7.30pm
Tickets £5 to include a drink and Bread Together pizza.
Book at hello@booksonthewalls.com.
A practical writing workshop for journallers experienced and new
Julia McGuinness is a writer, workshop facilitator and former counsellor. She has published 5 non-fiction books, including Making the Most of Midlife, Writing our Faith and her latest Writing the Journeys We Never Wanted to Make, which came out in July 2025. She has also published a poetry collection Chester City Walls.
Julia is passionate about the potential of words for well-being and creativity. Her favourite time of day is the quiet early morning, journalling in her conservatory room that overlooks the garden.
Julia is a Lay Reader. at Chester Cathedral. She lives in Hawarden with her husband and three cats, where she is endeavouring to learn Welsh.
Games Night
Thursday 19 March 2026
6-7.30pm
You are invited to a games nigh which takes place on the third Thursday of the month. Play one of the board and table-top games at books on the walls or turn up with a favourite from home.
Inspired by the Middle East, France and Italy, we will serve some Bread Together specials, hand-made slow fermented pizza slices with a variety of toppings. A drink is also included in your ticket price.
Please book tickets with books on the walls hello@booksonthewalls.com
Tickets £5
Linda Middleton: Chester Choc Lit Author
Saturday 21st March 2025
2-2.30pm
Linda has published three contemporary romances with Choc Lit (part of Joffe Books). She likes to write about strong, ambitious women in their late twenties / early thirties. In her early life she worked in the hospitality industry and writing about food and the industry is a big part of her writing.
Linda had always dreamed of becoming a published author and began her journey by writing short stories. She had several published in women's magazines but really wanted to become a novelist.
After a health scare in 2018 she decided it was time concentrate on getting published and in 2023 Things They Never Said was accepted by Choc Lit, part of Joffe. Her second book, First Impressions, was published in August 2024. Her third book, Things We Need to Say, is a follow on from her first book. She is currently working on a trilogy set in a small hamlet on the outskirts of Chester.
Linda currently lives in Chester with her husband and two sons who are in their early twenties. She works part-time as an administrator in a commercial estate agents. Linda was born in Cheshire to a farming family. When she was 18 she moved to London and stayed there for 9 years, but her home county pulled her back and she has lived in Chester ever since.
Insta: @middletonwrites
X: @middletonwrites
Amblongus/books on the walls book swap club
Wednesday 25 March 2026 (with author Sian Hughes)
and
Thursday 26 March 2026
6-7.30pm at books on the walls
Debbie Baxter: The Creative Language of Water
Saturday 28 March 2026
2-2.30pm
A truly unique and inspiring new title from celebrated artist and BBC Countryfile guest Debbie Baxter, Associate Member of the Royal Cambrian Academy.
The Creative Language of Water is a profound and beautifully illustrated reflection on the life-giving force of water, and a stirring invitation to reconnect with the natural world. Set against the breathtaking backdrops of Finland’s 188,000 lakes and the wild beauty of Snowdonia National Park, this book is more than a celebration of nature—it is a moving meditation on creativity, healing, and the timeless flow of the human spirit.
Drawing on the pioneering work of Veda Austin and Masaru Emoto, Baxter invites you to view water as a living presence with its own silent language—one that mirrors our inner world and offers profound lessons on how to live, feel, and create with greater authenticity. With poetic prose and painterly reflections, Baxter shares how her journey— from the silence of Finnish waterways to the rain-soaked hills of North Wales—transformed not only her artistic practice but her understanding of life itself.
"Nature the most powerful force on the planet. I paint this lest we forget who really is in charge"
Jade Pickering: Easter Tote Bag Painting Workshop
Tuesday 31 March 2026
6 - 8pm
£10.00 pp
All materials provided
Message Jade to book: @welcome_to_JJs
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (April 2026)
Author Event – Charlotte Slater: Her Realm of Night (Cranthorpe Milner)
Saturday 4 April 2026
2-2.30pm
Her Realm of Night follows the Goddess of Night living as a student in present-day, navigating the mortal and immortal worlds. With the protagonist being inspired by Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, this modern-day Greek mythology retelling with its university setting and visits to the Underworld will appeal to former Percy Jackson fans now looking for a retelling with older characters. The enemies-to-lovers banter and slow-burn romance will appeal to fans of popular romantasy series and mythology retellings such as Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzpatrick and dark academia novels such as Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.
Charlotte Slater is a Stockport-based librarian and author. A life-long fantasy fan, Charlotte wrote her first novel when she was seventeen and has since been hooked on bringing her imagination to life. Charlotte has a BA degree in English Literature with Creative writing from the University of Manchester, where she spent the good majority of her time delving into the works of classical writers. When she is not reading the latest YA fantasy releases, Charlotte can be found rewatching TV shows and films from her childhood.
Free, drop-in
Book Launch – Sian Hughes: No Such Thing As Monday (The Indigo Press)
Saturday 18 April 2026
2-3pm
Steffie spends her days working in a dry-cleaner’s, trying to scrub the world clean one garment at a time. But no matter how spotless the clothes, she can’t rid herself of the guilt and grime she feels inside.
Haunted by what happened to her sister when they were children, large fragments of which she can’t fully remember, Steffie is stuck in a loop of self-destruction, defiance, and shame.
When her violent, bullying father dies suddenly, it sparks a reckoning that cracks open her past. What follows is an unexpectedly redemptive journey of a woman trying to piece herself together in a world that failed to make space for her.
Raw, exhilarating, and full of heart, No Such Thing as Monday confirms Sian Hughes as a masterful chronicler of life lived on the edge, and people at their most vulnerable.
Siân Hughes is a writer who grew up in a small village in Cheshire. Her first collection of poetry The Missing was a Poetry Society Recommendation, longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, shortlisted for the Felix Dennis and the Aldeburgh prizes, and won the Seamus Heaney Award.
Siân’s first novel Pearl was longlisted for The Booker Prize 2023 and shortlisted for The Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award 2024.
‘A stunningly frank and darkly funny novel of loneliness and resilience. I loved it.’
— Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
‘In Steffie, Sian Hughes has created one of the most powerful, highly original and hilarious voices in fiction. What she suffers is almost unbearable and yet her resilience knocks the stuffing out of it. It’s deftly woven, the writing is delicious, and it hit my heart like a hammer blow.’
— Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
‘I was blindsided by the brilliance of this novel.’
— Meg Mason, author of Sorrow and Bliss
‘Richly absorbing and powerful – a ’read to the small hours,’ novel. Steffie has a unique voice that keeps you glued to her story, and that I absolutely loved.’
— Kate Hamer, author of The Girl in the Red Coat
Please book your free ticket with books on the walls – hello@booksonthewalls.com
Author Event with Paul JC Edge
Saturday 25 April 2026
2-2.30pm
Paul J.C. Edge is an award winning independent author, his works include the gritty Summer Haven and Book of Xaal Sci-Fi horror trilogies, fusing his love of space sagas, fantasy and Lovecraftian gothic horror stories.
Paul studied IT at university, which included modules in Astro Physics, it built real knowledge around his love of tales of space travel and alien contact.
Finally forsaking a successful career in management consulting and IT system design and scientific informatics, he became a full time author in 2020.
Paul lives in Cheshire and loves spending time walking in nature, whilst dreaming up new ideas and stories. He also has a passion for rock and jazz, cooking and reading (ranging from Sci-Fi and thrillers to Dostoyevsky). His offbeat sense of humour will often solicit a groan from his wife and full time editor, Elaine.
Paul occasionally attends Comic-Con and book events in the UK - keep an eye out for him, he would love to meet you!
Connect with Paul via www.PaulJCEdge.co.uk or @PaulJCEdge on social media, @PJCEdge on YouTube.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (May 2026)
Poetry Event - Julia McGuinness: Chester City Walls
Saturday 2 May 2026
2-2.30pm
Though she now lives over the border in North Wales, Julia McGuinness is a poet with a strong association with Chester. From 2019-2024, she was Chester Cathedral’s Poet-in-Residence, and the City’s historic walls inspired her first poetry collection.
Chester City Walls guides readers round the Walls today as well as tracking back through time to the stories they hold: patrolling Romans; Georgian promenaders; a Tudor elopement; a Cvil War seige, and a visit by Halley (of comet fame!).
Each poem is a mosaic stone that contributes its piece to the Walls that stand now, where “The human river flows,” in an endless throng of people along and below, from Roman soldiers to modern tourists who “continue the footfall / unawares; / tread on ghosts.”
Author Event
Caroline Corcoran: The Next Woman
Saturday 16 May 2026
2 – 2.30pm
Caroline Corcoran is an internationally published Sunday Times bestselling author whose work has been translated into multiple foreign languages and sold around the world. Caroline’s debut Through the Wall (Avon 2019) was followed by The Baby Group in 2021, Five Days Missing in 2022, What Happened on Floor 34? in 2023, TINY DAGGERS in 2025 and THE NEXT WOMAN, which came out this March.
Caroline’s books are marketed as psychological thrillers or ‘domestic noir’ but they are also very much books about the female experience, tackling big themes such as infertility, domestic violence, work and its role in our lives, female friendship, new motherhood, sexual assault and mental health.
Prior to writing novels, Caroline was a journalist, working for Stylist, Grazia, Marie Claire, the Telegraph, the Independent, the Mirror, the Guardian and many of the other biggest newspapers, magazines and websites in the country.
If you speak to her for longer than three minutes, she will tell you about the time she interviewed Beyonce. Now, her interviewees take on a more literary form as she is a regular chair of book events and panels so that most of the time that isn’t spent writing her own books is spent reading other people’s.
Free, drop-in
Poetry Event with Michelle Bosonnett: Constellations (Luain Press)
Saturday 30 May 2026
2-2.30pm
With mystic vision and lyrical grace, Michelle Bosonnett helps us to transcend the boundaries of everyday life, reinvigorating its mundanity with a magic rarely seen in a debut collection.
"Bosonnett takes us to the stars and beyond." - Lee Sheridan
Free, drop-in
Robin Ince: Let The Quiet Ones Rise – Poems about standing up and standing out (Flapjack Press)
Sunday 31 May 2026
2pm
Mixing comedy and poetry with themes of activism, loneliness and love this collection of poems and stories come from anger about the culture of power and abuse through to joy about Doctor Who and A Taste of Honey.
Please book your free ticket with hello@booksonthewalls.com.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (June 2026)
Kate Roberts - Dahab: Gold on Gold
Thursday 11 June 2026
6-7.30pm
Kate Roberts (Nomadikat) is an author, photographer, and interdisciplinary artist whose work explores place, memory, and belonging.
Since her arrival in Dahab just over three years ago, Kate has been gathering impressions, encounters, and stories of the town - listening closely to its landscapes and to the people who call it home.
These magical meetings with fellow Dahabians culminated in the photographic book Dahab: Gold on Gold. The book brings together 33 photographs taken in 33 locations across Dahab, each accompanied by three words shared by 33 local participants, presented in both English and Arabic.
The locations are mapped using the locational app what3words, grounding each image and voice precisely in place.
Kate will be sharing the story behind the project, the making of the book, and her ongoing creative journey, with time for conversation and book signing.
Tickets £5 (include a drink and Bread Together specials)
An Evening with Playwright Simon Stephens: Sea Wall
Friday 19 June 2026
6-7.30pm
Join Simon Stephens for a conversation about his work with a particular focus on the filmed version of Sea Wall, featuring Andrew Scott and directed by Andy Porter (Poet in Residence at books on the walls).
For more than twenty-five years Simon Stephens’ work has been widely translated and produced throughout the world. He has won many Awards including Olivier and Tony Awards for new plays.
His 2026 play An Ark staged by Tin Drum Collective at the Shed in New York was one of the first plays ever written for Mixed Reality. His radical adaptation of Uncle Vanya, Vanya, starring Andrew Scott, ran in London’s West End and at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York between Autumn 23 and Spring 25 and was screened to phenomenal success on NT Live and NT Home.
His adaptation of Jose Saramago’s Blindness was made into a light and sound installation that was produced internationally during the Covid 19 pandemic. His most famous play is his adaptation of Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. He has had thirty five original plays produced professionally.
He has written new English language versions of masterpieces by Chekhov, Ibsen and Brecht, collaborated with the world’s leading theatre practitioners (Patrice Chereau, Ivo Van Hove, Marianne Elliott, Katie Mitchell) and produced original work throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas.
He has been Artistic Associate at the Lyric, Hammersmith and Associate Playwright at the Royal Court Theatre. He has taught playwriting workshops in five continents. He has presented four series of the celebrated Playwright’s Podcast from the Royal Court Theatre. He is a Professor at the Writing School of Manchester Metropolitan University.
His book "A Working Diary" was published by Methuen Bloomsbury in 2016.
He lives in East London with his wife, three children, their snake, two cats and two dogs.
Simon’s adaptation of Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of A Dog in the Night-Time will run at the Storyhouse from Tuesday 16 March 16 until Saturday 20 March 2027.
Please book your ticket (£5, including a drink and Bread Together pizza) with books on the walls at hello@booksonthewalls.com.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (July 2026)
Christopher Tradgett: Just Another Tuesday in Manhattan
Saturday 4 July 2026
2-2.30pm
Christopher Tradgett started writing fiction just recently, after going along to the Write Here, Write Now group at Chester's Storyhouse early last year.
The writing to prompts exercises led initially to some short stories, one of which was featured in the Northwich Literature Festival 2025. This paved the way to another short story, which soon grew to an over 50,000 word novel - Just Another Tuesday in Manhattan.
The story explores themes around adoption, family relationships and friendships against a backdrop of Manhattan, Long Island and ending up in Dublin.
Other recent publications include some short stories and a set of dramatic monologues on themes around climate change.
Christopher has two other projects on the go - novels based in and around Cheshire.
Free, drop-in
Conversation with Nino Anastasio with reference to Kogi Wisdom:
A Book of Balance by Lucas Bucholz (Harper Collins)
Saturday 11 July 2026
2-2.30pm
Nino has spent the last 9 years connected with the Kogi. Some of that time was amongst the Kogi themselves. The photograph is of Nino in the Sierra Nevada de Marta, near a village called Sezhua. He will share his experiences, as he experienced them, with references to Lucas Bucholz’
Kogi Wisdom: A Book of Balance.
Free, drop in
Author Event – Christy Theodoulou:
Godless Cosmologies (Hawkwood Books)
Saturday 18 July 2026
2-2.30pm
A gothic, literary fantasy which follows an asylum patient facing one of life’s greatest paradoxes: to cure one’s mind through love, one may just have to lose it.
When young Pear arrives at Kopolka’s mental asylum on the day of his mother’s death, he is summoned to a cavernous midnight rendezvous where he meets Mystery, an enigmatic patient with a penchant for philosophy.
All seems well, particularly during his sojourns to the mollifying Water, a fantasy, underwater world in which he finds himself a whale in the company of an erudite octopus. But Mystery harbours dangerous delusions of her own and as the price of replacing his mother becomes ever more challenging for his shy, quiet nature, the lines between reality and fancy begin to shake.
Will Pear let them crumble or can he fight back?
In an era of uncertainty, Godless Cosmologies speaks to the timeless quest for purpose and belonging. Its rich metaphysical narrative and emotional depth make it a must-read for fans of literary fantasy and philosophical fiction. With vivid storytelling and thought-provoking themes, Theodoulou invites readers to explore a universe untethered from divine order, where meaning must be forged in the face of cosmic indifference. A metaphysical journey through worlds without divine order.
‘Beautifully realised, surreal storytelling and fascinating world building. Rich, evocative prose, full of drama and interesting ideas. An amazing achievement.’ – H. J. Larder
Christy Theodoulou is the author of the forthcoming novel Godless Cosmologies, which is due to be published by Hawkwood Books in March 2026. She has a law degree from Lancaster University and a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford. She currently resides in London, pondering existential thoughts if not reading, prowling charity shops or otherwise imagining a life with many legged creatures. Beyond that, she thinks, she writes.
Free, drop-in.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (January 2027)
Author Event with Gareth Robinson: A Curious Legacy
Saturday 2nd January 2027
2-2.30pm
Gareth Robinson first encountered the Falkland Islands in a school atlas, during an O-level geography lesson in the autumn of 1975. What followed was indeed a curious legacy from that lesson. In his book, A Curious Legacy…the author writes about his fascination with the Falkland Islands, and his mission to get all over the Islands, much of it on foot.
It was to be January 1998 before he managed to get to the Falklands, and much had happened in the intervening years. Tourism was then in its early days. As Gareth pursued that mission to get all over the Islands - 11 visits and counting - the increased opportunities facilitated the pursuit.
At his first talk and slide show in January of this year, he gave an insight into the attractions of the Falklands, and illustrated this with photographs taken from islands and hilltops which few get to visit. Join him for a further talk and slide show, which will draw out the enterprising way in which 'land-based tourism' has been developed, and will include a slide selection of Falklands wildlife, and the empty, peaceful coastlines which are so much part of an island archipelago.
Free, drop-in
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