8 April - Tuesday Evening, 7pm at the library (6:30 for tea & cake)

40 years devouring self-help products and searching for answers to life's struggles, Georgia Holleranen encountered nothing but disappointment, frustration and despair!

Until...she suddenly discovered herself to be a pretty capable and confident person!

Why was she so bulletproof? How did she get to be so calm, resilient, resourceful and level-headed? - Even in crisis. Was it age? Wisdom? Luck?

How can we make the best of our time on this planet, without letting ourselves get in the way?

With her background in the arts, education, neuro-linguistic programming, cognitive hypnotherapy....

The Last Self-Help Book You’ll Ever Need summarises the best she has learned...so far.

Organised by the Friends of Carnegie Library in cooperation with The Lambeth Library Service.

This event will be live-streamed and also available to view for a limited period on the Carnegie Library Facebook page.

Admission - free.

Reservations are not necessary - but please reserve your place on Eventbrite (this helps with planning).

Tuesday evening, 11 March - 7:00 pm (6:30 for tea & cakes)

Daughters of the Nile

Zahra Barri

She Comedies, she Writes novels, she PhDs, she Voiceovers, she Presents, she Blogs, she Acts, She's turning into her mother....

Daughters of the Nile follows the lives of three women from the Bin-Khalid family. These women are no strangers to adversity, but they must learn from the past and relearn shame and shamelessness to radically change their futures.

The novel was winner of the Unbound Firsts award and covers several generations of women from 1940 to the early 21st century in a variety of settings, with themes including feminism, queerness, revolution and Islamic sisterhood.

Author and comedian Zahra Barri will be with us at The Carnegie Library on 11 March, Tuesday evening, to discuss her award winning novel Daughters of the Nile.

Free admission (reserve a place on eventbrite - or walk in)

This event will be live-streamed and also available to view for a limited period on the Carnegie Library Facebook page.

Organised by the Friends of Carnegie Library in cooperation with the Lambeth Library Service.

Tuesday evening, 11 February at 7pm (6:30 for tea & cakes)

The Hidden Queer History of Myths and Monsters with author Sacha Coward

Journey across centuries and continents with the unsung heroes and villains of storytelling, magic and fantasy. Each chapter investigates the queer history of different mythic and folkloric characters, both old and new, featuring images from archives, galleries and museums around the world.

Organised by the Friends of Carnegie Library

Please register to reserve a free place and help with planning for this event.

View the livestream for up to 30 days on the Carnegie Library Facebook page.

Tuesday evening 7pm, 14 January - at the library

Zelda Rhiando's new novel Night Shift has just been published and she will be discussing it at the Carnegie Library on Tuesday evening, 14 January, 7pm (6:30 for a cup of tea).

Charlie and Eva love each other, but nothing is ever that simple. Whilst Charlie is distracted running a busy mortuary, Eva leads a double life, troubled by strange events and haunted by magpies. Faced with the inevitability of death, she dreams of a different ending. As Eva's hidden world increasingly collides with reality, Charlie must make a choice. Is love enough to fill the hole inside us?

Zelda Rhiando was born in Dublin and read English Literature at Cambridge. She lives in South London with her husband, two daughters and four cats, and is one of the founders of the Brixton BookJam.

Zelda Rhiando is the author of two previous novels, Caposcripti and Fukushima Dreams.

View the livestream for up to 30 days on the Carnegie Library Facebook page.

Please register to reserve a place and help with planning for this event.

Presented by the Friends of Carnegie Library

Heather Tweed - Tuesday evening, 10 December - 7pm

Unfortunately we have had to cancel this talk on short notice, due to circumstances beyond our control. We hope to reschedule Heather Tweed to give a talk at the library at a later date, possibly in the summer months. Our apologies.

Heather Tweed specialises in bringing “overlooked and hidden Victorians” back into the limelight, researching from primary sources. Her latest subject is Madame Marzella, Queen of the Feathered Tribe. This is the true story of a little girl who charmed animals and birds on her forest walks in Germany - then grew up to be a rich and famous star, thrilling and delighting Victorian audiences with her spectacular bird shows.

Those who registered for a spot on Eventbrite will be informed directly.

The Friends of Carnegie Library working with the Lambeth Library Service.

Tuesday evening, 12 November: 7 - 8:30pm

Join Iqbal Hussain for this joyful, defiant and dazzling story of Rafi Aziz – a Northern boy dreaming of his name up in Bollywood lights.

It's 1981 in the suburbs of Blackburn and, as Rafi’s mother reminds him daily, the family moved here from Pakistan to give him the best opportunities. But Rafi longs to follow his own path. Flamboyant, dramatic and musically gifted, he wants to be a Bollywood star.

Twenty years later, Rafi is flying home from Australia for his best friend’s wedding. He has everything he ever wanted: starring roles in musical theatre, the perfect boyfriend and freedom from expectation. But returning to Blackburn is the ultimate test: can he show his true self to his community?

Navigating family and identity from boyhood to adulthood, as well as the changing eras of ABBA, skinheads and urbanisation, Rafi must follow his heart to achieve his dreams.

View the livestream for up to 30 days on the Carnegie Library Facebook page.

Please register to reserve a place and help with planning for this event.

Event organised by the Friends of Carnegie Library