Author events and craft sessions at Wrexham libraries

Sharp Scratch by Martine Bailey

Join author Martine Bailey in conversation with writer and musician, Dr Elaine Walker, as we celebrate the launch of Martine's new book, Sharp Scratch. A thriller packed with suspense set at the heart of a sprawling NHS hospital where a killer roams unchecked. The book launch will take place at Wrexham Library tonight (February 27) at 6pm. It is a free event but you must reserve your place. Contact the library on library@wrexham.gov.uk or 01978 292090. We look forward to seeing you there.

Welsh Author of the Month

Tony Bianchi was born in North Shields, near Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. His father was a policeman of Italian ancestry. He attended a Catholic school on Tyneside, then studied English and philosophy at St David's University College in Lampeter, Wales. Bianchi obtained a doctoral degree with a thesis on Samuel Beckett. While studying in Wales, he met his future wife, Diana, who was an activist Welsh speaker, and who instilled a passion for the language in him. They had two daughters, Rhiannon and Heledd, named after early Welsh literary figures. Bianchi's first job was as a teacher of English in Flintshire and Aberystwyth. He then became Literature Officer (and subsequently Literature Director) at the Welsh Arts Council in Cardiff - an organisation that provided him with material for his first novel Esgyrn Bach. Bianchi's literary life took off after his retirement from the Arts Council in 2002. He became a prolific novelist as well as a skilful poet winning numerous prizes and plaudits. He lived in Cardiff with his partner Ruth until his death in 2017 aged 65. He was an avid supporter of Newcastle United; an excellent pianist; a frequent (bilingual) contributor to debates in the Conway pub about beer, politics, language, history, music, football, philosophy, random irritants, and the tendency of people to leave doors open!

Brynteg Library craft sessions

Join us at Brynteg Library for two special craft sessions for children. The first one takes place on Friday, March 1, from 4pm-5pm for St David's Day crafts. The second session takes place on Wednesday, March 6, from 4pm-5pm for an activity to make Mother's Day cards. Both of these sessions are suitable for children aged 4+. They are free of charge but you must reserve your space as places are limited. Contact the library on 01978 759523 or Brynteg.library@wrexham.gov.uk

Learning at Lunchtime

Come along to our monthly Learning at Lunchtime session and learn how to crochet a Granny Square. The session will take place on Wednesday, March 6, from 1pm-2pm at Wrexham Library. If you would like to attend please bring a 3.25mm or 4mm crochet hook with you. Basic understanding of crochet techniques are required, but full tuition for making the square will be given. Booking is essential, so please reserve your place by contacting Wrexham Library on 01978 292090 or library@wrexham.gov.uk

Meet the Author: Clare Mackintosh

Author Clare Mackintosh.

The latest in our Meet the Author series is bestselling author Clare Mackintosh. Clare will chat about her writing career and her latest book I Promise It Won't Always Hurt Like This. With 18 assurances that are full of compassion, this book draws from Clare's experiences of losing her son and her father and offers the reader comfort as they navigate grief. This event will take place at Wrexham library on Monday, March 4, 7pm. Tickets are £3 and can be purchased online at www.wrexham.gov.uk/meettheauthor or you can buy them directly from Wrexham Library.

Book Review

Sisters under the Rising Sun by Heather Morris

Sisters under the Rising Sun by Heather Morris

In the midst of the Second World War, an English musician, Norah Chambers, places her eight-year-old daughter Sally on a ship leaving Singapore, desperate to keep her safe as the island falls to the Japanese Army. Welsh Australian nurse Sister Nesta James has enlisted alongside the Allied forces. As Singapore falls to the Japanese she joins the terrified cargo of people, including the heartbroken Norah, crammed aboard the Vyner Brooke merchant ship. Only two days later, they are bombarded from the air off the coast of Indonesia, and in a matter of hours, the Vyner Brooke lies broken on the seabed. Nesta and Norah reach the beaches of a remote island, only to be captured and held in one of their notorious Japanese POW camps. The camps are places of starvation and brutality, where disease runs rampant. But even here joy can be found in music, where Norah's 'voice orchestra' has the power to transport the internees out of the squalor and into the light. Sisters in Arms Norah and Nesta devote themselves to the women's survival while discovering their own extraordinary reserves of courage, love and strength. An amazing true story, well worth reading.