Owen House Wedding Barn, Small Lane, Mobberley, Cheshire, WA16 7NU
Event Timing
Wednesday 4th November 2026, 11am - 3.30pm
Event Details:
The Cheshire Literary Lunch 2026
Following the success of prior events, Cheshire Literary Lunch is back for 2026!
The 2026 event will be held on Wednesday, 4th November at the beautiful Owen House Wedding Barn, in the heart of the Cheshire countryside at Small Lane, Mobberley, Cheshire, WA16 7NU.
The Literary Lunch was founded by Sue France in 2013. Although 2024 was the last lunch she would organise directly, this incredibly popular and treasured event continues in the hands of book mentor and editor Siân-Elin Flint-Freel, and networking speaker, trainer and event host Kirsty James. Together they bring a wealth of experience and knowledge and, of course, Sue is right behind them, providing her support and guidance.
Both Siân-Elin and Kirsty are delighted to be continuing the legacy of The Literary Lunch. The annual event is a celebration of writing and reading, and a source of support and inspiration for those wishing to indulge their creativity.
The barn is a bespoke venue set on a working farm that is family run and offers a truly unique experience. The barn was converted in 2013 (the same year as the first Literary Lunch!) yet still maintains its rustic and countryside charm and we can’t wait to share it with you.
Travel by car:
For environmental reasons, please car-share if you can or consider rail travel where possible. We can put you in touch with others to car-share if you wish.
Parking is available onsite and near the venue. Further details will be shared with attendees via the final joining instructions.
Travel by rail:
Mobberley Railway Station (2 min taxi or 10 min walk)
09.30: Arrival for stall holders, speakers, sponsors (separate parking will be allocated and instructions sent by email).
10.30: Arrival for attendees (main car park to be used by).
10.45-11.30: Registration, complimentary welcome drink, bar also available, books stalls open, book signings available, open networking.
11.30-11.45: Call to seats, Welcome and Introductions
11.45-12.45: Speaker Programme
12.45-14.00: Lunch
14.00-15.00: Speaker Programme
15.00-15.30: Stalls remain open, book signings, open networking
SPEAKERS
Melanie Cantor
Melanie Cantor worked for many years in PR and as a celebrity talent agent. She is an addicted house mover: her renovations, which were spotted by a TV producer, led to her hosting the Channel 4 series Making Space.
She is the author of Happy Endings (2019), which has been translated into nine languages, and the bestselling The F**k It! List (2024).
She has two adult sons and lives between Dorset and London (for now!) with her dog, Mabel. Sex And The Ex is her third novel and will be published in February 2027.
Joanne Goodwin was a bit of a Matilda as a child. She started reading aged five. (Unlike Matilda at that age, her books of choice were Enid Blyton, not Great Expectations or Moby Dick.)
Her love of hearing and writing stories fired her ambition to become a reporter, despite her all-girls’ grammar school headmistress telling her it was an unsuitable job for a woman. This year, including her current role as editor of Cheshire Life, she has been a journalist for 50 years. Joanne is the perfect person to interview Melanie and we are bound to have a lot of fun hearing what these two exceptionally fashionable ladies have to say.
Annette Williams
Annette is the author of Step Into Your Spotlight: the TV insider’s guide to feeling confident when all eyes are on You!
Annette spent 38 years at the BBC, rising from a researcher at BBC Wales, Cardiff via Executive Producer in TV Centre, London to Head of Children’s Factual at MediaCity, Salford. During her multi-BAFTA award-winning career, she worked with everyone from Hollywood royalty to actual Royalty, gave many now-familiar presenters their first big break, and discovered that even the most accomplished people can experience nerves and self-doubt.
After leaving the BBC at 60, Annette started a new career chapter, retraining as a Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist and setting up Silverbrook Hypnotherapy, discovering an entirely different way to help people feel confident when it matters most – proving that it’s never too late to step into your spotlight.
Alice Murphy-Pyle
Alice Murphy-Pyle is a Book Marketing Society-award winning marketer and publicist.
She worked at Simon & Schuster Books UK and Penguin Random House before moving back to Manchester to join HarperNorth, where she has delivered campaigns for authors including Sunday Times top ten bestsellers Stuart Maconie, James Timpson and Sophie McCartney.
She has mentored for Children’s Books North and the Northern Fiction Alliance, and is part of HarperCollins’ social mobility network.
In 2024 she co-founded Love Stories Etc romance festival in Manchester, which returned in September 2027 at Manchester Central Library and was highly commended by the Publishers Publicity Circle.
Jude Lennon
Jude is a former teacher who left the chalk face to set up a storytelling business and become an author of books for children and adults.
Jude is still involved in education and visits primary schools to deliver creative writing workshops, author talks and oral storytelling sessions. She also facilitates writing days and retreats for adults, and she runs a writing club called Pick Up Your Pen which meets online four times per month.
Jude is a Patron of Reading, a Literacy Champion for the National Literacy Trust and an Ambassador for UK Reads Charity. She is a patron of Kingsley & Co bookshop as well as a core member of the Liverpool Literacy Cycle which promotes and encourages reading, writing and spoken word across the Liverpool City Region.
When she isn’t reading or writing, she loves getting away in her vintage campervan Buttercup.
Catherine Bruton
Catherine is a multi-award-winning children’s author of novels for children and young people, including the Carnegie nominated ‘No Ballet Shoes in Syria’ (winner of National Book Tokens Award, the Middle East Book Award and many more); The Nero shortlisted ‘Bird Boy’ (‘Moving and powerful’ – The Sunday Times); ‘We Can be Heroes’ (adapted for the screen, starring Alison Steadman); and her latest, ‘Tadpole Summer’, which is already featured on multiple major awards shortlists. She is also the author of the much loved Somersaults and Dreams series, under her pen name, Cate Shearwater.
Her books address complex themes, including immigration, conservation, grief and loss, in a way that aims to open conversations, expand young readers’ capacity for empathy, widen their horizons and switch on light bulbs in their heads.
A master storyteller of heartbreaking and heartwarming fiction, Catherine’s mantra is, ‘I never enter a dark room unless I think I can light the way out.’
Lisa Caldwell
The Curious Cat Bookshop will once again be coming to this year’s Literary Lunch with a bookstall. Not only that, but Lisa Caldwell will also be speaking about what bookshops look for in a book before they put it on their shelves.
Lisa Caldwell owns The Curious Cat bookshop with her husband, James, in Frodsham, Cheshire. They have had the bookshop two-and-a-half years.
The Curious Cat Bookshop was born out of a simple yet profound love for books and cats. Lisa and James believe in the power of stories to transport, transform, and transcend. Coupled with cats, they’ve created a space that feeds the mind and also soothes the soul.
She is an avid reader and all-round book worm. If she’s not busy in the bookshop then you will usually find her somewhere quiet with a cup of tea and a book.
EVENT SPONSORS
TAUK Publishing
TAUK Publishing is an author-friendly assisted publishing house. We are a collaborative-based team committed to ensuring your manuscript becomes a published book that you are proud of. High standards and integrity in editorial, design and artwork are crucial to making a self-published book visibly and editorially appealing.
Shackleton Advisers Ltd
Shackleton was founded in 2024, bringing together 22 of the best financial advice firms from across the country, unified on a common purpose, to create financial freedom for the people of Britain. All our Founders embody the Shackleton principles, bringing together an unrivalled wealth of experience and expertise, capable of shaping the landscape of financial advice in Britain for years to come.
Beamreach Book Printing
Beamreach Book Printing – one of the few specialist ‘Book Only’ printers based in the UK with over 30 years experience printing books. David Exley says, “our aim is to provide small publishers and self-publishers with mainstream quality book technology, binding and book papers that usually only bigger publishers have access to.” When you trust us with producing your book, we will take the time to examine it as if it were our own, and make useful suggestions (in plain English) to ensure you are over the moon when you receive your books.
Andrew Collier Photography
Cheshire Family, Dog & Equine Photographer:
Relaxed outdoor portrait photography where the experience is as fabulous as the photographs are gorgeous. Plenty of fun, laughter and genuine moments between people, dogs and horses across Cheshire, Manchester, Merseyside and North Wales. Whether it’s capturing the legacy of five generations, celebrating a new addition to the family, or expressing love for your precious horse or dog, a professional environmental portrait photoshoot is the perfect way to tell your story.
Perfect Order
Curious Cat Bookshop
TICKET TYPES
Early Bird – £59 including booking fees via this site – AVAILABLE UNTIL 30 September.
Standard – £69 including booking fees via this site
Group tables of over 6 and over 8 qualify for our discounted rate – please email kirsty@kirstyjames.co.uk for details and prices.
STALL / BANNER / LITERATURE
Would you like to take a stall or banner at this event or share your promotional materials with attendees?
Maybe you have a business related to the world of literature which would be particular relevant to this audience?
Book stall with banner in side room – £30
Our venue offers space for any authors keen to sell their books. Stalls, inclusive of space for 1 banner, can even be shared by up to 2 authors, making the £30 stall fee exceptional value for anyone wishing to promote and sell books or literary-related items.
Banner in main room – £20
If you’d like to display a promotional banner in the main room to be caught on our pictures and videos, this can be added for just £20.
Literature – £10
Adding promotional literature to attendee gift bags (i.e. flyers, brochures or bookmarks) is just £10 with you supplying and adding the items on the day to either a literature table or into bags.
All Extras – £50
To add on all three extras, the fee is reduced to £50
To purchase extras, please email your request to kirsty@kirstyjames.co.uk so we can check capacity and confirm. Please buy your attendee ticket as usual in the meantime as extras can be added on later and will be charged.
DIETARY NOTES:
If you have any food allergies, please ensure that you have added these during the booking process.
REFUNDS, CANCELLATION & COVID:
Refunds will not be possible within 28 days of the event.
Should you need to cancel your place, we will issue a refund if we are able to find a find a replacement attendee to take your place.
This event will run in-person. In the event of having to cancel or postpone the in-person event due to factors out of our control, we would endeavour to run an alternative online event. Attendees would be contacted and given the option to cancel for a full refund or to carry forward their ticket to the rescheduled event.
EVENT ORGANISERS:
Siân-Elin is a book mentor and editor who has thirteen years’ experience in realising people’s dreams of writing and publishing a book. She works with both fiction and non-fiction authors and is a passionate supporter of new talent.
Over the years, Siân-Elin has helped over 150 authors in topics ranging from homecare to happiness, horseracing to fantasy, and romantic comedy to accountancy.
As well as running her own business, Siân-Elin also established a book group over twenty years ago in the Peak District, where she lives. She has also been an author interviewer at the Wrexham Carnival of Words and is a member of Buxton Fringe Committee.
Siân-Elin is an avid reader and is proud to say that she has always finished reading a book she has started. Her reading tastes are wide and she is always on the lookout for a new book recommendation.
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Kirsty is a Networking speaker, trainer and event host specialising in connection, relationship-marketing, personal branding, and community-building.
Outside of her family, her proudest achievements include her TEDx talk ‘Building a Legacy: The Power of Collective Achievement’, curating TEDxWarrington, and obtaining a Prime Minister’s award for her community work.
Wife and mum of three, Kirsty lives in Lymm, Cheshire and has a strong sense of social responsibility. Her commitment to connecting with purpose and humanity is integral to how she leads her business and life. Kirsty is generous with her time and her ventures embody her three core values of connection, collaboration and community.
She has a passion for supporting people to grow, including authors and aspiring authors. Her passion for adventure, learning and connection is reflected in her love of writing and a bedside reading list that spans travel, business and personal development content.
