The Same Country

October Books, founded in 1977 and now based on Portswood Road in Southampton, is a not-for-profit co-operative radical neighbourhood bookshop. Any money we make, is ploughed back into the business, if you attend one of our free entry events and would like to make a donation so we can do more, please do sohere.We trade independently from any political organisation, and seek to promote a fair and equal society. Our workers and volunteers are from many different backgrounds, and they bring diversity to the shop, so everyone feels at home in October Books.You canorder with us onlineorbrowse our stock. Or alternatively give us a ring, or drop in!As well as books, we also stock greeting cards, organic and fair-trade foods and green household items.

October Books

Join author Carole Burns as she reads from her debut novel, The Same Country, about race and racism in America.

‘The Same Country is an electric, emotionally charged novel: it seethes with its own energy. Pick it up, and you won’t want to put it down.’PHILIP HOARE, author of Leviathan, and Albert &amp; the WhaleJoin us on Thursday 2 November as fiction writer, journalist and Southampton associate professor Carole Burns reads from her debut novel, The Same Country, and talks to author Rebecca Smith about writing about race and racism in America.The Same Country is a powerful and thought-provoking novel about family, friendship and the lengths we go to unravel the truth. Twenty years ago, Joe was shot dead in the bedroom of his white girlfriend. It was deemed an accident, but now his friend Cassie – a journalist – is not so sure. As racial tension ignites a string of violence across their New England city, will the answers Cassie is so desperate to find cause everyone's world to shatter?‘…astute, powerful and pacy’ CLAIRE FULLER, winner of the 2021 Costa Novel Prize for Unsettled Ground‘The Same Country unearths long buried truths that remain the truths of America.’GISH JEN, author of The Resisters and Thank You, Mr. NixonCarole Burns is a freelance journalist for the Washington Post and an associate professor in Creative Writing at the University of Southampton. Her short story collection, The Missing Woman, won the John C. Zacharis Award from the prestigious U.S. literary magazine Ploughshares. Her non-fiction book, Off the Page: Writers Talk About Beginnings, Endings and Everything in Between, was based on her interviews with writers including Anthony Doerr, Andrea Levy, Colm Tóibín and Jhumpa Lahiri. \Rebecca Smith, a principal teaching fellow at the University of Southampton, is the author of five novels, two non-fiction books, and the text of a picture book. Her most recent novel for adults is The Ash Museum (Legend Press) which was inspired by her time as the writer in residence at Jane Austen’s House in Chawton and by being left hundreds of old family photographs and letters.The cost of the ticket goes towards helping support your local independent bookshop and community space and means we can continue to run events like this.Free tickets are available as part of our commitment to making our events accessible to all.Access infoThere is one step to get into the shop. We have a mobile ramp which we can set up upon request or if a customer rings the bell. The floors throughout are level and the doorways and all spaces, including the toilet, are accessible.We have a range of seating available for our events. The majority don’t have arm rests and all are free-standing. If you are concerned about whether seats will fit you or hold your weight do speak to a member of staff before the event and we can show you the available options.

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The Same Country

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