This month, Lagos will host one of its main literary events of the year. The 13th Book Fair (Mostra de Livros) will take place from 17–30 September at the newly refurbished Armazém Regimental (Military Warehouse) in the main Praça do Infante in Lagos.
Books by local authors will be exhibited and available for sale during the fortnight, from 11 am to 11 pm. Everyone is welcome to come in and browse and, of course, buy copies! The event’s highlight takes place each evening with book presentations, poetry readings, music and entertainment.
Don’t miss the opportunity to meet an illustrious line-up of authors from the foreign community. Coming from diverse backgrounds, they offer readers a kaleidoscope of experiences and flights of the imagination. Take your pick. There is something for everyone. Each author will do a short presentation and afterwards will sign books.
Wine and tapas will be available throughout the evening. Don’t miss an unforgettable event!
Friday 22nd September at 7pm
- Barry Harris – will launch his new book of poems and stories As I Rhymember It
- John Reid – will present the recently launched, The Revenge, his eighth book in the series of thrilling detective stories
- Julian Putley will present his book, Yes, No Bananas and will showcase his limerick books.
- Lisa Selvidge
- Peter Giacomini
- Lena Strang
Wednesday 27th September at 7pm
- Alyson Sheldrake
- Peter Cain
- StephenPowell
- Emma Kirkham
- Ann McGarry
- Sarah Greenwood
Peter Cain
Originally from Derbyshire, England, Peter arrived in the Algarve on his boat in 1999 and hasn’t looked back since. Besides writing books, he has skippered various vessels and, for 19 years, presented Captain Peter’s Seawatch Report for Kiss FM, Algarve. He also assists other authors in publishing their books on Amazon and other book publishing platforms. He will present his graphic story books PJ Squadron and Exploring the World through Colouring.
Ann Mcgarry
Ann McGarry is an Irish-born human development consultant, coach and artist. Her passion for developing human potential inspired her writings. Power of W, her second book, focuses on the Third Act addressing living more from the ‘authentic self’. This book emphasises the necessity of making space for deepening self-awareness. It highlights the value of blossoming and enjoying this time in our lives whilst also making valuable contributions from a place of earned wisdom.
Emma Kirkham
An author and health coach specialising in women’s hormonal health, Emma has been a resident in the Algarve since 2021. She has written two books in the series Hormone Hell to Hormone Harmony and is working on her third. She aims to provide women with a better understanding of hormonal issues and provide strategies for tackling symptoms. A novel is also in the pipeline.
Alyson Sheldrake
The former editor of Portugal Letter magazine and feature writer for Tomorrow, Alyson also publishes her own monthly magazine Snapshot!. Alyson, a former police officer and Director of Education in the UK, moved to the Algarve 12 years ago with her husband Dave to ‘live the dream’. She is the author of the Algarve Dream Series of travel memoirs about their life here in Portugal and the author/curator of the Travel Stories Series of anthologies. She will talk about her three Algarve Dream Series books and her bestseller, Kat the Dog.
Stephen Powell
Stephen was a journalist for Reuters for 27 years. He has lived and worked on every continent except for Antarctica and brings a deeply ingrained global perspective to his craft. His reporting has included war and coups in Africa and Brazil’s transition from military rule to democracy. He is the author of two books, The First Toast is to Peace, Travels in the South Caucasus and Walking Europe’s Edge, Reflections on Portugal. He moved from his native Wales to the Algarve in 2019 after walking the length of Portugal, a zigzag journey of nearly 1,500 kilometres. He will talk about his learning from a lifetime of travel.
Lisa Selvidge
Lisa has lived in the Algarve for almost 20 years and is the author of several novels and nonfiction books. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and teaches creative writing online courses for the University of Oxford and in situ workshops in Monchique. She loves to travel and, after her son was born in 2012, she bought a campervan. Her travels have inspired a series of children’s books, The Magic Campervan, which she will present at the fair.
Peter Giacomini
Italian-born Peter Giacomini outlines his life experiences in The Cardboard Suitcase. How does a poor boy from a small town in northern Italy in the middle of the war manage to reach the highest echelons of the luxury restaurant business? His inspiring story reflects his courage, passion and perseverance and will take readers into the exhilarating world that only a hotelier can know.
Sarah Greenwood
As well as being a poet, Sarah is a Portuguese translator. Originally from Blackburn, UK, she migrated to the Algarve in 2005 and is the local coordinator for the multilingual poetry and translation festival Casa dos Poetas, which takes place in Silves each May. Her poetry has been published in several literary journals and anthologies. She will present her translation of the play The Door Closed and the House was Small by Quarteira-born playwright Ricardo Neves-Neves of Teatro do Eléctrico.
Lena Strang
Finnish-born Lena spent all her professional life teaching English in schools in Britain. Moving to the Algarve, she began working as a journalist for Tomorrow. Over the years, she has spent much time listening to people in the towns and villages in the Algarve, telling their stories as well as unravelling histories behind abandoned houses and historic places. These have been collated into two books: Touching Lives: Remarkable People and Places in the Western Algarve and the second one Crossing Cultures in the Western Algarve. The books are veritable treasure troves of stories, capturing the essence of the Algarve. Available in English and Portuguese.
