First Loves: sensational YA romance, with Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Adiba Jaigirdar and Bethany Rutter

£4 early-bird tickets until 5th May! £6 voucher ticket from 6th May.

We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar to FIRST DATE with their first joint publication, Four Eids and a Funeral a feel-good, hilarious and gorgeously swoony enemies-to-lovers romance.

Faridah and Adiba will be joined by Bethany Rutter, whose first YA book Slowcoach is the sweetest feel-good, body-positive rom com of the summer!

Together, they will discuss the YA romance renaissance, share readings from their books and discuss their writing more widely.

About our speakers:

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is the instant New York Times, international bestselling, and award-winning author of Ace of Spades and Where Sleeping Girls Lie. She is an avid tea drinker, a collector of strange mugs and an English Literature graduate from a Scottish university. She recently completed an MA in Shakespeare Studies from King’s College, London.

In 2024 Faridah was an official World Book Day author with The Doomsday Date and in June, she co-authors a romcom Four Eids and a Funeral with YA Book Prize-winning author Adiba Jaigirdar. She also has a Marvel Spider-Verse story coming out this year featuring a new character, Spider-UK!

When she isn't spinning dark tales, Faridah can be found examining the deeper meanings in Disney Channel original movies.

Adiba Jaigirdar is the award-winning, critically-acclaimed and bestselling author of The Henna Wars, Hani & Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating, A Million to One, and The Dos and Donuts of Love. A Bangladeshi/Irish writer and former teacher, she has an MA in Postcolonial Studies from the University of Kent, England and a BA in English and History from UCD, Ireland. She is the winner of the YA book prize 2022, the KPMG Children's Books Ireland Awards 2021, and was a finalist for the 2022 Lambda Literary awards. All of her writing is aided by tea, and a healthy dose of Janelle Monáe and Hayley Kiyoko. When not writing, she is probably ranting about the ills of colonialism, playing video games, or expanding her overflowing lipstick collection. She can be found at adibajaigirdar.com or @adiba_j on Twitter and @dibs_j on Instagram.

Bethany Rutter is a writer and podcaster. She writes books about women, bodies and clothes. She lives in Southeast London.

Our host: Adanna Shan is an award-winning writer of children's and young adult fiction. Dubbed ‘a name to watch out for’ by Faber, Adanna writes stories about black girls finding themselves, finding love, and sometimes saving the world. You can find her online @earthtoadanna