Romance book club and book swap with Nadine Aisha Jassat [First Date 2026]

This event is a part of First Date 2026 edition series. Click to view more from this festival.

This event is part of FIRST DATE ROMANCE FICTION FESTIVAL, which we are thrilled to co-host with Book Lovers Bookshop! You can book tickets to their First Date events on their website.

Nadine Aisha Jassat is a lover of romance fiction and always has brilliant recommendations, and her work as an author, teacher and facilitator means she is wonderful at bringing people together. We couldn't think of a better host for our special festival edition one-off ROMANCE BOOK CLUB! Nadine has picked WHO'S LOVING YOU: LOVE STORIES BY WOMEN OF COLOUR, edited by the late Sareeta Domingo. Nadine will pick a short story from the book to discuss in a relaxed book club format.

We also invite you to bring your romance books along for a lively book swap with other attendees. Weather permitting, this event will take place in the beautiful and lush bookshop garden, and we'll have tea and blankets there in case it gets a little chilly.

About our host: Nadine Aisha Jassat is the author of acclaimed poetry collection Let Me Tell You This, (‘beautifully written, immense and full of passion’ – Nikita Gill), and three middle grade mysteries in verse. The Stories Grandma Forgot (And How I Found Them), was described by Sophie Anderson as ‘one of those books that truly makes the world a better place.’ The Carnegie-nominated and Jhalak prize longlisted The Hidden Story of Estie Noor was described by Maisie Chan as ‘a warm hug of a book’. And her latest novel, The House At The Edge of The World was named ‘charismatic’ and ‘enchanting’ by The Guardian.

Nadine has taught and performed internationally and across media, including BBC Scotland’s The Big Scottish Book Club and Author’s Live. She has been published widely, and features in popular anthologies such as Picador’s It’s Not About the Burqa (Shortlisted for Foyles Non-Fiction Book of the Year), Polygon’s The People’s City, and Bloodaxe's Staying Human. Her work has drawn significant acclaim, with her writing for adults shortlisted for the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award, a Herald Scottish Culture Award for Outstanding Literature, and winning a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award; and her writing for children longlisted for a UKLA Book Award and the Jhalak Prize, and shortlisted for an Alexandra Palace Book Award and a James Reckitt Hull Book Award.

Nadine lives in Scotland, and grew up in the North of England with a Yorkshire mum and Zimbabwean Dad. She is of mixed heritage; a heritage which can only be told in stories.

www.nadineaishaj.com

Author photo credit: Danielle Watt