The New Bookshop, Cockermouth
On Wednesday 24th of September I’ll be talking all things Ingrained at the wonderful New Bookshop in Cockermouth, Cumbria
Tickets: £8 or £12 with a signed copy of Ingrained
Tickets can be purchased in store
The Grove Bookshop, Ilkley
In the generous words of the wonderful Grove Bookshop:
We're delighted to be hosting an event with critically acclaimed award-winning author and craftsman Callum Robinson next month.
'Ingrained: The Making of a Craftsman' is a nature memoir. It was the winner of the Indie Book Award 2025 and is currently shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing.
Callum will be at the bookshop from 7pm on Thursday, 25 September, discussing the inspiration behind his wonderful book: a love letter to trees, timber, and craftsmanship - and how to find your voice.
In Ingrained, he tells the story of how he developed his passion and skill for woodworking from his father - and how the loss of a big project threatened to bring an end to his dreams. Ingrained is an uplifting meditation on the joys and challenges of working with your hands in our modern age, on inheritance, community, and the beauty of the natural world.
Tickets can be purchased directly in the Grove, or via the link below
Tickets & Info
Folde, Dorset
In the generous words of the wonderful Folde …
In Coversation with Callum Robinson
The Grosvenor Arms, FOLDE, Dorset
Ingrained is a love letter to trees, timber and craftsmanship – and to finding your own voice. The eldest son of a Master Woodworker, Callum Robinson spent his childhood surrounded by wood and trees, absorbing craft lessons in his father’s workshop, playing amongst the sycamore, oak and Scots pine that bordered his home.
In time he became his father’s apprentice, helping to create exquisite bespoke objects. But eventually the need to find his own path led him to establish his own workshop; to chase ever bigger and more commercial projects, to business meetings, bright lights and bureaucracy, to lose touch with his roots. Until the devastating loss of one major job threatened to bring it all crashing down.
Faced with the end of his business, his team and everything he had worked so hard to build, he was forced to question what mattered most. Blending memoir and nature writing at its finest, Ingrained is an uplifting meditation on the joys and challenges of working with your hands in our modern age, on inheritance, community, and the beauty of the natural world.
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WINNER OF THE INDIE BOOK AWARD 2025 FOR NON-FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING
A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2024
This event is brought to you by FOLDE Dorset in partnership with the Grosvenor Arms.
If you dine at the Grosvenor on the day of this talk, you'll receive 10% off your food bill on presentation of your ticket. We strongly recommend booking in advance.
Book-Ish, Crickhowell
In the generous words of the wonderful Book-ish …
Join us for an evening with winner of the Indie Book Award 2025 for Non Fiction Callum Robinson
‘A beautifully cut and crafted masterpiece inlaid with insight and polished with the pure joy of nature.’ – Chris Packham
Ingrained is a love letter to trees, timber and craftsmanship – and to finding your own voice. The eldest son of a Master Woodworker, Callum Robinson spent his childhood surrounded by wood and trees, absorbing craft lessons in his father’s workshop, playing amongst the sycamore, oak and Scots pine that bordered his home.
In time he became his father’s apprentice, helping to create exquisite bespoke objects. But eventually the need to find his own path led him to establish his own workshop; to chase ever bigger and more commercial projects, to business meetings, bright lights and bureaucracy, to lose touch with his roots. Until the devastating loss of one major job threatened to bring it all crashing down.
Faced with the end of his business, his team and everything he had worked so hard to build, he was forced to question what mattered most. Blending memoir and nature writing at its finest, Ingrained is an uplifting meditation on the joys and challenges of working with your hands in our modern age, on inheritance, community, and the beauty of the natural world.
Event Format:
Author talk ‘in conversation’ followed by audience Q&A and book signing
Tickets:
£10 without book or £15 with book
Venue:
The Loft at Bookish is located in our flagship store in Crickhowell, accessed from Silver Lane.
Please let us know if you have an accessibility/mobility requirements. This venue does not have a lift so is unfortunately not accessible for wheelchair users.
Booka Bookshop, Oswestry
In the words of Booka Bookshop …
Join us for an evening with woodworker Callum Robinson as he talks about his craft and his memoir Ingrained, shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing 2025
Ingrained is a love letter to trees, timber and craftsmanship – and to finding your own voice.
The eldest son of a Master Woodworker, Callum Robinson spent his childhood surrounded by wood and trees, absorbing craft lessons in his father’s workshop, playing amongst the sycamore, oak and Scots pine that bordered his home. In time he became his father’s apprentice, helping to create exquisite bespoke objects. But eventually the need to find his own path led him to establish his own workshop; to chase ever bigger and more commercial projects, to business meetings, bright lights and bureaucracy, to lose touch with his roots. Until the devastating loss of one major job threatened to bring it all crashing down. Faced with the end of his business, his team and everything he had worked so hard to build, he was forced to question what mattered most.
Blending memoir and nature writing at its finest, Ingrained is an uplifting meditation on the joys and challenges of working with your hands in our modern age, on inheritance, community, and the beauty of the natural world.
Tickets: £12 Admits One and includes a signed copy of Ingrained or £20 Admits Two and includes One signed copy of Ingrained
13th November 2025, 7.00pm (doors 6.30pm) at Booka, 26-28 Church Street, Oswestry, SY11 2SP
Balfron Book Festival
A Book, a Beer and a Basket
The Pirn Inn, in the village of Balfron (just outside Glasgow) has a special place in my family’s heart. It was here, forty-odd years ago, that my wife Marisa spent her early childhood. When she was very young, her parents owned the pub for a time, renovating it from a fire-damaged shell into a beloved local insitution, and she has fond memories of listening to the clatter and babble of pub life from upstairs, and watching her Tuscan Nonna cooking lasagne for wide-eyed locals in the kitchen. It’s extra special, then, to be appearing here during the inaugural Balfron Book Festival, where I’ll be talking all things Ingrained - and you can also get yourself a beer and a basket of food!
06 Sept 2025, 17:00 – 18:00
The Pirn Inn, Balfron, Glasgow G63 0PX, UK
Edinburgh International Book Festival
With Our Hands: Clare Hunter & Callum Robinson
From wood to thread, Callum Robinson and Clare Hunter both explore the powerful stories held within crafted objects. Robinson is a woodworker whose book Ingrained blends memoir and nature writing. Hunter's Making Matters celebrates the potential of creative making, exploring craft traditions from across the centuries. Today, they discuss the cultural and personal significance of craft, and how it can enable us to see the world in new, inspiring ways.
Courtyard Theatre, Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Pl, Edinburgh EH3 9EF
Hay Festival
I’m delighted to be taking to the Discovery Stage at the legendary Hay Festival, where I’ll be in conversation with furniture restorer, author and presenter Will Kirk, celebrating the joys of working with wood, finding hope in longevity in a culture where everything seems easily disposable, and why working with our hands in the modern age can offer us peace.
Hatchards Cheltenham
To celebrate the UK paperback release of Ingrained, I’ll be in coversation with the team at Hatchards Cheltenham. Join us for an evening of reflection of the wondrous world of woodcraft, and a limited exhibtion of artwork by special guest Marisa Giannasi. (Many of Marisa’s stunning bookshop portraits, including Hatchards Cheltenham, were sketched when we travelled around the UK hand-delivering the first proof copies of Ingrained)
Boswell Book Festival
I’m delighted to be in conversation with Susanna Beaumont, in the beautiful surroundings of Dumfries House, for the world’s only festival of biography and memoir. Join us on May 10th to talk all things Ingrained.
The Wee Bookshop, Dollar
Talking all things Ingrained at The Wee Bookshop in Dollar
The Wee Bookshop, 56 Bridge Street Dollar FK14 7DG
Cheltenham Literary Festival
Callum Robinson in conversation with Wyl Menmuir at the Cheltenham Literary Festival
Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival
In an increasingly technical world, two men share a love of craft by hand. Callum Robinson and Tom Allan at the Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival
Appledore Book Festival, Devon
Two expert craftsmen talk about the power of reconnecting with nature and keeping alive the traditional crafts of the countryside.
Night Owl Books at Dukes of West Barnes
In conversation with Night Owl Books, at Dukes of West Barnes
Waterstones, Sauchiehall St, Glasgow
Café Scientifique Club, with Ingrained author Callum Robinson
The Edinburgh Bookshop, Morningside, Edinburgh
In conversation with The Edinburgh Bookshop, at The Small Hall, Morningside United Church
Far From the Madding Crowd, Linlithgow
In conversation with Far From the Madding Crowd at beautiful Bonnytoun Farm, Linlithgow