Val Wood’s book-signing cancelled due to Covid-19
AUTHOR TO STILL SIGN COPIES
HULL’S annual book launch best-selling author Val Wood cancelled this year due to coronavirus pandemic.
Signings for The Lonely Wife, due out next month, will still go ahead at Waterstones, in Jameson Street, as the author has been working alongside the bookshop on alternative arrangements to ensure nobody will miss out this year.
Val said: “For any author, book launch events are special days in the year as we get to meet readers in person, many of whom return year after year.
“It is terribly sad that all events have to be cancelled this year, but we must all do what we can to prevent spreading the virus.
“The annual launch events at Waterstones in Hull have become popular with those wishing to get a personalised copy, either for themselves or as a gift, which seems to have become a tradition.”
Val, who lives in Beverley, actively engages with her reader community on social media and, since announcing the title of The Lonely Wife – her 26th novel - earlier in the year, has received many requests, so, together with Waterstones, Val has reached a solution that will maintain public safety.
“Book lovers are now able to pre-order their books and leave a message with the booksellers,” she said.
“I have arranged a signing session in a safe space, away from the public. for is the
“I wish all of my readers well and cannot wait to meet again, when it is safe to do so in the future.”
Chris Heale, expert bookseller at Waterstones, Hull, said: “Val’s titles are always number one in our Christmas book charts and I’m sure The Lonely Wife will achieve the same success.
“Val has a very loyal fan base in the area and her book launches always attract a huge crowd, which, unfortunately, will be impossible for us to host this year.
“However, we’re thrilled that she will still be able to sign books in a safe environment that complies with social distancing measures.
“Without doubt, Val biggest-selling author and joke that, without Val, we survive.
“We are thrilled to have worked with Val on alternative arrangements that will satisfy many of our customers during this unusual time.”
Originally from Castleford, Val sets all her books in and around Hull and the East Riding. Her first work, The Hungry Tide, published in 1993, won her the Catherine Cookson Prize for Romantic Fiction.
When she is not writing, Val supports a number of charities including Sight Support (Hull & East Yorkshire), where she holds the position of vice-president. She is also patron of Home Start and Butterflies Memory Loss Support Group and was a volunteer at the Talking Magazine for the Blind for 28 years.
The Lonely Wife, by published by Transworld, on Thursday, November available to pre-order now. is our we often wouldn’t
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