David Headley: Romance in the Court

With so many RNA members looking forward to the first Romance in the Court event on 26^th May the RNA blog took the opportunity to chat with David Headley, owner of Goldsboro Books.

Thank you for agreeing to answer our questions. Our members are excited about the first

David Headley & Katie Fforde

‘Romance in the Court’. What made you decide to hold this event?

We wanted to hold an event that would compliment our existing events such as Crime in the Court and History in the Court. Romance in the Court is borne out of our desire to support women’s fiction and to raise the profile of the brilliant authors who write in this genre. It’s also a way of saying thanks to both the wonderful writers who support Goldsboro and our loyal customers. 

Can you tell us what ticket holders can expect from the event?

Anyone who has been to a party at Goldsboro will know that we love hosting parties. We make the evening a relaxed and fun event where writers can meet readers in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere whilst sipping lovely wine. It really is an evening of celebration.

You have a wonderful list of authors in attendance. Will attendees be able to purchase their books?

Yes, all of the featured authors will have their most recently published books for sale.

How did you select the listed authors?

Their publishers invited authors who are attending. We asked each publisher to recommend a handful of authors that they felt most suited to the event.

Have you held reader events for other genres?

Yes, every year for the last five years we have hosted Crime in the Court; History in the Court & Fantasy in the Court. They are hugely popular events with up to 500 people descending on Cecil Court. Both authors and readers love these evenings of celebration.

Can you tell us something about your bookshop?

Goldsboro Books is 17 years old. Daniel and I established Goldsboro Books in 1999 in our sitting room in Newbury, originally as an online bookseller. This soon grew and within 18 months we opened our first shop in Cecil Court. We now have three shops in Cecil Court and are one of the leading independent booksellers in the UK. We specialize in signed first editions and nearly every day we have an author visiting to sign their books.

What is your working day like? How do you split yourself between being a literary agent and owner of a well-known bookshop?

I am a bookseller. That is how I see myself. I run both companies but the two go hand in hand. I am very organised and manage my time effectively so that each company gets the very best time from me. My colleagues are very talented people and all of them help enormously and without them I couldn’t do it. I have also established a third company, Bookman and Black, which will launch in Autumn this year. It is an online bookshop that will provide readers with an alternative online shopping experience with all the joy and magic of browsing a physical bookshop, offering the

An earlier event

knowledge and expertise of the professional bookseller. It is a very different model to any online bookshop currently operating.

When you aren’t working how do you enjoy your leisure time? Do you have any hobbies?

I love reading in my spare time, obviously. It is a way I relax as well as keeping up-to-date with what books are being published. I also love going to the gym and walking with my partner and our dogs.

Thank you, David. We hope that Romance in the Court will be the first of many events our members can attend to meet fellow authors.

Romance in the Court will be held on 26^th May 6 – 9 PM.

For further details visit the Romance in the Court website

Featured authors include:

Veronica Henry,  Katie Fforde,  Janie Millman,  Judy Astley, Jules Wake, Jo Thomas, 

Vanessa Greene, Virginia Macgregor, Sarra Manning, Lisa Dickenson, Emma Fraser, 

Sue Watson, Fiona Field, Tasmina Perry, Carole Matthews, Hilary Boyd, Adele Geras, 

Cate Woods, Natalie Meg Evans, Stella Newman, Rowan Coleman, Cathy Bramley, 

Fanny Blake, Liz Fenwick, Victoria Walters, Stephanie Butland, Catherine Law, 

Sarah Long, Holly Martin, Eileen Ramsey, Madeleine Reiss, Julie Cohen, Lucy Foley, 

Sareeta Domingo, Fionnuala Kearney, Sarah Vaughan, Freya North, Isabelle Broom, 

Rachael Lucas, Alex Brown, Eva Rice, Nicola Cornick, Jodi Ellen Malpas, 

Cathy Woodman, Harriet Evans, Louise Lee, Gill Paul