Claire Lynch - A Family Matter
In conversation with artist Caroline Walker
WithClaire Lynch
In conversation withCaroline Walker
On:1st June 2026, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Attendance options:
It's a delight to welcome the 2025 Nero Book of the Year Award winning author Claire Lynch to the bookshop. This is a special event to celebrate her debut novel A Family Matter. Lynch is joined by artist Caroline Walker, who painted the cover art for A Family Matter. We are so excited to see these two brilliant creators in conversation here at the bookshop!
Claire will be signing books after the event.
About A Family Matter:
A mother following her heart. A father with the law on his side. A child caught in the middle.
1982 Dawn is a young wife and mother hemmed in by village life. Then Hazel appears like a torch in the dark. Their attraction is instant and suddenly Dawn’s world is more joyful, and more complicated, than she ever expected.
2022 Maggie has always lived with an absence where her mother should be. Her father never speaks of her and it feels impossible to ask. Then an official letter arrives with news from the past, and Maggie must face a truth far bigger than just her family’s secret.
Please note: Tickets for our events are non-refundable. Professional photography and videography may take place during this event. Thank you for your understanding.
Participants:
Claire Lynch Author
Claire Lynch was educated at the University of Kent and holds a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on contemporary Irish literature and genre borderlines in life writing. She currently teaches in the Graduate School at Brunel University, London.
Caroline Walker Chair
Walker was born in Dunfermline, Scotland (1982) where she now lives and works. She received a BA in Painting from Glasgow School of Art in 2004 and an MA in Painting from The Royal College of Art in 2009.
Recent solo exhibitions include: Mothering, The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield & Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (UK), The Holiday Park, GRIMM, New York (USA); Nurture, Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh (UK); Women Observed, K11, Shanghai (CN). Selected group exhibitions include: Joyful Noise, Salisbury Cathedral (UK), Hand Picked: Painting Flowers from 1900 to Today, Kettle's Yard, Cambridge (UK); Good Mom/Bad Mom – Unraveling the Mother Myth, Centraal Museum, Utrecht (NL); Mama: From Mary to Merkel, Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf (DE); A Room Hung With Thoughts: British Painting Now, Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas (USA); Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood, Hayward Gallery Touring. Walker is represented in a number of major public collections including: Tate (UK); National Galleries of Scotland (UK); Museum of Fine Arts Houston (USA); Longlati Foundation (CN); Kunstmuseum Den Haag (NL)
The venue
The Portobello Bookshop
46 Portobello High Street
Edinburgh
EH15 1DA
Telephone: 0131 629 6756
Website: www.theportobellobookshop.com
Wheelchair Access
We have a ramp at the front of the shop which has a ratio of 1:10 and loading capacity of 300kg, and so should be able to be used by most wheelchair users or those with mobility vehicles. The front doors are fully automated. Our shop interior is designed to allow access throughout for wheelchair users and prams, though please note there is only 700mm wide clearance to access the staff toilet.
Sound
We use a PA system to enhance the audio at our live events. We also have a hearing loop system installed, if you’d like to use our loop system during an event please let us know and we’ll make sure we have it set up and connected to the live audio feed during the event. If you wish to attend an event and require BSL interpretation, please give us a few weeks notice and we’ll do our best to arrange an interpreter.