Hachette Pride in Writing Evening
WithSarvat Hasin, June Thomas and Michael Mullen
On:11th June 2026, 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Attendance options:
Hachette Pride In Writing and The Portobello Bookshop are thrilled to be hosting a pride evening event at the bookshop! This will be a celebration of LGBTQ+ authors, stories, and readers.
We invite you to join us in the bookshop to enjoy refreshments, hear from some of your favourite authors, have the change to mingle, and of course, do some late night book shopping!
Your entry ticket is a voucher that is redeemable against a single copy of any of the participating author's books on the night.
Authors in attendance include (additional contributors to be announced!):
Sarvat Hasin is a novelist and dramaturg from Pakistan. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Oxford. Her first novel, This Wide Night, was published by Penguin India and longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. Her second book You Can’t Go Home Again was published in 2018 and featured in Vogue India’s and The Hindu’s best of the year lists. Her third novel The Giant Dark (Dialogue Books, Hachette UK) won the Mo Siewcharran Prize and was shortlisted for the RSL Encore Award. She lives in London.
June Thomas is a journalist and the co-host of Slate's Working podcast. Thomas was formerly senior managing producer of Slate podcasts and was the founding editor of Outward, Slate's LGBTQ section. Her work has appeared in outlets including Bloomberg Businessweek, Marie Claire, the New York Times' T magazine, and the Advocate. She was born and raised in Manchester, England, and now, after forty years in America, Thomas lives in Edinburgh.
Michael Mullen is a queer poet, writer and spoken word artist from Glasgow. Writing in both Scots and Standard English, Mullen's primary concern is Scotland - its languages and its people. Years of work in hospitality and later as a support worker has put ordinary people at the forefront of their poetry. Whether on the stage or the page, Mullen's love of character and language champions identity whilst dissecting it. He was the co-winner of the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award 2023-4 as well as the Scottish National Slam runner up in 2022. He appeared on Life and Rhymes with Benjamin Zephaniah on Sky Arts and his work has been published in various places including Neu! Reekie! #NeuVoices, Bella Caledonia, Paisley Mill Magazine, Rymour Books, Glasgow City of Poets and Seahorse Publications. Goonie is their first collection.
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:
Sarvat Hasin Author
Sarvat Hasin is from Pakistan. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Oxford. Her first novel, This Wide Night, was published by Penguin India and longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. Her second book You Can't Go Home Again was published in 2018 and featured in Vogue India's and The Hindu's best of the year lists. She won the Moth Writer's Retreat Bursary in 2018 and in 2019, Mo Siewcharran Prize for The Giant Dark which came out in 2021. Her essays and poetry have appeared in publications such as Outsiders, The Mays Anthology, English PEN, and Harper's Bazaar. She lives in London and works at the Almeida Theatre.
June Thomas Author
June Thomas is a journalist and the co-host of Slate's Working podcast. Thomas was formerly senior managing producer of Slate podcasts and was the founding editor of Outward, Slate's LGBTQ section. Her work has appeared in outlets including Bloomberg Businessweek, Marie Claire, the New York Times' T magazine, and the Advocate. She was born and raised in Manchester, England, and now, after forty years in America, Thomas lives in Edinburgh.
Michael Mullen Author
Michael Mullen is a queer writer and spoken word artist from Rutherglen. Their writing is experimental with both content and form and he takes influence from various types of poetry and writing from lyrical poetry to humorous modern ballads, recently winning the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award 2022. Michael is the recipient of the Helen Lamb Dissertation Prize awarded by Kathleen Jamie and Kevin MacNeil. They have been commissioned for poetry from BBC Sounds and made it to the semi-finals of BBC Words First. Michael has performed their own work at the Edinburgh International Book Festival as part of Michael Pedersen's Good Grief Salon and the Sky Arts programme Life and Rhymes with Benjamin Zephaniah, and recently for Nicola Sturgeon's Burns Night Dinner. Michael competed in the 2022 Scottish National Slam Championship and was the runner up out of the whole country. A fixture on the spoken word scene, Michael has headlined and supported various spoken word nights throughout Scotland including support slots for Hollie McNish as part of her Slug Tour and at Edinburgh's Push The Boat Out Festival.
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.