About

Welcome Countdown's resident word expert, Susie Dent, and bestselling author, activist and performance poet sensation, Len Pennie, for the publication of their new books, on National Poetry Day!

Susie Dent returns with Words For Life; 365 amazing words or expressions that will make every day of the year better and brighter, from Britain's best-loved and most brilliant word expert.

Len Pennie's second poetry collection, poyums annaw is equal parts tenderness, quick-wit and righteous fury, confronting ideas of patriarchy and social injustice. She writes predominantly in the Scots language and is an advocate for minority languages.

Mr B's Emporium can't wait to welcome Susie and Len for an unmissable and highly entertaining evening discovering the joys of words lost and found, and we hope you'll join us.

About Words For Life:

Whatever you need, Susie Dent has a word for it. Do you know the name for someone who loves reading in bed, or what a binfluencer does? How about the medieval invention of Lubberland as a place for lazy teenagers, or the story of Mayday as a request for help? Lexicographer extraordinaire and Queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner, Susie Dent does and here are her greatest discoveries. From wabbit to dust bunnies, and from the strange history of arse to the best ways to describe moonlight, Words for Life offers a full year's supply of verbal vitamins guaranteed to brighten and boost every day.

Here you will learn of the Mother-in-Law's Dream as well as the Yuleshard, and discover expressions that can fix (or at least nail) the problems of modern life, whether dealing with unrequited love or unsatisfactory politicians, eating a whole packet of biscuits or forgetting someone's name. From starting January 1 with your best foot forward (qualtagh) to leaping happily into the unknown (with a drink in your hand) on 31 December, here is the perfect guide to ensure your best year yet – and 365 words you'll want to keep for life.

About poyums annaw:

There isn't a timescale for how you should heal
Your bad days are valid, your heartache is real
But so is the day that your smile will return
That fire within you continues to burn
You will overcome this and continue to thrive
You are here, you are loved, you are whole, you're alive.

A formidable follow up to her award-winning debut poetry collection, Len Pennie's poyums annaw is just like her: defiant, angry and trailblazing. These poems are a call to arms, confronting ideas of patriarchy, gender-based violence and societal injustice with equal parts tenderness, quick-wit and righteous fury. poyums annaw firmly cements Len as a defining voice in contemporary Scots poetry.

About the authors:

Susie Dent is the resident word expert in Dictionary Corner on C4's Countdown and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and has been on every programme about words: 15 x 15, Word of Mouth, and More or Less. Susie also writes regularly for the Radio Times, The Week Junior and The I, and her Word of the Day has attracted over 1,000,000 followers on Twitter.

Len Pennie is a poet who writes in both Scots and English. She writes passionately about the promotion of minoritised languages, survivors of domestic abuse and the destigmatisation of mental illness. Her first poetry collection, poyums, Len's debut shot straight into the Sunday Times Bestseller list in its first week of publication, reaching over 5000 preorders. It had the biggest week of poetry sales in the UK in 2024.

"Susie Dent is a national treasure" – Richard Osman.

"A joy and a half" – Nigella Lawson, on Susie Dent.

"A poet who redefines what poetry is and who it is for" – Lemn Sissay, on Len Pennie.

"I think Lennie is brilliant. She has such talent and passion and joy" – Michael Sheen, on Len Pennie.

Tickets

'poyums annaw' Book+Ticket £14.99
'Words For Life' Book+Ticket £16.99
Standard Ticket £8.00
Student Ticket £7.00