Join Meg Mason in conversation with Esther Freud to celebrate the release of Meg's new book 'Sophie, Standing There'!

From the award-winning, bestselling author of Sorrow and Bliss comes an achingly tender, poignant, funny and bittersweet new novel.

Date: Friday 4 September

Time: 7pm

Venue: Sevenoaks Bookshop

Tickets: from £12

Book & Ticket: includes a copy of 'Sophie, Standing There'

Besties Bundle: includes a copy of both 'Sophie, Standing There' and 'My Sister and Other Lovers' by Esther Freud

'So smart, so funny, so moving - Mason has done it again - this time using behind the scenes of a literary festival to reveal the complexity of loneliness and how one woman attempts to dig herself out. I absolutely loved it.' Bonnie Garmus

'Sophie, Standing There is a moving examination of what it means to be alone in the world, and what it means to find connection. It is, by turns, heartbreaking, hilarious and deeply hopeful. Meg Mason is a dazzling talent.' Ann Patchett

'Sophie, Standing There unfolds like a strange origami crane in reverse - so achingly tender and so brilliantly subtle that I could never put it down. The loneliness of our inner world and the quiet movement towards connection - nobody evokes it as breathtakingly as Meg Mason. And by 'it', I guess I mean simply being a person. Dazzling' Catherine Newman

Sophie Standing There

Sophie Pattison is a lovely person - warm, kind, relentlessly positive. She's cherished by her brother Laurie, adored by her best friend Emma and valued by her colleagues. Sometimes, it's true, one day in her life can feel like the entire month of January. It's also true she can go an entire day without speaking. But she's fine really. She spends her time alone reading, finding comfort in the pages of the books she devours.

Until one day she stumbles upon an author she hasn't read in years. Her books, interviews and podcasts soon become a lifeline; every word is a solace, company she hasn't felt in so long. It's almost like love.

A lot like love. And Sophie would love to meet the author, although she never will obviously. In a way, thank goodness, because that would change everything. Sophie's entire life. Wouldn't it?

Hilariously candid and raw, Sophie, Standing There is a bittersweet story of love, loneliness and finding connection in the most unlikely of places.

Meg Mason

Meg Mason is the author of You Be Mother and Sorrow and Bliss, which became an international bestseller after it was published in 2021. Winner of the British Book Industry Book of the Year, and shortlisted for the Women's Prize, it has since been translated into twenty-five languages.

Her first career was in journalism, beginning at The Times of London, and later writing for Vogue, Elle, GQ, and humour for the New Yorker's Daily Shouts.

Born in New Zealand, she lives in Sydney with her husband and two daughters.

Esther Freud

Esther Freud is the author of ten novels, and her work has been translated into thirteen languages.

Her first novel, Hideous Kinky, was made into a film starring Kate Winslet.

Freud was selected as one of Granta's Best Young British Novelists in 1993. Her other novels include The Sea House, Mr Mac and Me and I Couldn't Love You More.

Her first full-length play, Stitchers, was produced in London in 2018.

Esther's most recent book, My Sister and Other Lovers, came out in the summer of 2025, alongside her first children's book, Enchanted Beach.

She lives in London.

Some of the ticket options that don’t include the author’s book, or are specially priced for couples, are limited in number and can sell out quickly. Our aim is to try and bring the best and most interesting authors to our town. We are always trying to balance accessibility and affordability for our audiences, alongside requirements from publishers to sell enough books for events to be worthwhile enterprises for their authors.

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