The regular Waterstones Gower Street Short Story Salon is chaired by Mslexia columnist and host of What Page Are You On? podcast Alice Slater. Featuring both well-established authors and exciting newcomers, the salon celebrates the form with readings, conversation and wine.

For our Autumn salon, Alice will be speaking to two authors about their second collection of stories. Linda Mannheim’s collection This Way to Departures (Influx Press) is a deeply affecting portrait of American society and the constant search for a place to call 'home', focusing on young women and the struggles of female adulthood.

Irenosen Okojie’s collection Nudibranch (Dialogue Books) was included in The Guardian's books for 2019 and in African Book Addict's 2019 Books To Anticipate. Offbeat characters are caught up in extraordinary situations that test the boundaries of reality: as a love-hungry goddess of the sea arrives on an island inhabited by eunuchs; a girl from Martinique moonlights as a Grace Jones impersonator; and a dimension-hopping monks sworn to silence must face a bloody reckoning.

Tickets are £10 / £8 Students and Plus cardholders, and all tickets include a drink and all booking fees