House of Books & Friends are pleased to announce we are hosting Kostya Tsolakis on Friday 16th February for a Q&A and poetry reading for his debut collection, Greekling. The event will take place from 5:30pm until 7:30pm, with a local poet performing, before a discussion between Kostya and Greg Thorpe about his debut collection, his upcoming work, as well as an audience Q&A.

About the book

Greekling, the much-anticipated debut poetry collection by Kostya Tsolakis, celebrates and commemorates damaged and rejected Greek bodies, be they of flesh and blood, made of marble, or natural bodies. In intertwining Greek culture, history and poetic influences with the contemporary queer experience, this collection is perceptive, lyrical, and deeply evocative of time and place. From an Athenian childhood to a closeted adolescence in the shadow of the AIDS epidemic, towards sexual self-discovery, maturity and freedom – Tsolakis charts the pursuit of unconditional happiness.

About the poet

Kostya Tsolakis was born and raised in Athens, Greece, and now lives in London. He is founding editor of harana poetry, the online magazine for poets writing in English as a second or parallel language. In 2019 he won the Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition (ESL category). His poems have been widely published in magazines, including fourteen poems, Magma Poetry, Poetry London, The Poetry Review and Under the Radar, and anthologies, such as 100 Queer Poems (Vintage, 2022). His debut poetry pamphlet, Ephebos, was published by ignitionpress in November 2020.

There are a small amount of tickets available for those unable to afford them at the moment – please contact us directly at 07597365380 or email bookworms@houseofbooksandfriends.com.