Society Events
Jan
1
to 3 Jan

Society Events

Elly Griffiths at the Essex book Festival with Society Chair, Seona Ford

The Society holds a number of events for members and their guests. In Winter, we have our series of Winter Zoom meetings, with talks, book clubs, play readings and other events that bring members from across the globe. We also have in-person events in the UK, including our Annual Convention, The Annual Dorothy L Sayers Lecture, our AGM and other Sayers-related meetings such as plays, lunches, visits to sites related to Sayers’ works and occasional one day events and study days. Please keep an eye on this page for further details. You can also find information on past events here.

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Annual Convention, Homerton College, University of Cambridge
Aug
9
to 12 Aug

Annual Convention, Homerton College, University of Cambridge

The Annual Dorothy L Sayers Convention, for members and their guests, is being held at Homerton, College, University of Cambridge in August, 2024. We have an excellent group of speakers lined up from among our members and others from outside the Society. Topics will cover Sayers’ characters, her translation of Dante’s Inferno, music, forensic ID, ethics, Sayers’ father, Henry Sayers, treasures from the Society archive, interwar crime fiction and botany.

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Society AGM
Nov
2
2:00 pm14:00

Society AGM

The Society’s AGM, followed by a talk and refreshments, will be held at St Anne’s, Church, Soho at 2.00 pm. Dorothy L Sayers was a church warden at St Anne’s and her ashes are interred in the church tower. Society members visited the tower and St Anne’s during its Annual Convention in London in 2023.

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Performance of Busman's Honeymoon
Apr
13
2:30 pm14:30

Performance of Busman's Honeymoon

There will be a performance of the play ‘Busman’s Honeymoon’ in Cambridge. Members and their guests are invited to join a Society outing to see this play performed. There will be a Spring Lunch beforehand. Please see Bulletin for further details.

Pictured are Chair, Seona Ford and Gillian Thumpston, Publications Officer (both front, centre) with the cast of ‘Busman’s Honeymoon’. Photo courtesy of BAWDS

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DLS Book Club via Zoom
Mar
8
7:00 pm19:00

DLS Book Club via Zoom

Members and guests are invited to join in this book club. We will be discussing two short stories by Sayers from In the Teeth of the Evidence: ‘Leopard Lady’ and ‘The Professor’s Manuscript’. The discussion will be led by our Events Co-ordinator, Chris Seymour.

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Fenland Cathedrals Zoom talk
Jan
19
7:00 pm19:00

Fenland Cathedrals Zoom talk

From the angel roof of Upwell St Peter, from ‘Explore West Norfolk.

There will be a Zoom talk by Rev’d Alan Jesson on ‘Fenland Cathedrals’ on 19 January. Sayers’ Nine Tailors centre on a Fenland church. Alan’s experience as a member of the clergy and resident in East Anglia makes him well-placed to talk on this subject.

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Mar
15
7:00 pm19:00

DLS Online Reading Group

Members and their guests are invited to join this online event where discussion will centre on one of DLS’ short stories. DLS write a number of short stories, some featuring Lord Peter Wimsey, some with Montagu Egg and others without either of these detectives. Please watch the Bulletin for information on the chosen short story.

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Feb
15
7:00 pm19:00

"All the Threes" Online readings of DLS' writing

This online event will be a series of readings by members and their guests taken from the works of DLS in the years 1913, 1923, 1933, 1943 and 1953. Drawing on her novels, plays, letters, poetry and essays, members will celebrate and discuss the breadth of DLS’ contribution as a British writer. Please contact the Society for a link closer to the event.

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Jan
27
7:00 pm19:00

Online talk by Dr Jason Whittle on Murder Must Advertise

Dr Jason Whittle will be giving an online talk about the novel Murder Must Advertise. Members and their guests are invited to attend by contacting the Society to receive the link. Murder Must Advertise , set mostly in London involves Lord Peter Wimsey going undercover to work in an advertising agency to investigate a death. Dorothy L Sayers worked at Benson’s advertising agency for a time, leaving her work there to concentrate on writing full-time.

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Society Events
Jan
1
to 31 Dec

Society Events

The Society holds annual events for members and their guests. Members also attend one-off events, such as our visit to Lord’s Cricket Ground. We also have group outings to events such as the Golden Age of Crime weekend at Southend as part of the Essex Book Festival, Bodies from the Library conference, held at the British Library and visits to performances of dramatic works by DLS that are staged in the UK and other countries. Further details here

Below is a list of upcoming events.

Photo Lesley Simpson.

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Dec
16
7:00 pm19:00

Play reading: The Man Born to Be King on Zoom

On Friday, 16 December, there will be a reading of Dorothy L Sayers’ play, The Man Born to Be King: Kings in Judea, commencing at 7.00 pm GMT. Members and their guests are invited to attend the Zoom event. If you would like to participate in the reading, please contact the Society and let us know ASAP.

If you would like to attend the play reading, please see the members’ area for further details.

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Oct
31
to 30 Nov

Events for 2023

Please watch this space for our list of events for 2023. Over the winter we will be holding some online talks and events for members and their guests, a Spring Lunch, the Dorothy L Sayers Annual Lecture at the Essex Book Festival in June, our Annual Convention in August and other excursions. Our membership runs from January to December, so do think about joining us.

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Visit to Brooklands
Oct
1
11:00 am11:00

Visit to Brooklands

On this Saturday there will be a visit by members and their guests to Brooklands Aviation & Motoring Museum, near Weybridge in Surrey. The visit will be a joint one with the Margery Allingham Society and we have arranged a one-hour guided tour on arrival. Opened in 1907, Brooklands was Britain’s first racing track, one of the early aerodromes and later the site of the Vickers aircraft factory. It has an impressive collection of aircraft and racing cars from the 1920s and 1930s, in the time of Lord Peter Wimsey.

Photo courtesy of Visit Surrey

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Performance of Busman's Honeymoon, directed by Brian Blessed, at the Mill at Sonning
Jun
12
12:30 pm12:30

Performance of Busman's Honeymoon, directed by Brian Blessed, at the Mill at Sonning

The play of Busman’s Honeymoon will run at the Mill at Sonning from 28 April to 25 June. Tickets for the play are available from the Box Office at the Mill and include a two course meal before the performance. Society members and their guests will be attending a matinee performance on 12 June, 2022, preceded by lunch.

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Dorothy L Sayers and Holidays
Mar
25
7:00 pm19:00

Dorothy L Sayers and Holidays

Members will be gathering online for a series of readings of works by Dorothy L Sayers on the theme of holidays. Excerpts from the novels of Dorothy L Sayers, her poetry, short stories and letters will be read and discussed. Do join us. You can contact the Society to book a place.

Photo of the Ellangowan Hotel, Creetown, mentioned in The Five Red Herrings. Photo courtesy of Paul Bishop.

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