An Inklings Showcase #1: Big Ideas in Small Books
WithArusa Qureshi, Casci Ritchie, Thom James Carter and Xuanlin Tham
In conversation withRebecca Wojturska
On:22nd April 2025, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Attendance options:
We're excited to be partnering with 404 Ink for a showcase of their vast and insightful Inklings series, which captures big ideas in small books.
Join us to hear from Arusa Qureshi, Casci Ritchie, Thom James Carter and Xuanlin Tham about their Inklings as they delve into topics from hip hop to Dungeons & Dragons, sex scenes to the fashion of Prince, with bitesize talks, a conversation with Rebecca Wojturska and an audience Q&A. See the authors discuss the passion projects and roads that led them to write such thought-provoking books, as the first in this events series.
This event will take place in the bookshop with an in-person audience, as well as a livestream for attendees watching from home. There will be a signing after the event.
In-person vouchers can be redeemed on the night of the event against a single copy of one of the four featured Inklings – we will have a list of attendees with vouchers to be redeemed. Please note that only one voucher can be redeemed per book. Livestream vouchers are valid until the day after the event and can be redeemed on our website against a single copy of one of the four featured Inklings.
About Flip The Script by Arusa Qureshi:
Hip hop is an art form that originated in the margins, and can be simultaneously devastating and celebratory; an expression of pain, love and desire or an ode to the other, the underdog and the underground. For Arusa Qureshi, it became a safe haven, the genre she turned to in highs and lows. In particular, it was the women to whom she owes her thanks.
About On His Royal Badness by Casci Ritchie:
Prince was devoted to the art of dressing. A multi-million selling artist and musical trailblazer, he used fashion as an added storytelling tool. On His Royal Badness explores how Prince’s distinctive style disrupts hegemonic, heteronormative and Black masculinities, and considers his own reverence for fashion and self-expression. (Unaffiliated with The Prince Estate).
About They Came to Slay by Thom James Carter:
Since its inception decades ago, the tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons has offered an escape from the real world, the chance to enter distant realms, walk in new shoes, and be part of immersive, imaginative tales as they unfold. More so, in Thom James Carter's opinion, it's a perfect vessel for queer exploration and joy. (Please note this title is unaffiliated with Dungeons & Dragons).
About Revolutionary Desires by Xuanlim Tham:
Sex on screen is unnecessary, gratuitous, and serves no purpose. This is the sentiment on the rise as cinema becomes less and less sexy. Xuanlin Tham counters that sex scenes can open our minds and bodies to the possibility of new futures, and seduce us towards an expanded political imagination. Through The Matrix Reloaded, Lingua Franca and beyond, Revolutionary Desires explores how the form’s intimacies, transgressions, and dedication to pleasure can be uniquely poised to rupture dominant narratives of capitalism and the violences that flow from it.
Please note: Tickets for our events are non-refundable. Professional photography and videography may take place during this event. Thank you for your understanding.
Participants:
Arusa Qureshi Author
Arusa Qureshi is a writer, editor and music programmer based in Edinburgh. She is the current Editor of Fest and the former Editor of The List and writes mostly about music, most recently Flip the Script – a book about women in UK hip hop, published by 404 Ink. Her work has appeared in the Scotsman, Clash, the Guardian, GoldFlakePaint, Time Out, the Quietus, NME and more. She chairs the board of the Scottish Music Centre, sits on the board of the Music Venue Trust and is the co-curator of the award-winning Amplifi series at Edinburgh's Queens Hall.
Casci Ritchie Author
Casci Ritchie is a fashion and cultural historian, writer, and educator. She was recently awarded her doctorate for her thesis titled "(Un)dressing the Love Symbol: The Life, Death, and Legacy of Prince’s Wardrobe," which explores the cultural influences, materiality, labor processes, afterlives, and affective legacies of the musician. She has published her research widely in journals including Critical Studies in Men’s Fashion and Queer Studies in Popular Culture. Her book, On His Royal Badness: The Life and Legacy of Prince’s Fashion, was published in 2021.
Thom James Carter Author
Thom James Carter is a full-time tech journalist and researcher, with bylines in WIRED, The New Statesman, Current Affairs, Dirt, Metro, The Wellcome Collection, and more. His debut book, They Came to Slay, a non-fiction text on the intersection of Dungeons & Dragons and LGBTQ+ culture, was published by 404 Ink in 2022.
Xuanlin Tham Author
Xuanlin Tham is a writer, critic, and curator based in Edinburgh. They write for British GQ, i-D, Little White Lies, AnOther Magazine, and The Skinny, among others, covering culture (and sometimes sports). They curate for Take One Action, an arts organisation harnessing the transformative power of film and storytelling for collective change.
Rebecca Wojturska Chair
Rebecca Wojturska (she/her) is the Managing Director of Haunt Publishing, an independent publisher of Gothic, horror and dark fiction books. Rebecca also works in academic publishing at the University of Edinburgh, managing Edinburgh Diamond: a library-based Diamond Open Access publishing service for academic- and student-led books and journals. In her spare time she loves nothing more than reading Gothic literature, watching horror films, playing D&D, and crushing her enemies at board games.
The venue
The Portobello Bookshop
46 Portobello High Street
Edinburgh
EH15 1DA
Telephone: 0131 629 6756
Website: www.theportobellobookshop.com
Wheelchair Access
We have a ramp at the front of the shop which has a ratio of 1:10 and loading capacity of 300kg, and so should be able to be used by most wheelchair users or those with mobility vehicles. The front doors are fully automated. Our shop interior is designed to allow access throughout for wheelchair users and prams, though please note there is only 700mm wide clearance to access the staff toilet.
Sound
We use a PA system to enhance the audio at our live events. We also have a hearing loop system installed, if you’d like to use our loop system during an event please let us know and we’ll make sure we have it set up and connected to the live audio feed during the event. If you wish to attend an event and require BSL interpretation, please give us a few weeks notice and we’ll do our best to arrange an interpreter.