Upcoming events
Scroll our events calendar below to see what we have coming up. The best way to keep up to date on our latest events and more is to join our mailing list.
Creative Writing | Writing Monsters
Join The Imaginarium and Francesco Sarti in another creative writing course designed for writers of Science Fiction and Fantasy. This year Francesco is getting down into the details of monsters, villains, world building and flash fiction in four 90-minute sessions. Designed to give you the tips and tools to carry your writing forward, you can attend all four sessions for £50 (saving yourself £10) or pick and choose the sessions you wish to attend at £15 per session.
Dates:
17th May (4:30-6pm)- Writing Monsters: Creatures That Terrify, Seduce, and Reveal
24th May (4:30-6pm)- How to write Villains
7th June (4:30-6pm)- World Building
14th June (4:30-6pm)- Flash Fiction
All hosted at the Imaginarium, 10 Angel Courtyard, Lymington, SO419AP.
The details of each session are below:
Writing Monsters: Creatures That Terrify, Seduce, and Reveal
Sunday 17th May 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
A 90‑minute workshop for writers of fantasy, horror, and the uncanny.
Monsters are never just monsters. They are boundary‑breakers, shadows, and living metaphors; creatures born from the fears, desires, and cultural tensions we’d rather not name. This workshop invites you to stop treating monsters as set dressing and start writing them as the beating heart of your story.
We’ll explore how monsters emerge from psychological pressure, ecological imagination, and the stories societies tell to preserve their taboos. You’ll learn how to design creatures that feel inevitable rather than arbitrary, beings whose bodies, behaviours, and mythologies reveal the truth behind your characters and their worlds.
Expect a blend of insight and hands‑on creation.
You’ll leave with one fully sketched monster and a toolkit for creating many more. Whether you write epic fantasy, cosmic horror, dark folklore, or something stranger, this workshop will deepen your craft and sharpen your imagination.
How to write Villains
Sunday 24th May, 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
This 90‑minute workshop invites writers to step into the shadowed territory where antagonists stop being clichés and start becoming disturbingly human.
Writers will explore how every villain carries a private instruction manual for how the world works; a manual shaped by early fractures, defence mechanisms, and the desperate need to feel safe, loved, or simply intact. By tracing that inner logic, you’ll learn to craft antagonists whose darkness is rooted in psychological truth rather than trope.
Across this session, we’ll examine the evolution of the villain from myth to cinema, map shadow archetypes, and study how trauma, shame, and self‑sabotage can become narrative engines. We’ll look at the villain as the protagonist’s distorted mirror, and we’ll explore the ethics of writing evil: how to portray harm without flattening it, and how to make readers feel the unsettling pull of dark empathy.
By the end, you’ll know how to build antagonists who are complex, contradictory, and frighteningly alive.
Worldbuilding Workshop
Sunday 7th June, 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
Enrich your stories with daring worldbuilding in this workshop led by award-winning author Francesco Sarti. He will guide you through the first idea sparks to the intricacies of worldbuilding, making even the most imaginative details integral to your story. Prepare to put pen to paper as we dive into stimulating exercises and see stories you thought you were familiar with under a completely new light. Suitable for both beginners and experienced writers, the aim of this workshop is to get you to go home with an outline for a fantasy or sci-fi story and a cohesive imaginary world to play with. Francesco has published poetry and short fiction in Italy, and is represented by Kate Nash Literary Agency in the U.K. He is currently working on his first sci-fi novel.
Flash Fiction Workshop
Sunday 14th June, 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
Can you write a complete SFF story in under 200 words? One with a clear beginning, middle, and end, layered with conflict, multiple plot threads, worldbuilding and vivid character development? In just 20 sentences, we’ll build a rich and original narrative you can read “cover to cover” while the kettle boils.
Bio
Francesco is an experienced author of poetry, short fiction and novels, published in both Italian and English. He is represented by Justin Nash from Kate Nash Literary Agency, and with him he's working on his debut novel.
He greatly enjoys public speaking, and has been running creative writing workshops for almost 3 years at festivals and in collaboration with independent bookshops.
He has recently launched an online writing school called Write Your Way, where he organises paid and free workshops, both run by himself and by popular authors.
Creative Writing | How to write Villains
Join The Imaginarium and Francesco Sarti in another creative writing course designed for writers of Science Fiction and Fantasy. This year Francesco is getting down into the details of monsters, villains, world building and flash fiction in four 90-minute sessions. Designed to give you the tips and tools to carry your writing forward, you can attend all four sessions for £50 (saving yourself £10) or pick and choose the sessions you wish to attend at £15 per session.
Dates:
17th May (4:30-6pm)- Writing Monsters: Creatures That Terrify, Seduce, and Reveal
24th May (4:30-6pm)- How to write Villains
7th June (4:30-6pm)- World Building
14th June (4:30-6pm)- Flash Fiction
All hosted at the Imaginarium, 10 Angel Courtyard, Lymington, SO419AP.
The details of each session are below:
Writing Monsters: Creatures That Terrify, Seduce, and Reveal
Sunday 17th May 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
A 90‑minute workshop for writers of fantasy, horror, and the uncanny.
Monsters are never just monsters. They are boundary‑breakers, shadows, and living metaphors; creatures born from the fears, desires, and cultural tensions we’d rather not name. This workshop invites you to stop treating monsters as set dressing and start writing them as the beating heart of your story.
We’ll explore how monsters emerge from psychological pressure, ecological imagination, and the stories societies tell to preserve their taboos. You’ll learn how to design creatures that feel inevitable rather than arbitrary, beings whose bodies, behaviours, and mythologies reveal the truth behind your characters and their worlds.
Expect a blend of insight and hands‑on creation.
You’ll leave with one fully sketched monster and a toolkit for creating many more. Whether you write epic fantasy, cosmic horror, dark folklore, or something stranger, this workshop will deepen your craft and sharpen your imagination.
How to write Villains
Sunday 24th May, 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
This 90‑minute workshop invites writers to step into the shadowed territory where antagonists stop being clichés and start becoming disturbingly human.
Writers will explore how every villain carries a private instruction manual for how the world works; a manual shaped by early fractures, defence mechanisms, and the desperate need to feel safe, loved, or simply intact. By tracing that inner logic, you’ll learn to craft antagonists whose darkness is rooted in psychological truth rather than trope.
Across this session, we’ll examine the evolution of the villain from myth to cinema, map shadow archetypes, and study how trauma, shame, and self‑sabotage can become narrative engines. We’ll look at the villain as the protagonist’s distorted mirror, and we’ll explore the ethics of writing evil: how to portray harm without flattening it, and how to make readers feel the unsettling pull of dark empathy.
By the end, you’ll know how to build antagonists who are complex, contradictory, and frighteningly alive.
Worldbuilding Workshop
Sunday 7th June, 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
Enrich your stories with daring worldbuilding in this workshop led by award-winning author Francesco Sarti. He will guide you through the first idea sparks to the intricacies of worldbuilding, making even the most imaginative details integral to your story. Prepare to put pen to paper as we dive into stimulating exercises and see stories you thought you were familiar with under a completely new light. Suitable for both beginners and experienced writers, the aim of this workshop is to get you to go home with an outline for a fantasy or sci-fi story and a cohesive imaginary world to play with. Francesco has published poetry and short fiction in Italy, and is represented by Kate Nash Literary Agency in the U.K. He is currently working on his first sci-fi novel.
Flash Fiction Workshop
Sunday 14th June, 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
Can you write a complete SFF story in under 200 words? One with a clear beginning, middle, and end, layered with conflict, multiple plot threads, worldbuilding and vivid character development? In just 20 sentences, we’ll build a rich and original narrative you can read “cover to cover” while the kettle boils.
Bio
Francesco is an experienced author of poetry, short fiction and novels, published in both Italian and English. He is represented by Justin Nash from Kate Nash Literary Agency, and with him he's working on his debut novel.
He greatly enjoys public speaking, and has been running creative writing workshops for almost 3 years at festivals and in collaboration with independent bookshops.
He has recently launched an online writing school called Write Your Way, where he organises paid and free workshops, both run by himself and by popular authors.
Creative Writing | Worldbuilding Workshop
Join The Imaginarium and Francesco Sarti in another creative writing course designed for writers of Science Fiction and Fantasy. This year Francesco is getting down into the details of monsters, villains, world building and flash fiction in four 90-minute sessions. Designed to give you the tips and tools to carry your writing forward, you can attend all four sessions for £50 (saving yourself £10) or pick and choose the sessions you wish to attend at £15 per session.
Dates:
17th May (4:30-6pm)- Writing Monsters: Creatures That Terrify, Seduce, and Reveal
24th May (4:30-6pm)- How to write Villains
7th June (4:30-6pm)- World Building
14th June (4:30-6pm)- Flash Fiction
All hosted at the Imaginarium, 10 Angel Courtyard, Lymington, SO419AP.
The details of each session are below:
Writing Monsters: Creatures That Terrify, Seduce, and Reveal
Sunday 17th May 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
A 90‑minute workshop for writers of fantasy, horror, and the uncanny.
Monsters are never just monsters. They are boundary‑breakers, shadows, and living metaphors; creatures born from the fears, desires, and cultural tensions we’d rather not name. This workshop invites you to stop treating monsters as set dressing and start writing them as the beating heart of your story.
We’ll explore how monsters emerge from psychological pressure, ecological imagination, and the stories societies tell to preserve their taboos. You’ll learn how to design creatures that feel inevitable rather than arbitrary, beings whose bodies, behaviours, and mythologies reveal the truth behind your characters and their worlds.
Expect a blend of insight and hands‑on creation.
You’ll leave with one fully sketched monster and a toolkit for creating many more. Whether you write epic fantasy, cosmic horror, dark folklore, or something stranger, this workshop will deepen your craft and sharpen your imagination.
How to write Villains
Sunday 24th May, 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
This 90‑minute workshop invites writers to step into the shadowed territory where antagonists stop being clichés and start becoming disturbingly human.
Writers will explore how every villain carries a private instruction manual for how the world works; a manual shaped by early fractures, defence mechanisms, and the desperate need to feel safe, loved, or simply intact. By tracing that inner logic, you’ll learn to craft antagonists whose darkness is rooted in psychological truth rather than trope.
Across this session, we’ll examine the evolution of the villain from myth to cinema, map shadow archetypes, and study how trauma, shame, and self‑sabotage can become narrative engines. We’ll look at the villain as the protagonist’s distorted mirror, and we’ll explore the ethics of writing evil: how to portray harm without flattening it, and how to make readers feel the unsettling pull of dark empathy.
By the end, you’ll know how to build antagonists who are complex, contradictory, and frighteningly alive.
Worldbuilding Workshop
Sunday 7th June, 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
Enrich your stories with daring worldbuilding in this workshop led by award-winning author Francesco Sarti. He will guide you through the first idea sparks to the intricacies of worldbuilding, making even the most imaginative details integral to your story. Prepare to put pen to paper as we dive into stimulating exercises and see stories you thought you were familiar with under a completely new light. Suitable for both beginners and experienced writers, the aim of this workshop is to get you to go home with an outline for a fantasy or sci-fi story and a cohesive imaginary world to play with. Francesco has published poetry and short fiction in Italy, and is represented by Kate Nash Literary Agency in the U.K. He is currently working on his first sci-fi novel.
Flash Fiction Workshop
Sunday 14th June, 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
Can you write a complete SFF story in under 200 words? One with a clear beginning, middle, and end, layered with conflict, multiple plot threads, worldbuilding and vivid character development? In just 20 sentences, we’ll build a rich and original narrative you can read “cover to cover” while the kettle boils.
Bio
Francesco is an experienced author of poetry, short fiction and novels, published in both Italian and English. He is represented by Justin Nash from Kate Nash Literary Agency, and with him he's working on his debut novel.
He greatly enjoys public speaking, and has been running creative writing workshops for almost 3 years at festivals and in collaboration with independent bookshops.
He has recently launched an online writing school called Write Your Way, where he organises paid and free workshops, both run by himself and by popular authors.
Creative Writing | Flash Fiction Workshop
Join The Imaginarium and Francesco Sarti in another creative writing course designed for writers of Science Fiction and Fantasy. This year Francesco is getting down into the details of monsters, villains, world building and flash fiction in four 90-minute sessions. Designed to give you the tips and tools to carry your writing forward, you can attend all four sessions for £50 (saving yourself £10) or pick and choose the sessions you wish to attend at £15 per session.
Dates:
17th May (4:30-6pm)- Writing Monsters: Creatures That Terrify, Seduce, and Reveal
24th May (4:30-6pm)- How to write Villains
7th June (4:30-6pm)- World Building
14th June (4:30-6pm)- Flash Fiction
All hosted at the Imaginarium, 10 Angel Courtyard, Lymington, SO419AP.
The details of each session are below:
Writing Monsters: Creatures That Terrify, Seduce, and Reveal
Sunday 17th May 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
A 90‑minute workshop for writers of fantasy, horror, and the uncanny.
Monsters are never just monsters. They are boundary‑breakers, shadows, and living metaphors; creatures born from the fears, desires, and cultural tensions we’d rather not name. This workshop invites you to stop treating monsters as set dressing and start writing them as the beating heart of your story.
We’ll explore how monsters emerge from psychological pressure, ecological imagination, and the stories societies tell to preserve their taboos. You’ll learn how to design creatures that feel inevitable rather than arbitrary, beings whose bodies, behaviours, and mythologies reveal the truth behind your characters and their worlds.
Expect a blend of insight and hands‑on creation.
You’ll leave with one fully sketched monster and a toolkit for creating many more. Whether you write epic fantasy, cosmic horror, dark folklore, or something stranger, this workshop will deepen your craft and sharpen your imagination.
How to write Villains
Sunday 24th May, 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
This 90‑minute workshop invites writers to step into the shadowed territory where antagonists stop being clichés and start becoming disturbingly human.
Writers will explore how every villain carries a private instruction manual for how the world works; a manual shaped by early fractures, defence mechanisms, and the desperate need to feel safe, loved, or simply intact. By tracing that inner logic, you’ll learn to craft antagonists whose darkness is rooted in psychological truth rather than trope.
Across this session, we’ll examine the evolution of the villain from myth to cinema, map shadow archetypes, and study how trauma, shame, and self‑sabotage can become narrative engines. We’ll look at the villain as the protagonist’s distorted mirror, and we’ll explore the ethics of writing evil: how to portray harm without flattening it, and how to make readers feel the unsettling pull of dark empathy.
By the end, you’ll know how to build antagonists who are complex, contradictory, and frighteningly alive.
Worldbuilding Workshop
Sunday 7th June, 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
Enrich your stories with daring worldbuilding in this workshop led by award-winning author Francesco Sarti. He will guide you through the first idea sparks to the intricacies of worldbuilding, making even the most imaginative details integral to your story. Prepare to put pen to paper as we dive into stimulating exercises and see stories you thought you were familiar with under a completely new light. Suitable for both beginners and experienced writers, the aim of this workshop is to get you to go home with an outline for a fantasy or sci-fi story and a cohesive imaginary world to play with. Francesco has published poetry and short fiction in Italy, and is represented by Kate Nash Literary Agency in the U.K. He is currently working on his first sci-fi novel.
Flash Fiction Workshop
Sunday 14th June, 4:30-6pm at The Imaginarium.
Can you write a complete SFF story in under 200 words? One with a clear beginning, middle, and end, layered with conflict, multiple plot threads, worldbuilding and vivid character development? In just 20 sentences, we’ll build a rich and original narrative you can read “cover to cover” while the kettle boils.
Bio
Francesco is an experienced author of poetry, short fiction and novels, published in both Italian and English. He is represented by Justin Nash from Kate Nash Literary Agency, and with him he's working on his debut novel.
He greatly enjoys public speaking, and has been running creative writing workshops for almost 3 years at festivals and in collaboration with independent bookshops.
He has recently launched an online writing school called Write Your Way, where he organises paid and free workshops, both run by himself and by popular authors.
ACOTAR 6 Midnight Launch
Pre-Order: Book released 27th October 2026
The, as yet, untitled 6th book in the A Court Of Thorns and Roses series.
Pre-order with the Imaginarium to secure your place at our Midnight Launch Party. Join us for cake and good times and be among the first people in the UK to get their hands on the book we’ve all been waiting for!
More details to follow.
Pre-Order: Book released 27th October 2026
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781037200076
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
the Imaginarium Christmas colouring-in competition
Join in with the Imaginarium’s Christmas Colouring-In Competition!
Let’s see your designs for this illustration of the Imaginarium at Christmas, featuring Willow and Lola by the shop’s own Amy Leonard.
Open to children only, (sorry mum and dad!) simply print off at home or collect a copy from the shop and get creative! Drop your completed art into the shop by close of business on the 31st of December and we will announce a winner on or before Monday the 5th of January 2026. The winner will receive a £25 voucher to spend in the Imaginarium!
Make sure you write your name, age and a way to contact mum and dad on the back of your entry!
Good luck, have fun, and we cannot wait to see all your lovely designs!
You can download the sheet here
Festive Gift Fair - Chewton Glen
The Imaginarium have been invited back to Chewton Glen for their spectacular Festive Gift Fair.
Join us, and lots of other businesses, to kick start your Christmas shopping. From well known brands to local businesses, the event will be a great way to beat the crowds and get the bulk of your shopping done in one go.
We will be there with specially curated selection of books and bookish items that will be perfect to give as gifts this year.
Enjoy a complimentary glass of festive fizz and a mince pie on arrival as you browse in a joyful, seasonal atmosphere.
Tickets must be purchased through Chewton Glen - Purchase here Adults £6, children free.
Late Night Opening
As Lymington celebrates the joy of Christmas with the Christmas Light Switch on, we’ll be opening late.
Join us for a class of wine, a mince pie and 10% off everything in store!
This will be our fourth time opening late, and we love spreading some Christmas cheer, and helping you get your Christmas shopping underway.
With our expert booksellers, we’ll help you find the perfect gift for your friends and family.
Sci-fi and Fantasy Quiz
Gather your fellowship, locate your sword, and prepare your minds for an epic night of otherworldly trivia.
This is your chance to prove you know your middle-earth from your disc-world, your Narnia from your restaurant at the end of the universe.
Whether you’re a mage with a head for history, or a droid awaiting an update, come test your knowledge across realms, timelines, and galaxies.
Hosted by Artful Scribe and The Imaginarium, and held at the Vibrant Forest Brewery Taproom in Hardley, you can also enjoy exceptional beer and delicious food. It’s the night before Halloween, so whether magical, fantastical or just spooky, costumes are welcome – but not required.
Purchase tickets through Eventbrite here
Play On Words
Play on Words returns to the New Forest this autumn from the 22 October - 3 November 2025, to celebrate everything to do with the spoken and written word. Join us for poetry & jazz, ghost stories, spoken word, creative walks, a sci-fi fantasy quiz night, comic creating, writer development and much, much more in New Milton, Lymington and across the Forest. Events and activities are starting to go live; check back here soon for more updates!
Play on Words is the passion project of two friends that started in 2018 and has since grown to include Artful Scribe, local businesses and has recived funding from the Arts Council.
The Imaginarium is the offical bookshop of the event, and works in conjunction with Arful Scribe to bring a wide range of events to residents of the New Forest and wider.
For more information on the events being hosted this year, please see the offical Play On Words website
For more information on Arful Scribe, please see here
Bookshop Day
Bookshop Day celebrates bookshops on our high streets. It aims to remind customers of the value of their local bookshop, and that they are the perfect places to kick start their Christmas gift-buying.
We’re very proud of our little bookshop here in Lymington and would love to see you here on Bookshop day to help us celebrate.
The Imaginarium Turns 3!
The shop has been open for three years! Can you believe it? Neither can we!
On Saturday 13th September, we’ll be celebrating with 10% off in store all day (10-5pm), we’ll also be hosting giveaways and will have cake!
It’s a great way for us to thank you for all your support over the last three years, and to celebrate together as a community.
World Book Day 2025
Grab your WORLD BOOK DAY book in store!
World Book Day is a charity that champion’s the fun of reading, because it seriously improves lives. Reading for fun is the single biggest indicator that a child will grow up to enjoy a happier and more successful life – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational backgrounds or their income.
But here’s the challenge, it’s at an all-time low, with only 1 in 3 children now saying they enjoy reading. We believe children are more likely to read if they enjoy it, so we’re on a mission to encourage them to see reading as an entertaining, social and fun thing to do. We want more children to grow up with a life-long, life-changing habit of reading for fun, and all the benefits this brings.
World Book Day are a charity that operates in the UK and Ireland and will next be celebrating World Book Day on 6 March 2025.
Your littles ones will receive a voucher from their school if they’re in educational settings, or if they are home educated, you can register for vouchers here
We will be accepting vouchers until Sunday 23rd March. Alternatively, you can purchase the World Book Day books for £1 each.
Onyx Storm Release Party
Join us to celebrate the release of Onyx Storm, the third installment of the fantasy sensation by Rebecca Yarros.
