About this Event
In the shadow of the London Blitz, Aggie, fearful and grieving, navigates her fractured world where war threatens the human spirit. Struggling with the loss of her adoptive parents, Aggie finds an unexpected connection with Hilda, a fiery Quaker pacifist, promoting equality.
As their friendship blossoms, Aggie discovers a new confidence—but not without questioning Hilda’s pacifist ideals. Making the difficult decision to evacuate with her children to Yorkshire, Aggie begins writing about her experiences. After the blitz, she returns to London and discovers a friendship with Lincoln, a black GI with a heart as steady as his Lindy Hop steps. Now Aggie faces the biggest challenge to her new-found confidence.
Set against the vibrant yet tumultuous backdrop of 1940s Britain, Aggie’s War is a powerful tale of courage, friendship, and the ongoing fight for justice, equality, and peace.
About the Author:
Describing herself as an escaped academic, Bonnie Meekums is a writer of fiction, memoir, and occasionally poetry. Her debut novel, A Kind of Family, was first published by Between the Lines in January 2020, to 5* reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Re-released in 2024, it reached #2 in the Amazon charts for step-parents and children. This was followed in 2025 by Bonnie’s second novel, Aggie’s War, a prequel to A Kind
of Family with the same publisher. In 2021, Bonnie self-published Remnants of War, her joint working-class childhood memoir with sister Jackie Hales, and in 2024 she self-published her poetry debut, This Body Will Not Be Silenced. Bonnie’s shorter works appear in several literary journals, including MsLexia, Tiny Molecules, Ghost Parachute, and Roi Fainéant. Bonnie’s writing has been listed for the Reflex Press flash fiction competition, shortlisted out of more than 3,000 entries for the King Lear Chairman’s Prize, and more recently (2025) shortlisted for the Ghost Parachute short fiction competition. Her nominations include ‘Best small fictions’ and ‘Best of the net.’
Bonnie is also known for her international teaching and writing about Dance Movement Therapy (DMT). Her books Dance Movement Therapy (2002, Sage) and Creative Group Therapy for Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (2000, JKP) appear in academic libraries all over the world.
Bonnie lives in Greater Manchester, UK, where she shares a house with her husband, various offspring that she is never entirely confident have finally left, and from time-to-time grandchildren whose size is inconsistent with their conviction that they rule the roost. To relax, she grows vegetables that misbehave even more than the grandchildren, walks in the hills, reads, and dances. She also travels alarming distances now and then, to visit people she loves who have inconveniently chosen to live as far away from her as possible, in Aotearoa/New Zealand. She blogs about becoming an older woman in the UK.
Event venue & nearby stays
Oldham Library & Lifelong Learning Centre, Greaves Street, Oldham, United Kingdom
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