I don’t just give talks about my books but about what’s behind my books – research, fun facts and women’s history. Have a look below to see what my talks and workshops are about. Find out about any upcoming talks and other events I’m attending below. If you want me to give a talk or run a workshop, please use my contact form to get in touch.
OVERVIEW OF UPCOMING EVENTS
Please scroll or use left/right arrows below to see details of the events scheduled. If events are marked * these may be only open to members and members’ guests and you may need to contact me to find out how to attend.
| Date and Time | Talk | Host & Venue | How to Attend |
| Mon 15 Jun 26 12:00 UTC+1 (e.g.British Summer Time) | Talking online about collaboration with Liz Hedgecock | Zoom – details to the right | To find out more and join via Zoom, click here |
| Tue 28 Jul 26 10.45-11.45am | Research Rabbit Holes | Dorset CPSA St Mark’s Church, Talbot Village, Bournemouth BH10 4HY | To enquire about attending if not a member, please use my contact form. |
| Sun 23 Aug 26 11:00-12:00 | History Panel | Dorchester Corn Exchange High East Street, Dorchester DT1 1HF | TBC |
| Sat 26 Sep 26 TBC (morning of an all day event) | Emerging Voices Panel – Industry Hub | Coastal Crime Leonardo Royal Hotel Grand Harbour Southampton SO15 1AG | Click here for info and tickets |
| Sat 3 Oct 26 Event 9.30-4.30. My workshop 12.45-1.45pm | Plot Your Mystery – Workshop – Part of Romsey Literary Day ‘Detecting, Investigating, Creating’ | Romsey Literary Day Crossfield Hall Romsey SO51 8GL | Click here for info and tickets |
| Thu 29 Oct 26 10.30-11.30am | The Women Who Did | Tuckton Library, Wick Land, Bournemouth BH6 4LF | Free Entry |
| Mon 9 Nov 26 7.00-8.00pm | Dressed for Detection | Westbourne WI Marsham Court Hotel, 3 Russell Cotes Road, East Cliff, Bournemouth BH1 3AB | To enquire about attending if not a member, please use my contact form. |
| Wed 11 Nov 26 | Research Rabbit Holes | Dorset NHSRF Woodhouse Gardens Pavilion, Blandford Forum DT11 7DN | To enquire about attending if not a member, please use my contact form. |
| Sat 05/06/27 TBC | Book Talk TBC | Warminster Book Day | TBC |
WHAT DO MY TALKS & WORKSHOPS COVER?
THE WOMEN WHO DID – an illustrated talk Why write historical mysteries with female leads when historically women couldn’t do much except sit at home sewing and waiting for the man to save the world? Come and meet the real women who inspired the characters in Paula’s fiction, women who have been forgotten for too long. (Eras: early Romano-British, 1890s-1914)
DRESSED FOR DETECTION – an illustrated talk One minute you’re an ordinary Victorian or Edwardian woman, the next minute you have a crime to solve. Whatever should you wear? Using information and images from her research, including fun facts, Paula will talk about what her characters might have worn and how they might have got around any inconvenience their clothes might have posed. From remodelled ball-dresses to cycling outfits to suffragette regalia, via corsets, swimsuits and hatpins – come and meet Katherine, Connie and Margaret as they dress to detect.
RESEARCH RABBIT HOLES & WARRENS – an illustrated talk Paula Harmon has written several mysteries, most of them historical. Come and hear about her books and what she has discovered when lost in research rabbit-holes. From the real purpose of Girl Guides via a surprise in her family history to how you could (but perhaps shouldn’t) dye your hair or treat your poorly children, Paula will share some of the fascinating, and occasionally bizarre, facts she’s uncovered for her books, including several she’s had to leave out of her books because no one would believe them.
KNOWING YOUR PLACE – Workshop This is about creating a sense of place in writing. How can a place or moment in time influence a story? What difference is there if it’s real now, was real once or is totally imaginary? Paula Harmon’s books describe settings from Edwardian Whitechapel to South Welsh riversides to chocolate box Gloucestershire cottages to Roman era Dorchester and an imagined Roman era Blandford Forum. Come and try the tips she has discovered to weave a sense of place into your stories whether wholly fictional or based on real events.
DISCOVER YOUR MAGIC – Workshop The aims of this interactive workshop are to encourage you to feel you CAN write whether for yourself or others and to ‘go with the flow’, find inspiration in every day things and to use senses to describe the world, or your character’s feelings.
PLOT YOUR MYSTERY: A Hands-On Guide to Crafting Whodunnits – Workshop – Ready to write your first mystery? In this interactive 90-minute workshop Paula will guide you through outlining and planning your mystery novel. You’ll learn what to think about as you create the perfect sleuth, craft an intriguing setting, and structure a plot filled with suspense and clues. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to sharpen your skills, you’ll leave with a solid plan to bring your mystery to life.
PREVIOUS TALKS/WORKSHOPS
GENERAL TALK ABOUT MY BOOKS – I chiefly write mystery fiction and of that, chiefly historical mystery fiction (some of the mystery fiction is written with another author and I can talk about that process). But I also have collections of short stories and a sort of memoir about my father which focusses on one year in the 1970s when I was a child, one week in 2012, and a series of wild and fantastic stories that I imagine my father dreaming in which he and my mother – both pensioners – have unlikely adventures. It’s about love and family and accepting grief.) Happy to talk about all or any of them!
PREVIOUS TALKS:
HISTORY PANEL MEMBER – Aylesbury – 26th April 2026
DRESSED FOR DETECTION – Milton on Stour WI – 13th May 2026
DECEIVING MEMORIES – Kings Arms Dorchester – 14th March 2026
DRESSED FOR DETECTION – Compass Group – 19th February 2026
DRESSED FOR DETECTION – Christchurch WI – 4th February 2026
DRESSED FOR DETECTION – Broadstone WI – 6th January 2026
DRESSED FOR DETECTION – Lymington Town Sailing Club – 3rd December 2025
THE WOMEN WHO DID – Bath Central Library – 21st November 2025
DRESSED FOR DETECTION – Winterborne Kingston WI – 1st October 2025
DRESSED FOR DETECTION – Blandford NHSRF – 9th July 2025
DRESSED FOR DETECTION – Milborne St Andrew Women’s Institute – 12th June 2025
DRESSED FOR DETECTION – Chickerell Women’s Institute – 12th May 2025
BOOKS & BUBBLES – Sobo Sommelier – 29th April 2025
PLOT YOUR PERFECT MYSTERY WORKSHOP – Bournemouth Writing Festival – 26th April 2025
DRESSED FOR DETECTION – Dorset CSPA – 22nd April 2025
THE WOMEN WHO DID – Bookclub – 20th March 2025
BREAKING OUT – PANEL – International Women’s Day – 8th March 2025
THE WOMEN WHO DID – Blandford Literary Festival – 15th November 2024
DRESSED FOR DETECTION – West of England Costume Society Bath – 5th October 2024
BYWAYS – THE JOYS OF RESEARCH – Sturminster Newton Literary Festival 15th June 2024
KNOW YOUR PLACE WORKSHOP – Bournemouth Writing Festival 28th April 2024
DRESSED FOR DETECTION – Blandford Fashion Museum 27th March 2024
FEISTY WOMEN IN HISTORY – Ivybridge Literary Festival 14th September 2023
FEISTY WOMEN IN HISTORY – Wyke Regis Library 19th June 2023
FEISTY WOMEN IN HISTORY – Bournemouth Writing Festival 22nd April 2023