Steve Couch Book Launch Event - Imogen Imagine

Steve Couch is launching his new book, Imogen Imagine, at The Cellar Bar on Monday 5 October, with readings from the book and live music from Olly Hopper-Pay, Lee Radsall-Dove and Hannah Gadsby. The book comes out on 28 September, so the launch is just a week after it hits the shelves. There's a nice bit of local connection here: the story is set in the Cellar Bar itself, so the launch happens in the very place the book is about.

Couch is a Bournemouth author, and Imogen Imagine is his latest. He's also available as a visiting speaker, and he's open about the road that got him here: a childhood dream of becoming a writer that took him into his 40s, and another 15 years to actually realise. He works with singer-guitarist Olly Hopper-Pay on Dead Man Singing Live, a pairing of music and words, and his 60-90 minute workshop, Pushing the right buttons: Practical tips for crafting an elevator pitch that works, debuted at the 2026 Bournemouth Writing Festival.

The launch is part of the second edition of the Arts by the Sea Fringe, which takes the creativity of the main Arts by the Sea festival and spreads it across independent venues in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. This year's theme is 'ELEMENTAL', and the Fringe is run in collaboration with South Coast independent music curators We Broke Free.

It's on Monday 5 October at 8:30pm at The Cellar Bar, Chaplin's, 529 Christchurch Road, Boscombe, Bournemouth BH1 4AG. Entry is free.