Below is a list of my forthcoming public events – it would be lovely to see you at any of them!
If you’d like to receive infrequent emails to update you on my books and public events (or you’d like a more reliable and ethical alternative to following me on social media), you can sign up to my mailing list.
And if you can’t make any of these events, why not book your own? Take a look at the talks or heritage activities I can offer.
December 2025
Wednesday 10 December: Queer History Club Christmas Card Workshop
Venue: The Bookish Type, 77a Great George Street, Leeds LS1 3BR
Tickets: https://thebookishtype.co.uk/products/queer-history-club-christmas-card-workshop
Come and make a Christmas card or two for your queer pals, using copies of festive archive materials from queer history!
Will you go for Marsha P Johnson with tinsel on her head, Rupert Raj by a Christmas tree, a bunch of gays dressed as Jesus, or a tasteful mistletoe wreath advertising a 1970s gay bar? You bring your creativity, we’ll bring the archive and the festive tunes.
January 2026
February 2026
Sunday 7 February: Make Your Plaque workshop
Venue: Crescent Arts, Woodend Creative Space, The Crescent, Scarborough YO11 2PW
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/out-of-the-margins-make-your-plaque-workshop-tickets-1974966914205
Drop in to make a rainbow plaque to commemorate the LGBTQ+ history that’s important to YOU. From forgotten bars, to iconic drag performances, to the place you first held your partner’s hand – no story is too small to be worth commemorating.
When you’ve made your cardboard plaque, you can take it home with you, or join us as we take to the streets to display our plaques and make our history visible.
Sharing these histories will also pave the way for our second workshop – see https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/out-of-the-margins-raise-your-banner-tickets-1976700678942.
Saturday 21 February: English Heritage Members’ Event – Edward II and Piers Gaveston
Venue: Scarborough Castle, Castle Road, Scarborough, YO11 1HY
Tickets: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/whats-on/me-scarborough-edward-ii-21-feb/
In May 1312, King Edward II and his favourite Piers Gaveston parted for the final time at Scarborough Castle. Chroniclers, poets and dramatists would soon develop their narrative into a tragic love story. But how did Edward II get his queer reputation? Join Dr Kit Heyam, author of The Reputation of Edward II, to uncover the life and afterlives of Edward and Gaveston, at Scarborough and beyond.
Sunday 22 February: Raise Your Banner workshop
Venue: Crescent Arts, Woodend Creative Space, The Crescent, Scarborough YO11 2PW
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/out-of-the-margins-raise-your-banner-workshop-tickets-1976700678942
Make your mark on a community timeline banner showing the centuries-long span of Scarborough’s LGBTQ+ history.
Just like the plaques, we’ll commemorate nationally significant events alongside the events that matter most to local LGBTQ+ people.
Inspired by the medieval marginalia of the town’s most famous queer love story – King Edward II’s final goodbye to Piers Gaveston at Scarborough Castle in 1312 – we’ll decorate the edges of our timeline with textile art and fabric painting/drawing. You can suggest a milestone for the timeline, and/or you can help us decorate it – whatever works for you!
Saturday 28 February: Queer-ying the Museum
Venue: Royal Armouries Museum, Armouries Dr, Leeds LS10 1LT
Tickets and details coming soon!
Kit Heyam 