The Crystal Vase Launch Party With Astrid Goldsmith

Our first event of 2026 is with the extremely talented Astrid Goldsmith! Astrid will be celebrating the release of The Crystal Vase when we host the launch party on Thursday 15th January 2026, from 7-9pm.

Astrid is an animator, writer and comic-artist! She has a background in stop-motion, setting up her own animation studio, Mock Duck, which has created several award-winning short films. In 2022, Goldsmith won the Observer/Cape/Comica short story award for her comic A Funeral in Freiburg. Astrid is now releasing her first long form comic, The Crystal Vase, published by Jonathan Cape. Here's what they say about the book:

A road-trip across Europe and back in time: the debut graphic memoir from the prize-winning author of A Funeral In Freiburg.

When her imperious, chain-smoking German Jewish grandmother dies, it falls to Astrid and her father to drive a hire van to the Black Forest and collect the family heirlooms from Gisela's nicotine-stained apartment.

In Freiburg, they are faced with several lifetimes’ worth of belongings to sort through - infested Persian rugs, mysterious photographs, a toy monkey that started a marriage - and a grasping landlord, impatient to renovate.

As the list of demands from uncles, sisters and cousins grows longer, the rabbit-holes of history and memory grow deeper. Long-buried secrets and tales of survival are revealed - from Nazi Germany to colonial Africa - and old feuds are reignited, as father and daughter struggle with the responsibility of preserving the family legacy. More importantly, will they be able to fit everything into a medium wheel-base transit van?

Funny, bittersweet and beautifully drawn, The Crystal Vase is an odyssey of family arguments, identity crises, and late discoveries.

Astrid will be here on Thursday 15th January, from 7pm, so come along then to grab a copy of The Crystal Vase. You can pre-order a signed edition from our website for mail-order or collection by clicking the link here.

Keep up to date with all news over on our Facebook event page.