Conversation and Book Signing: ‘Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat’

Join us at Hauser & Wirth Somerset to celebrate the release of ‘Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat’ (2023) for a conversation and book signing with the author Emma O’Kelly and fellow author and sauna enthusiast Susan Elderkin.

Tickets are free and all are welcome, however we encourage donations to our 2023 – 2024 charity partner, Bruton Community Library. Advance booking is recommended. Please note that this event will be taking place in the Education Lab.

There is a new wave of sauna culture spreading throughout the UK and beyond. Saunas are being built in unique settings to provide tech-free spaces in which to gather, share stories and enjoy nature. The sauna tradition has a rich history, filled with rituals that encourage us to soak up the mental and physical health benefits of deep heat.

‘Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat’ honors the old, embraces the new, and plunges headlong into the transformative power of steam. The book highlights the benefits a sauna brings to body and mind, its connection to nature, its history and its mythology, as well as its compatibility with another great invigorator, cold-water swimming.

About Emma O’Kelly
Emma O’Kelly is the author of ‘Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat,’ an exploration of the joy of sauna and its therapeutic benefits. As a journalist, O’Kelly has held various editorial roles at Wallpaper* magazine for 24 years, as well as writing and editing several Phaidon / Wallpaper city guides. She also writes for The Telegraph, The Financial Times and Condé Nast Traveller.

About Susan Elderkin
Susan Elderkin is a novelist, journalist and critic. Her first novel ‘Sunset Over Chocolate Mountains’ (2000) won a Betty Trask Award and her second, ‘The Voices’ (2003) was shortlisted for the Orange Prize (now the Women’s Prize for Fiction) as well as the Ondaatje Prize. Elderkin’s journalism has appeared in major newspapers and magazines including: The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Observer, The Telegraph and Gardens Illustrated. She is a celebrated creative writing teacher and regularly runs workshops in Somerset and around the world. One of the happiest moments of her week is a Sunday sauna followed by a cold plunge.

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Please be advised that photographs will be taken at this event for use on the Hauser & Wirth website, social media and in other marketing materials.