Posted By: Richard White, 17 June 2011
The Worlds Literature Festival is very nearly upon us. Writers from as far away as Australia are descending on Norwich for a week of events, readings and discussion, and frankly, I (and the rest of the team) can’t wait!
It’s strange to think by the time I wake up on Friday morning (tired, dishevelled and in need of coffee topped up with some glamorous energy drink) that I’ll have talked to over 40 writers about various aspects of creative writing - just typing that makes me want to lie down.
The good news is that you can take an easier route and make the most of the public events we run throughout the week. I should add that if you’re a UEA student, make the most of our free ticket offers running for certain events. Here’s the rundown:
Monday 20th June, UEA Drama Studio, 7pm. Tickets £5
On Monday we celebrate the launch of Granta 115 with A.S. Byatt. A great honour, and to make it even better, she’ll be joined by writers Urvashi Butalia and Maja Hrgovic. All three will read from their work and discuss feminism in the 21st Century and women in writing with Granta Deputy Editor, Ellah Allfrey OBE.
Tuesday 21st June, Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library, 6.30pm. Tickets £2.
Please tell me you’ve already got involved in Summer Reads? If you haven’t, visit our
Summer Reads Project Page and discover six great books by authors you’ll want to hear more from, and the best bit is, you can at this event in the Norfolk & Norwich Millennium Library with authors Katie Kitamura, Andrey Kurkov & Evie Wyld. It’s a great chance to meet and hear them read from their books and pose any questions you’ve been dying to ask.
Wednesday 22nd June, Norwich Playhouse, 8pm. Tickets £7, £5 concessions
I’m halfway through Hisham Matar’s latest novel, Anatomy Of A Disappearance, and fully intend to have it finished in time for this event. Hisham returns to Norwich to launch and read from said novel and will be joined by Tahmima Anam, who’s been getting some great reviews for her latest novel, The Good Muslim (next on my hit-list) and International Cities of Refuge writer Philo Ikonya.
Thursday 23rd June, UEA Drama Studio, 7pm. Tickets £5
On to our final event of the week: an evening with two brilliant writers from Dublin, UNESCO City of Literature. John Boyne, author of The Boy In the Striped Pyjamas will read from his new novel The Absolutist set in war-time Norwich. Joseph O’Connor, author of Star of the Sea will read from his exhilarating love story Ghost Light – all in celebration of Norwich’s bid to become a UNESCO City of Literature.
UEA Student? Click the above link and enter the promo code: UEAfree (ID will be required).
So, come along to that, and the rest, and show your support for Norwich’s flourishing literature scene. It’s going to be quite a week. I want to resist saying this as it’s a little cheesy, but “see you on the other side…” There, I said it.
