Liverpool Literary Festival returns next weekend (8-10 October) with a packed programme of in-person and online events.
Who’s on?
Friday, 8 October
Opening the festival LIVE on Friday night is the celebrated television presenter, Line of Duty actor and comedian, Andi Osho, who will discuss her new novel, Asking for a Friend, and the joys and challenges of publishing fiction for the first time.
Saturday, 9 October
The festival continues in person on Saturday, as Adam Simpson chats about his experience of establishing a career as a screenwriter, and what it takes to translate your ideas from page, to stage and screen, find an agent and secure a commission.
Award-winning biographer Dame Hermione Lee is then joined online by Mark Da Vanzo, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse CEO, to talk about her major new biography of Tom Stoppard.
We’ll then return to the VG&M, as new novelist and University of Liverpool academic Danny O’Connor discusses his burgeoning literary career with the Festival Director, Professor Dinah Birch.
We’re still live as one of TV’s favourite doctors, Dr Amir Khan, steps up to the stage to talk about his book, The Doctor Will See You Now: The highs and lows of my life as an NHS GP, and present the winners of the University’s short story competition, ‘The Great Read’.
Dr Khan is followed by Kate Summerscale, author of The Haunting of Alma Fielding and The Suspicions of My Whicher, to discuss the special skills involved in discovering suspense and mystery hidden in history.
Clare Mackintosh is then joined by ITV News presenter Ann O’Connor for a conversation about her hard-hitting new thriller, Hostage.
Our University Chancellor and best-selling author Colm Tóibín will round off Saturday night with a discussion of his new book, The Magician with University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Janet Beer.
Sunday, 10 October
Sunday morning opens with award-winning poet, Mona Arshi at the VG&M discussing her new novel – out in November – and the experience of moving from poetry to prose, after a career in law.
Join writer and creative practitioner Bernadette McBride for her talk on writing short fiction, where you can learn more about the art of writing short stories and hear about Bernadette’s own writing process.
Novelist, editor and University Royal Literary Fund Fellow, Caroline Smailes will then share the stage with BBC Radio Merseyside’s Ngunan Adamu to discuss the experience of seeing her novel The Drowning of Arthur Braxton transformed into a major new film.
Next, Okechukwu Nzelu, novelist and winner of the Betty Trask Ward for his debut 2020 novel, The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney, is joined by the University’s Dr Phoenix Alexander to talk about the changes in a writer’s life as a successful career develops.
We’re back online for a final time, as the novelist Emma Jane Unsworth, author of Hungry, the Stars and Everything, Animals and Adults discusses the challenges of moving from fiction to highly personal memoir.
The Festival wraps up on Sunday evening, at the VG&M, with new name Tabitha Lasley discussing her memoir, Sea State – a brilliant account of the lives of offshore workers.
Liverpool Literary Festival runs from October 8 – 10 2021 and is sponsored by Bruntwood and Student Roost. For more information, and to book your tickets, please visit www.liverpool.ac.uk/literary-festival/