Jennifer Egan Headlines Autumn Season

Best-selling American novelist Jennifer Egan will read from her first book since A Visit From the Goon Squad won her the Pulitzer Prize this autumn, headlining our Writers in Conversation autumn season.

Egan will read from her new novel, Manhattan Beach, at a special WiC event on Sunday 12 November at 6:30 pm, being co-sponsored by the University of Southampton’s Human Worlds Festival.

Egan is joined by three other wonderful writers this autumn.

Booker-shortlisted novelist Rachel Seiffert, named one of the Granta Best of Young British Novelists, will read and discuss her new novel, A Boy in Winter, on Monday 16 October, in our usual location at the Nuffield café.

London writer Alex Wheatle, winner of the 2016 Guardian children’s fiction prize, will read from and discuss Straight Outta Crongton, the latest of his award-winning Crongton sequence of books for teen-agers, on Monday 30 October.

Renowned Southampton writer and University of Southampton creative writing professor Philip Hoare will read from and discuss his new book, RISINGTIDEFALLINGSTAR, on Monday 4 December.

Tickets are just £5 for non-University guests, and can be purchased at the Nuffield Southampton Theatres Web site.

All events are held on campus at Nuffield Southampton Theatre’s cafe, except for  Jennifer Egan’s event, which is starting at 6:30 p.m. at the university’s Avenue campus.

 

 

 

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Claire Fuller, Tyler Keevil, Evan Placey Featured in Spring

Novelist and short story writer Tyler Keevil, winner of the $10,000 Journey Prize for a story in his recent collection, Burrard Inlet, will read and discuss his work on Monday 30 January at NST Theatres to kick up our Spring Writers in Conversation events.

Evan Placey

On February 13 by prize-winning playwright and University of Southampton lecturer Evan Placey, who will talk about his work after members ofthe NST Youth Theatre perform a scene from his play, Consensual. Consensual is being performed at NST Jan. 19 – 21.

Claire Fuller

 

 

Claire Fuller, winner of the 2015 Desmond Elliot prize for her first novel, Our Endless Numbered Days, will read from her new novel, Swimming Lessons, on March 13.

Tickets for our events with Tyler Keevil, Evan Placey and Claire Fuller may be purchased now via the NST Theatre Website.

Hope to see you at an event soon, and in the meantime, happy reading!

Win a Book by a WiC author

Writers in Conversation is so pleased with the fabulous turnout we’ve had this semester for Rebecca Smith and Philip Hensher’s events at Nuffield Theatre, we’d like to thank you — by giving away a book.

You may win a free download of Rebecca Smith’s The Jane Austen Writers’ Club by simply emailing us at WritersInConversation@gmail.com.  Put  ‘Audio Book Competition Entry’ in the Subject line.

But be sure to enter before our next event:  On Monday 5 December, we have Helen Macdonald, the author of H Is for Hawk, reading at the Nuffield Theatre. Tickets for Helen’s event are £12, bookable at the  Nuffield Web site.

Please note, by entering the competition you are agreeing to be added to our mailing list. We will not share your details with any third parties. If you don’t wish to be added, simply let us know in the email.

The competition will close at midnight on Monday 5th December, and a winner will be chosen at random and notified via Facebook and email on Tuesday 6th.

Autumn Series 2016 – New Semester, New Line Up, New Blog

Rebecca Smith

Philip Hensher

H Is for Hawk Book Cover

Helen Macdonald (photo credit Marzena Porgozaly)

(Helen Macdonald photo credit: Marzena Porgozaly)

A new semester here at the University of Southampton sees the return of Writers in Conversation, with a brand new line up of brilliant authors ready to read from and discuss their work.

The series begins on Monday 3rd October with University of Southampton lecturer Rebecca Smith, author of three novels as well as Jane Austen’s Guide to Modern Life’s Dilemmas. Rebecca will be discussing her newest book, The Jane Austen Writers’ Club, offering new insights into the writings of one of the world’s best-loved novelists. A must for any Austen fans!

In November, we then welcome Philip Hensher, whose novels have won the Somerset Maugham Award and been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. He also edited The Penguin Book of the British Short Story: 1: From Daniel Defoe to John Buchan. He writes that he is drawn to the rich techniques of realism, as well as to disruptive forms and incomplete gestures more characteristic of contemporary writing. He also writes regularly for the Independent, the Mail on Sunday and the Spectator. Sure to be a very interesting evening of discussion.

To finish this autumn series, in December we make a brief move from our normal home of Nuffield Kitchen to the main Nuffield Theatre, where we welcome Helen Macdonald, author of the best-selling H Is for Hawk, the moving account of her grief over her father’s death and her training of the goshawk Mabel which won the Costa Book Award 2014 and The Samuel Johnson Prize 2014. Besides being a writer, poet and illustrator, Macdonald is also a naturalist, historian and professional falconer. A very special event, and definitely not one to be missed.

Our line up is not the only new appearance at Writers in Conversation. Alongside our existing Facebook page, we now have our own Twitter account, as well as this brand new blog. New photos, write-ups and updates will be regularly posted here and on our other social media accounts, so check back regularly to keep up to date with all our literary goings-on! To the right-hand side you can also find a list of upcoming dates and links to our social media accounts, so you’ll never need to look far to find your next fix of Writers in Conversation.

Hope to see you at an event soon, and in the meantime, happy reading!