The Dulwich Literary Festival returns 6th -13th November with an unmissable week of events featuring the internationally bestselling author of Wild Swans Jung Chang, Booker Prize-winning writer Howard Jacobson, TV presenter and children’s author Konnie Huq, and the sensational author behind BBC hit series Apple Tree Yard, Louise Doughty.
A highlight of the London literary calendar, this year’s festival will take place at Dulwich College, the festival’s venue partner, and Dulwich Books, opening with an enlightening event on ‘mudlarking’ with Lara Maiklem. Lara will uncover a new history of the old city through 15 years of findings from the banks of the River Thames.
Classicist, stand-up comedian & Radio 4 broadcaster Natalie Haynes will kick start the main weekend with a Friday night foray into the women myths forgot as she discusses her new book A Thousand Ships, a retelling of the Trojan War from an all-female perspective. By giving voices to the women the myths forgot, Natalie brings new life to these ancient tales.
The weekend will also include an opportunity to hear acclaimed comic novelist Howard Jacobson (Booker Prize-winning author of The Finkler Question) discuss his latest work, Live A Little, an irresistibly funny account of falling in love at the end of your life – a novel to make you consider all the paths not taken, and whether you could still change course.
Sunday Times bestselling author Louise Doughty will be in conversation with journalist Anita Sethi about her writing career, including her latest novel, Platform Seven, a gripping, brilliant, original and eerily-timely novel, and her bestselling & critically-acclaimed title, Apple Tree Yard, which was adapted into a hit BBC TV series.
Emma Smith (Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Hertford College, Oxford) offers an electrifying new take on Shakespeare, taking audiences on a journey from Freud to Friends, from Aristotle to Homer, from Machiavelli to #MeToo in a talk about her brilliant book This is Shakespeare. Hilary Mantel has said of the book, ‘I admire the freshness and attack of her writing, the passion and curiosity that light up the page.’
For children, Konnie Huq, the much-loved and longest-serving presenter of Blue Peter, has a fun-filled, interactive event centred around her brand new, hilarious book series, Cookie!. Featuring quizzes, games and exploding science experiments, this will be a fantastic session for inquisitive children aged 7+.
The festival will conclude with a chance to see Jung Chang (author of the international bestseller Wild Swans) speak about her major new group biography- Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister– a gripping story of sisterhood, revolution and betrayal. A fascinating narrative of love, war, intrigue, bravery, glamour and betrayal, at its heart is the Soong sisters – three extraordinary women who helped shape the course of modern Chinese history.
There will be a pop-up bookshop and café/bar at Dulwich College for the Festival. For more information about the events and to purchase tickets, see www.dulwichliteraryfestival.co.uk. You can also visit Dulwich Books (SE21 8SW) to purchase tickets in person or phone on 0208 670 1920.