The Writing Life

Life in the World's Largest Refugee Camp with Ben Rawlence - NNF16

With 350,000 inhabitants, Dadaab Refugee Camp is the largest in the world. Ben Rawlence reads from City of Thorns, a unique account of his four years spent getting to know this extraordinary place. 'Timely, disturbing and compelling' - The Guardian Part of the City of Literature programme at Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2016.

Brave New Reads 2016 with Yuri Herrera, author of 'Signs Preceding the End of the World'

Enjoy a recording from the Brave New Reads Norwich event with Yuri Herrera, author of 'Signs Preceding the End of the World' (translated by Lisa Dillman). This fascinating discussion explores translation, immigration, libraries and more. Find out more about Brave New Reads at www.bravenewreads.org.uk Brave New Reads is brought to you by Writers’ Centre Norwich and the library services in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and was created in Norwich, England’s first UNESCO City of Literature.

Linton Kwesi Johnson: The Harriet Martineau Lecture

The world’s number one Dub Poet, internationally bestselling reggae artist, and former Black Panther Linton Kwesi Johnson considers a relatively under explored dimension to Harriet Martineau’s writings: her progressive campaigning for Black emancipation. Part of the City of Literature programme at Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2016.

Not A Misery Memoir with Una & Nicola Streeten - NNF16

Graphic novelists Una and Nicola Streeten discuss how graphic novels have enabled women to talk about their lives and address personal and painful issues. Una’s first graphic memoir Becoming Unbecoming, an account of gender violence in the 1970s against a backdrop of the search for the Yorkshire Ripper, was described as a ‘wonderful, wonderful book’ on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. Una describes it as ‘Not a misery memoir. Miserable, yes, but hopeful too.’ Of her debut graphic novel Billy, Me & You, about the death of her young son, Nicola Streeten said ‘I wanted the laughing and the crying. Not a misery memoir, a book for people who’ve had shit thrown at them’. Part of the City of Literature programme at Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2016.

The Gustav Sonata with Rose Tremain - NNF16

Internationally renowned author and UEA Chancellor Rose Tremain discusses her new book, The Gustav Sonata. Beginning in the 1930s under the shadow of the Second World War, it is a gripping story of the struggle for love and the healing power of lasting friendship. Part of the City of Literature programme at Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2016.

Generation Revolution with Rachel Aspden - NNF16

Having lived and travelled widely in the Middle East, former New Statesman literary editor Rachel Aspden’s new book Generation Revolution, positions readers on the frontline between tradition and change in the wake of Tahrir Square and other revolutions. What happens when a revolution unravels? How do you choose between sex, tradition, consumerism and faith? Aspden looks at the complex forces shaping the lives of these young people and what they mean for the future of the Middle East. Part of the City of Literature Programme at Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2016.

Neurotribes: Thinking Smarter About Difference with Steve Silberman - NNF16

After 70 years of research on autism, why do we still seem to know so little about it? Winner of the 2015 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non- Fiction, Neurotribes is a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller that upends conventional thinking about autism and suggests a broader model for acceptance, understanding and full participation in society for people who think differently. Award-winning investigative reporter Steve Silberman’s pioneering viewpoint will change the ways we think not just about autism, but also about creativity and innovation. This event will be chaired by poet Joanne Limburg. Part of the City of Literature programme at Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2016.

Irvine Welsh: The Blade Artist - NNF16

Warning: some explicit language Acclaimed Scottish writer Irvine Welsh discusses the legacy of his debut novel Trainspotting; a modern cult classic and major film described by The Times as 'the voice of punk, grown up, grown wiser and grown eloquent'. The Norfolk & Norwich Festival Adnams Spiegeltent is the perfect setting to revisit Welsh's darkly comic and ultraviolent cast of characters - including Francis Begbie, whose gruesome past comes back to haunt him in Welsh's latest novel, The Blade Artist. Part of the City of Literature programme at Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2016.

Mervyn King: The End of Alchemy - NNF16

Mervyn King was Governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013, when the global financial crisis hit and started its recovery. Reading from The End of Alchemy, King examines what went wrong and why and what needs to be done to make a more stable future. Chaired by former Home Secretary and MP for Norwich South, Charles Clarke. Part of the City of Literature programme at Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2016.

Hollie McNish: Nobody Told Me - NNF16

Warning: some explicit language Acclaimed UK poet and YouTube sensation Hollie McNish returns to Norwich following her sell-out performance last year. Nobody Told Me is an honest and humorous reflection on Hollie’s journey before, during and after pregnancy. Expect hard-hitting and inspiring poems on sex, pregnancy, gender, commercialisation and parenthood. Her ability to add up the minutiae of everyday experience in to something close to a social movement gives her poetry its unique power, the velvet glove of her humour masking the iron fist of a call for change. Q&A with Lora Stimson follows. Part of the City of Literature programme at Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2016.