Literary Lunch

Rob Cowen

We welcome Rob back again this year after his fascinating talk 2 years ago about his book Common Ground. He also gave us a taster reading from the book he had started writing, The North Road which was published to great acclaim earlier this year. In it, Rob follows the A1 or Great North Road over 400 miles from beginning to end on a journey through history, place, people and time. Rob is an award-winning writer, hailed as one of the UK’s most original voices on nature, place and people. Common Ground was his second book and voted one of the nation’s favourite nature books of all time in a BBC poll. His follow-up, The Heeding, was the best-selling debut book of poetry in 2021. We are delighted to welcome him back to our Literary Lunch and to hear more about The North Road

Stephen May

Stephen is a novelist, playwright and TV writer. He is the author of 6 novels, including Life! Death! Prizes! which was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and the Guardian Not the Booker Prize. His seventh and latest novel, Green Ink is set in the 1920s and the era of Lloyd-George. It imagines the disappearance of Victor Grayson – disgraced socialist firebrand, bisexual hedonist and a man who knew too much. His disappearance is one of British politics’ most beguiling mysteries. Part political thriller, part literary mystery, Green Ink asks what happened to Victor Grayson – but also what might still be happening today. Stephen is also an experienced Creative Writing teacher and the author of Write A Novel and Get It Published.

Join us for lunch* - Click here to see menu (please provide your menu choice prior to the event) - and an insight into the secrets of successful writing. Books by both authors will be available to buy at the bookstall with thanks to Kemps Bookshop. Both authors will be signing their books after lunch.

*Price includes meal