Line-up revealed for publisher-run festival

06.02.14 | Sarah Shaffi - The Booksller

Philippa Gregory is among the authors appearing at the second First Fictions literary festival, organised by independent publisher Myriad Editions and the University of Sussex.

The biennial festival offers an “opportunity for new writers and established authors to come together with readers, academics and literary professionals, to debate and explore the most exciting developments in fiction and the publishing world”.
Gregory will be one of three keynote speakers introduced by festival directors Peter Boxall, Professor of English at the University of Sussex, and Candida Lacey, publisher and m.d. of Brighton-based Myriad Editions.

The other two keynote speakers will be poet and short story writer Jackie Kay, author of The Adoption Papers (Bloodaxe Books Ltd), and screenwriter William Nicholson, who wrote the screenplay for Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom and whose books include The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life (Quercus).

Other authors appearing at the festival, which takes place from 11th April to 13th April, include Man Booker Prize-longlisted novelist Alison MacLeod.

Panel sessions include crime writing, graphic storytelling and the future of the novel.
As well as the First Fictions festival, Myriad Editions is also running the 2014 First Fictions First Graphic Novel Competition.

The biennial competition, which will be judged by novelist Meg Rosoff among others, provides opportunities for cartoonists, writers and artists who have not previously published a full-length graphic work. The winner will be announced in May.