About WriteBack: An Evening of Writers Off Duty
Join us for the much-anticipated return of this exploratory events series which invites writers to speak on topics of their own choosing. Whether it's research that didn't find a home in their latest book, themes they’ve never been able to fully explore, or personal passions away from writing, this series, curated by poet Anthony Anaxagorou and producer Tom MacAndrew, promises lively discussions following up on writers’ unexpected preoccupations and passions.
Each writer talks briefly on a topic of their choice, which is followed by a lively conversational segment where the writers discuss each other’s respective topics.
On 25 September the event features the combined wild talents of Eliza Clark, whose horror-adjacent novels include the pitch black comedy sensation Boy Parts; renowned author and educator Musa Okwonga, and celebrated novelist Olivia Sudjic.
On 20 November we will be back with a different panel of speakers, to be announced soon, and our regular host is the poet Helen Mort.
Followed by a book signing.
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About the speakers on 25 September
Eliza Clark is the author of Boy Parts (2020) and Penance (2023) and the short story collection She’s Always Hungry (2024). In 2020 Boy Parts was Blackwells Fiction Book of the Year, and in 2022 Eliza was chosen as a finalist for the Women’s Prize Future Award for writers under 35. She was named one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists in 2023. She also writes for film and television. A stage adaptation of Boy Parts premiered at Soho Theatre in October 2023.
Musa Okwonga is an award-winning author whose work explores culture, politics and society. He studied law at St. John’s College, University of Oxford, where he is now an Honorary Fellow. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he has written eight books. The co-host of the Stadio football podcast, his recent publications include One of Them: An Eton College Memoir (2021), In The End, It Was All About Love (2021), and Striking Out (co-authored with Ian Wright), (2021), winner of the 2022 Sunday Times Children’s Sports Book of the Year Award. He lives in Berlin.
Olivia Sudjic was named one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists in 2023. Her debut novel, Sympathy was a finalist for the Salerno European Book Award and Collyer Bristow Prize in 2017. Exposure — a personal exploration of art, feminism and anxiety in the digital age — was named an Irish Times and White Review Book of the Year for 2018. Her second novel, Asylum Road, was shortlisted for the Encore Award and the Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize in 2021.
Helen Mort writes poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Her latest collection The Illustrated Woman (Chatto & Windus, 2022) was shortlisted for the Forward Prize. Her memoir A Line Above The Sky won the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature and the Grand Prize in Banff, Canada. She is Professor of Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
About the speakers on 20 November
Speakers to be announced
Venue and bar opening times
This is an in-person only event in the British Library Knowledge Centre.
The Knowledge Centre and bar open from 18.00.
Please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event. If you have specific access requirements please email customer@bl.uk
Concessions
There are a range of concessions available. These include discounts for British Library Members, Young Persons (16–25s), and visitors on Universal/Pension Credit and free entry for carers.
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