20 years ago, Precious Ramotswe established The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in Gabarone, Botswana. The subsequent novels in Alexander McCall Smith’s series became a literary phenomenon, and have since been translated into 46 different languages. A prolific and much-loved writer, Alexander has written and contributed to over 100 books, and his series, 44 Scotland […]

One of Iran’s leading poets, Azita Ghahreman’s work is lyrical and intimate, addressing themes of loss, exile and female desire, as well as the changing face of her country. Her latest collection, Negative of a Group Photograph, brings together three decades of poems brought to life in English by the poet Maura Dooley, working in […]

The tale of Achilles and the Trojan War has been told many times, but what about the stories of the women? In The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker imagines The Iliad from the perspective of Briseis, the former queen awarded to Achilles as a prize of war. Drawing together the feminist focus of her […]

You have ten minutes. Ten minutes to go anywhere you like, with anyone, in any time - the past, the future, in this world, out of this world - where would you go? Open a book and read yourself there, pick up a pen and write yourself away. Stay close to home, enter a different dimension, go […]

Q: What do an American pilot who’s crashed in the desert, a teenager full of money-making schemes, and a dog suffering through a very bad day have in common? A: They all narrate the new, hilariously funny novel, Red Birds, by acclaimed author Mohammed Hanif (A Case of Exploding Mangoes). Through the inhabitants of the […]

Come and celebrate the launch of three of the most anticipated and emotionally charged poetry books of the year. Carol Ann Duffy’s final collection as Poet Laureate, Sincerity, is a frank, disarming and deeply moving exploration of loss and remembrance in their many forms. Carol Ann has received numerous awards for her candid and heartfelt […]

You have to see it to be it, so the saying goes. But Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené were struggling to find awe-inspiring, amazing and relatable black British female role models, because society rarely permits these women to be seen and heard. To remedy this, they wrote Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible, […]

What does it mean to be a man and how is that shaped by adolescence? In his memoir, The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness, Graham Caveney details his upbringing as a working-class boy in Accrington. His world is changed by the discovery of literature, music and his acceptance to the local Catholic grammar school. At […]

In 1961, Wally Funk was one of the Mercury 13, the first group of American pilots to pass the ‘Woman in Space’ programme. Her scores in the rigorous mental and physical tests beat many of the male candidates, including John Glenn, the first American to go into orbit. But just one week before Wally was […]

A firm Festival favourite, Patrick Gale is the author of eighteen novels, including the Richard and Judy bestseller Notes from an Exhibition, Rough Music and the Costa-shortlisted A Place Called Winter. His new novel, Take Nothing With You, tells the story of Eustace as he looks back at the childhood cello lessons that transformed his […]

Irish women saw a historic victory for their reproductive rights with the repeal of the Eighth Amendment in May 2018. The campaign that preceded it was a grassroots movement led by Irish feminists, who opened up a national conversation by sharing their own stories around abortion. Journalist and editor Una Mullally collected some of the […]

MLF is delighted to welcome one of America’s most exciting and innovative poets, Terrance Hayes – winner of the 2010 National Book Award, and a recipient of a MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’. Terrance will be performing work from his new collection, American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin. Written during the first 200 days of […]

In this evening session Professor Adams Bodomo, Head of African Studies at the University of Vienna, discusses Ghana’s contemporary position in global politics and international relations.  Starting with a brief history of Ghana since its establishment as a new nation in 1957, Professor Bodomo will outline the country’s socio-political, socio-economic, and socio-cultural context before focusing […]

Join two New York Times bestselling authors at this exclusive event when they will be talking about their long awaited collaborative book, What If It’s Us - a stunning new novel about two boys who can’t decide if the universe is pushing them together or pulling them apart. The event will be chaired by Youtube […]