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Critically acclaimed authors appearing at the York Festival of Ideas

John Lanchester and Jennifer Johnston are leading the charge of critically acclaimed authors appearing at the York Festival of Ideas. All free tickets are downloadable on www.yorkfestivalofideas.com/tickets

Capital - John Lanchester in interview with Will Gompertz

On 28th June at 7.15pm at Room P/X001, Physics at the University of York Exhibition Centre, we are honoured to have with us one of the UK’s finest contemporary writers, John Lanchester. Coming straight from a US book tour, John will be in conversation with the BBC Arts Editor, Will Gompertz. Lanchester’s new blockbuster fictionalised account of the financial crash, ‘Capital’, is generating worldwide acclaim and comes hot on the heels of his best-selling ‘Whoops’ the fact based account of the financial crash. Capital was hailed by Claire Tomalin in the Observer as a "big, fat London novel’ writing with a touch of Mayhew and Dickens in its style. She concludes, “He tells a good story. He gives you a lot to think about. This is an intelligent and entertaining account of our grubby, uncertain,fragmented London society that has almost replaced religion with shopping. Read it.”

Further details on John Lanchester in interview with Will Gompertz

Jennifer Johnston

On 29th June at 7.30pm, in the Bowland Theatre at the Berrick Saul building, the festival welcomes one of the finest Anglo-Irish writers, Jennifer Johnston will make a rare public appearance to reflect on her long and incredibly distinguished career. Jennifer’s latest novel, Shadowstory, published earlier this year, has been critically acclaimed by the Independent amongst many others, who described it as a book with ‘many pleasures to offer a reader: elegance of style, sureness of touch, and above all the author's radiant descriptive gift.’ Jennifer will give a reading from her novel and will participate in an interview on her life and work with Professor Hugh Haughton.

Jennifer Johnston's first published novel was The Captains and the Kings(1972). Since then, she has published many more novels, including Shadows on our Skin (1977),which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction, and The Old Jest (1979), set in the War of Independence and winning the 1979 Whitbread Novel Award. The Old Jest was later filmed as The Dawning, starring Anthony Hopkins. Other novels include: How Many Miles to Babylon? (1974), set in World War I, and later adapted for stage; The Invisible Worm (1991), dealing with the subject of sexual abuse, and shortlisted for the Daily Express Best Book of the Year Award; The Gingerbread Woman(2000), about a widower who has lost his wife and child to terrorists; This Is Not a Novel(2002); Grace and Truth (2005); and most recently, Foolish Mortals (2007). Jennifer Johnston also writes plays. These have included The Nightingale and Not the Lark(1980), and O Ananias, Azarias and Misael (first published in Best Radio Plays of 1989,1990). She lives in County Derry and her novels have been published in many countries.

Further details about Jennifer Johnston