Two Book Events This Week

This week, the Bailey's Women's Prize for fiction announces their winner so there were two related events that I was able to see at SouthBank.

The first was called Your First Novel - a panel discussion between an agent, an editor and a few authors about getting published.  I think everyone there was an aspiring author taking copious notes.  I just went because I wanted to see Sarah Waters (The Little Stranger) and Charlotte Mendelson (author of Almost English and an editor). 

 Sarah Waters is the short haired blond at the far end of the table.  I loved The Little Stranger but of course was completely tongue tied once I got in front of her.

 Charlotte is in the foreground - she was so entertaining that I promptly bought the book although I'm not sure where it falls in my current To Be Read stack.

 The following night was the prize shortlist reading.

 It's probably wrong to say this but I was super excited when I got the email that Donna Tartt (The Goldfinch) couldn't attend and her reading would be done by….actor Charles Dance!!  (Game of Thrones!!  Bleak House!! Etc Etc….) This explains why there is a man on the women's shortlist panel.

 Very hard to get a good shot with my phone considering we weren't supposed to take pictures.

 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was in a fabulous dress but I didn't get a shot of her standing up.  I just finished Americanah (which I really enjoyed).  Next to her on the left is Hanna Kent (Burial Rites).

The other authors were Jhumpa Lahiri, Audrey Magee (whose book I'm now very interested in - The Undertaking) and Eimear McBride (the author I was least interested in and who turned out to win - go figure!!)  

Usually I would have pushed and shoved my way to the signing line but this was Tuesday night and I needed to get back to the Victoria for the quiz.  Did I mention that we WON the quiz?  Oh, yes, I guess I wrote that yesterday.  Well, I'm saying it again.  It was well worth the signature sacrifice to beat Buffet.  For the record, I don't even know who Buffet is or what they look like as they always sit on the other side of the pub.  But I enjoyed beating them none the less.