The Word Factory #11

A night of short story readings, conversation & wine

Soak up all the atmosphere of London’s most intimate literary event in the company of master storytellers. This month their tales will take you from the heart of Soho to the further reaches of the imagination. Relax, let your mind wander and don't forget to pass this email to your friends.

Saturday, 25th May

6-8pm at: The Society Club
12 Ingestre Place, Soho, W1F OJF

£10 on the door

Please RSVP to register your interest. Places are limited – see below for more details.

An RSVP puts your name on the door but turn up early to guarantee your place.

Helen Simpson

Helen Simpson is the author of five collections of stories, the most recent of which is In-Flight Entertainment. Last year Vintage Classics published A Bunch of Fives: Selected Stories, which included five stories from each of her five collections. She was chosen as the first Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year and as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists (1993), and has also received the Hawthornden Prize and the American E.M.Forster Award. She lives in London.

Ben Fountain

Ben Fountain is the author of Brief Encounters with Che Guevara. He has received the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Barnes & Noble Discover Award for Fiction, a Whiting Writers Award, an O. Henry Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, and two Texas Institute of Letters Short Story Awards, among other honours and awards. His fiction has been published in Harper’s, The Paris Review, Zoetrope: All-Story and Stories from the South: The Year's Best.

Roshi Fernando

Roshi Fernando was born and brought up in London and holds a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Wales, Swansea. In 2009 she was awarded the Impress Prize for New Writers, for her composite novel, Homesick a series of interlinked short stories about a community of Sri Lankan immigrants in London, published by Bloomsbury. In 2011 her story, The Fluorescent Jacket, was shortlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Private Bank short story award. She is currently working on a novel and a collection of short stories.

Anna Stothard

Anna Stothard is a novelist and travel writer. She has lived in London, Washington DC, Beijing and Los Angeles. Her first novel, Isabel and Rocco, was published in 2004, followed by The Pink Hotel in 2011, which was longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. The Pink Hotel has been translated all over the world and is being made into a film by Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin. Anna's latest book, The Art of Leaving, set in Soho about a girl obsessed by goodbyes and exits, is out now.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Following the success of our first writing masterclass with Michele Roberts and Adam Marek, look out for more to come from leading Word Factory authors and for details of our first “apprentice” scheme, aimed at mentoring two emerging writers for six months. Huge thanks to our first mentors, Alex Preston and Stella Duffy.

It's promising to be a hot summer: meet the brilliant Irish writers Kevin Barry, Mary Costello and Keith Ridgway on June 29th and Owen Sheers and friends on July 27th. In August, we'll take a break, returning with a bang in September with Julie Burchill and Suzanne Moore.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Further information – clock in & register at: www.thewordfactory.tv

Cathy Galvin

Word Factory host Cathy is a journalist and founded the Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award, now the biggest prize of its kind in the world.

If you love short stories, let us know what other events and readers you would like to see at The Word Factory. We are keen to provide an environment that brings people together and supports innovation and creativity. Let us know how you would like to be involved and we will keep you informed about exciting new initiatives

Get Involved!

The Society Club

Set in the heart of Soho, this unique bookshop, gallery and cafe is welcoming, elegant and just a little Bohemian. Enjoy rare first editions, the latest publications and some lovely surprises.

Web — thesocietyclubsoho.wordpress.com

Map — click here