Willy Vlautin

Manchester Literature Festival and the International Anthony Burgess Foundation are delighted to present a rare UK event with author and musician Willy Vlautin. The frontman of much loved indie band RICHMOND FONTAINE, Vlautin published his debut novel The Motel Life in 2005. His other novels include Northline (2007) and Lean on Pete (2010) and he prides himself on writing engaging stories about ‘ordinary people and the struggles they go through.’ His many fans include Donna Tartt, Sarah Hall and George Pelecanos and his writing has been compared to American greats Raymond Carver, John Steinbeck and Nelsen Algren. He will be reading and talking about his forthcoming novel The Free followed by a short acoustic set.

‘In The Free, Willy Vlautin gives us a portrait of American life that is so hard and so heart-breaking that it should be unbearable, but it isn’t. The straightforward beauty of Vlautin’s writing turns a story of struggle into indispensable reading. I couldn’t recommend it more highly.’ Ann Patchett