Sebastian Barry in Conversation with Kit de Waal

Manchester Literature Festival is delighted to welcome Sebastian Barry back to Manchester to discuss his beautifully crafted new novel, Old God’s Time. Recently retired policeman Tom Kettle is settling into the quiet of his new home, a Victorian castle overlooking the Irish Sea. For months he has barely seen a soul, catching only glimpses of his eccentric landlord and a nervous young mother who has moved in next door. But when two former colleagues turn up at his door with questions about a decades-old case, he finds himself pulled into the darkest currents of his past.

One of Ireland’s finest storytellers, Sebastian Barry is the author of Days Without End, A Thousand Moons, A Long Long Way and The Secret Scripture. The Laureate for Irish Fiction from 2018-2021, Sebastian is also twice winner of the Walter Scott Prize and the Costa Book of the Year. He will discuss his extraordinary writing and his powerful new tale of memory, love, mystery and reckoning with host Kit de Waal. Kit is the author of the novels My Name is Leon and The Trick to Time and the memoir Without Warning and Only Sometimes.

“Old God’s Time is a portrait of a good man facing the failings of his past. It is wonderfully alive because Barry is so attuned to the human condition, to the poetry in ordinary lives. Full of love and grief and heartache, this is an unforgettable novel from one of our finest writers.” Douglas Stuart