Zadie Smith in Conversation

THIS EVENT IS FULLY BOOKED

Manchester Literature Festival are thrilled to welcome back award-winning writer Zadie Smith. Named after a Depression-era Fred Astaire movie, her long-awaited new novel, Swing Time, is a compelling and deeply moving tale of friendship, identity, race, belonging, dancing and music. Moving from North-West London to West Africa, it focuses on two girls who dream of being dancers. Spanning their close but complicated friendship from their childhoods to their early twenties, it's a vivid and fluid exploration of rhythm, time, talent, black bodies and black music.

One of Britain's most distinctive authors, Zadie Smith first made her mark on the literary world aged 24 when she published her debut novel White Teeth. Twice listed as one of Granta's Best Young British Novelists, she has published three other novels (The Autograph Man, On Beauty and NW) the novella The Embassy of Cambodia and a collection of essays, Changing My Mind.

Come and see Zadie in conversation about her characters, her stories, her thoughts on popular culture and her immensely rewarding new novel, Swing Time. Hosted by Katie Popperwell.