Novelist, journalist and television personality Will Self will open this year’s Marlborough LitFest, organisers have confirmed.
Self will be this year’s Golding Speaker, talking about his latest novel, Phone – due out later this year – on Friday, September 29 at Marlborough Town Hall.
The LitFest hosts an annual Golding Speaker to highlight Marlborough’s long connection with the Nobel Laureate and Booker Prize winner, William Golding, at an event sponsored by the William Golding estate.
Self is the author of ten novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas, and five collections of non-fiction writing.
His 2002 novel, Dorian was longlisted for the Booker Prize, and his novel Umbrella was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.
His fiction is predominantly set within his home city of London, and his subject matter often includes mental illness, illegal drugs, and psychiatry.
Self is a well known face, having regularly appeared on Have I Got News for You and as a team captain on Shooting Stars. He is also a frequent guest on Newsnight and Question Time, and appears on BBC Radio 4.
He is a columnist in publications as varied as The Guardian, the New Statesman, and Playboy.
Festival chairman Jan Williamson said: “We are very excited that Will Self has agreed to be the Golding speaker for 2017. He’s been described as ‘the most daring and delightful novelist of his generation’.
“It’s a thrill that he’ll be here to open this year’s Marlborough LitFest.”
Meanwhile, festival fans are in for an early treat with the introduction of a summer event outside of the main festival weekend.
A Nature Writing Day will be held on Saturday, June 3 to celebrate the wealth of nature writing in the UK.
Hosted at The White Horse Bookshop in Marlborough in association with Brewin Dolphin, speakers will include garden designer, Rosie Hardy, as well as the winner of the Richard Jefferies Society Writers’ Prize for outstanding nature writing.