~ Hanif Kureishi ~
~ Robin Ince’s Book Club with Kevin Eldon, Jo Neary, Robyn Hitchcock,
Josie Long & Gavin Osborn ~
~ Julie Burchill and Garry Mulholland ~
~ The Mark Thomas Community Pub Quiz ~
~ Kristin Hersh ~ Jim Bob ~ Olly Hicks ~
~ 5x15: with Zoe Margolis and Tristram Stuart ~
The best literary event of the summer, Latitude’s Literary Arena celebrates the written word in all its fabulous glory. For both book worms and casual readers, the best authors and special guests will all congregate under the canopy of the arena and take you on a journey to the far reaches of your imagination. Joining Sebastian Faulks, Bret Easton Ellis, Adam Foulds and Jon Ronson, to name but a few, are:
Oscar nominated and Whitbread Prize winner Hanif Kureishi will be reading from his first novel, ‘The Buddha of Suburbia’ with musical accompaniment from Lola Perrin. The novel is a tour de force of comic invention, a bizarre, often hilarious and totally original picture of the life of a young Pakistani growing up in 1970s Britain. Karim lives with his Mum and Dad in a suburb of south London and dreams of making his escape to the bright lights of the big city. But his father is no ordinary Dad, he is 'the buddha of suburbia', a strange and compelling figure whose powers of meditation hold a circle of would-be mystics spellbound with the fascinations of the East. Among his disciples is the glamorous and ambitious Eva, and when 'the buddha of suburbia' runs off with her to a crumbling flat in Barons Court, Karim's life becomes changed in ways that even he had never dreamed of. ‘The Buddha of Surburbia’ was dramatised by the BBC in 1993. Kureishi has been awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and is the prolific author of novels, story collections, plays, screenplays and essay collections.
Latitude’s literary regular and house master of the written word, Robin Ince reprises the Book Club for Latitude’s Literary Arena, with specially created shows featuring incredible guests from the worlds of comedy, literature and science. A comic genius Robin succeeds in bringing both good and bad books to life, dissecting the themes, narratives and storytelling with hilarious observations and analysis. Joining Robin Ince this year are: the supremely versatile actor and comic Kevin Eldon whose instantly recognisable wide eyed, malleable and quizzical face has been a feature on shows such as Brass Eye, Big Train, I’m Alan Partridge and Jam; Brighton-based British comic, writer and actress Jo Neary whose solo, character-based stage shows won her a Perrier Best Newcomer Award nomination in 2004; singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock who has risen to legendary cult status with his surreal and comedic songs of English eccentrics and melancholy depictions of everyday life; British comic and winner of the Best Newcomer in the if.comeddies Awards for her solo Edinburgh debut, Josie Long will be dissecting books in between her show in the Comedy Arena and finally, taking time out from his performance with Daniel Kitson on The Waterfront Stage, Gavin Osborn will bring his unique musical talent for funny yet heart-rending songs to these book readings with a difference.
Two of the nations most revered and feared writers and journalists join the Literary Arena bill. Julie Burchill and Garry Mulholland come together to share a wealth of stories, talk about their long and illustrious careers and of course share their opinions on anything and everything to do with popular culture.
Julie Burchill, 'the Queen of the Croucho Club' in the 80's and 90's made her name writing for the NME about the emerging punk movement. Since then her freelance work has led her to write candidly and often contentiously about politics, film, drugs, society, fashion and religion for publications including The Times, Guardian and Mail On Sunday. She is also a best-selling novelist with her 2004 lesbian-themed novel for teenagers ‘Sugar Rush’ made into a TV programme aired on Channel 4.
Author of the acclaimed ‘This Is Uncool, Fear Of Music’ and his most recent book ‘Popcorn’, Garry Mulholland is a leading writer on music and film. Contributing frequently to the Observer and Time Out, he is known for his witty and insightful reviews and enthusiasm for what is good rather than what is deemed fashionable. ‘Popcorn: Fifty Years Of Rock 'n' Roll movies’ delves into this strange world of rock 'n' roll films, from Blackboard Jungle to Quadrophenia, from 8 Mile to Abba: the Movie. Find a spot in the arena, get comfortable and listen to two literary legends deftly dissect, divulge, discuss and dismiss.
Sometimes there’s no finer way to spend an evening than pitching your knowledge of trivia against that of complete strangers in a truly competitive pub quiz. Delving deep into your memory banks to remember where those lyrics came from, which film won that Oscar and who did what in that year, funny man/political activist Mark Thomas will be hosting this Great British pastime with his very own Community Pub Quiz. Having just won £1200 compensation after being illegally stopped and searched by the Metropolitan Police at an anti-arms rally in 2007, Thomas is on a roll. Will you be a winner in Latitude’s Literary Arena?
Kristin Hersh is a songwriter, guitarist and the founder of seminal art-rock band, Throwing Muses. Over the course of her two-decade career as a musician, she has released over twenty critically acclaimed albums, including nine solo albums and three with her newest project, 50FootWave. In what is being called "a publishing first", Kristin is releasing her new album ‘Crooked’ as a book - an "album book" to be precise. The book contains art photos, lyrics and essays – all wrapped up in a hard-covered 60 pages, about the size of a standard paperback. Further, the ‘Crooked’ book includes access codes unlocking a media-rich online platform loaded with music and other interactive content. The publication date is June 11, 2010. This year will also see the publication by Atlantic Books of Kristin's memoir, ‘Paradoxical Undressing’. The story of a particularly intense and significant year in the life of a young woman. Be sure to make sure you see Kristin doing her reading in the Literary Arena, as well as seeing her perform at The Word Arena on Sunday.
Ex-Carter USM frontman and solo artist Jim Bob, famed for his clever, pun-tastic lyrics has turned his attention to novel writing and for this, his first major book he wonders; where do old pop stars go to die? His answer in ‘Storage Stories’ is they go to work in self-storage, where they meet interesting people and make new friends. Friends who look like French movie star Juliette Binoche and others who look like criminals and perform horrific surgery procedures on themselves. ‘Storage Stories’ is a darkly comic rollercoaster ride full of thrills and spills. A fictional autobiographical novel and collection of short stories told in words and pictures that, if nothing else, finally solves the mystery of what happened to all those long-forgotten boybands.
Record-breaking adventurer and local Suffolk boy Olly Hicks will be educating and entertaining the audience in the Literary arena with stories and pictures from his many expeditions which have take him far from the Sunrise coast. Hicks has almost done it all from cycling Land’s End to John o’ Groats at 17 to running the 150-mile Marathon des Sables at 21; from finishing fifth in the Yukon River Quest in 2004 (the world’s longest canoe race) to becoming the youngest person ever to row the Atlantic, taking 124 days in a second hand boat in 2005. Hicks has a reputation for succeeding where others have given up or been defeated by overwhelming odds and his tales at Latitude are bound to amuse, astonish and captivate everyone.
5x15 brings together five outstanding individuals to enlighten, entertain and inspire, as they tell the story behind their personal histories, most innovative ideas, grandest achievements, and deepest obsessions - all in just 15 minutes. This is non-fiction story telling at its best - completely unscripted and PowerPoint free. 5x15 launched earlier this year in London to rave reviews and packed out auditoriums and is the brain-child of Eleanor O’Keeffe, Rosie Boycott and Daisy Leitch. This is mind-expanding entertainment that gets you thinking about far-ranging topics from unusual perspectives. Without doubt those fifteen minutes will be informative, lively and packed full of thought-provoking sound. Confirmed so far are:
Speaking candidly about sex and women, Zoe Margolis is a Girl With A One Track Mind.
Based on her hugely popular sex blog, Abby Lee's ‘Girl With a One Track Mind’ was a publishing phenomenon. Unfortunately for Abby, her true identity was revealed shortly after publication and her private life - now public - was thrown into disarray. Suddenly all her friends, family and colleagues knew her most shockingly intimate secrets. In her follow up book she details how she coped once the whole world knew she was Britain's most famous sex diarist, and reveals her attempts to lead a satisfying sex life once more.
Tristram Stuart lifts the lid on the amount of produce that ends up in landfills around the world with is award-winning book, ‘Waste And The Global Food Scandal’. With shortages, volatile prices, environmental disasters and nearly one billion people hungry, the world has a food problem - or thinks it does. Combining front-line investigation with startling new data, Stuart’s work shows how the way we live now has created a global food crisis - and what we can do to fix it.
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