Moderated by Shane Coleman.
Two acclaimed authors come together to discuss writing, memory, love, loss, and the powerful role of fiction in shaping how we see the world.
Kit de Waal, born to an Irish mother and Caribbean father, was brought up among the Irish community of Birmingham in the 1960s and 70s. Her debut novel My Name Is Leon was an international bestseller, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the year Award for 2017. In 2022 it was adapted for television by the BBC. It is now on the GCSE curriculum for schools.
Her new novel The Best Of Everything was released in April 2025
Photo by Paul Crowther
Fíona Scarlett’s debut novel Boys Don’t Cry was published by Faber & Faber in April 2021 and was an instant Irish Times Bestseller. It was shortlisted for Newcomer of the Year in the Irish Book Awards, and the Kate O’Brien first novel award. Her second novel, May All Your Skies Be Blue, was published by Faber & Faber in January 2025. Fíona holds an MLitt in creative writing with distinction from the University of Glasgow and lectures in creative writing at the University of Limerick. From Dublin, she now lives in Co. Kildare with her husband and two children
