Cultural Institute – Literary Salon Series

Wednesday 19th October 2022 | 7pm – 8pm | Taliesin Centre

‘Connective Tissue’
Jane Fraser in conversation with Alan Bilton

This collection of short fiction aims to define the sometimes indefinable and to give voice to those struggling to make sense of what life throws at them. The stories are tragic and comi-tragic, but all reveal the strength and complexity of the human spirit.

Jane Fraser
Jane Fraser is an award-winning fiction writer, based in the Gower peninsula, south Wales. Her debut novel Advent, published by Honno (2021), won the 2022 Society of Authors’ Paul Torday Memorial Prize. Her first collection of short fiction, The South Westerlies, was published by Salt (2019) and her second collection from Salt, Connective Tissue, is forthcoming in October 2022.

REGISTER HERE:
https://bit.ly/connectivetissue2022

Alan Bilton will be talking with Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer and Georgina Godwin about the idea of The Great European Novel at the Cheltenham Literary Festival on Wednesday 12th October 12-1 @CheltLitFest #cheltlitfest @ABiltonAuthor

Why live one life, when you could live a thousand? Sol works for a San Diego start-up that traffics in the underground memory trade—harvesting cherished memories from donors in Mexico and implanting them in Americans. Sol’s newest client is Mr. Bray—old, rich, well-connected, blind. Mr. Bray has heard rumors of a mysterious graveyard in Tijuana where miracles are said to occur. He has tracked down a young librarian who knows the graveyard—Nora Rincón—but its location is buried in a childhood memory. Sol’s task is simple—find Nora, build rapport, extract her memory. His reward: $100,000. But when Sol befriends Nora, he begins to understand who Mr. Bray is, what he wants, and what he is capable of—and realizes it might be too late to go back on their agreement…

American novelist, poet and essayist Patricia Lockwood, the winner of the £20,000 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2022 with her debut novel, No One Is Talking About This. A woman known for her viral social media posts travels the world speaking to her adoring fans, her entire existence revolving around the internet – or what she terms ‘the portal'. Who are we serving, the portal asks itself. Are we all just going to keep doing this until we die? Suddenly, two texts from her mother appear: "Something has gone wrong" and "How soon can you get here?" As real life and the portal collide, she confronts a world that seems to contain both an abundance of goodness, empathy and justice, and evidence that proves the opposite. This is a love letter to the infinite scroll and a meditation on love, language and human connection.

Awarded for the best published literary work in the English language, written by an author aged 39 or under, the Prize celebrates the international world of fiction in all its forms including poetry, novels, short stories and drama. The prize is named after the Swansea-born writer, Dylan Thomas, and celebrates his 39 years of creativity and productivity – one of the most influential, internationally renowned writers of the mid-20th century. Join us to celebrate the 2022 winner – announced on 12 May. Alan Bilton is an author and member of the 2022 judging panel.

Patricia Lockwood will be appearing via video-link from her home in the USA.

Painting the Beauty Queens Orange

@ABiltonAuthor will be in conversation with contributors @carolyn80815287 and Kate Cleaver, alongside editor @Rebecca_Writer, discussing 'Painting the Beauty Queens Orange' (@Honno), a new anthology exploring women's lives in the 1970s.

Wednesday 2nd February, Swansea University, Taliesin Annexe, 1-2pm.

REGISTER HERE: https://bit.ly/paintingbeautyqueens

Michael Stein reviews The End of The Yellow House in the New Welsh Review

This "at-times brutal, at-times comic, at-times surreal but always gripping novel ... is very far from conforming to the rules of the mystery novel"
newwelshreview.com

Hannah's Bookshelf

@ABiltonAuthor will be talking to @BookshelfHannah on 'Hannah's Bookshelf' on North Manchester FM, on Saturday 18th September 2-4. If you're not fortunate enough to live in Greater Manchester, you can still listen live at https://hannahkate.net/north-manchester-fm-hannahs-bookshelf-saturday-18-september-2-4pm/

Alan Bilton takes a look at the curious 1978 horror/disaster/satire, ‘The Medusa Touch', as part of the series on the films of Richard Burton at https://www.walesartsreview.org/becoming-richard-burton-the-medusa-touch/

Jon Gower reviews The End of The Yellow House in Nation Cymru

Alan Bilton will be talking to Jane Fraser about her wonderful new historical novel, Advent, in the latest 'Literary Salon' from the Cultural Institute at Swansea University. It takes place on Thursday 11th February 7-8 via zoom - https://bit.ly/adventfraser

Register here: http://bit.ly/chaileyjem to join Carole Hailey discussing her novel The Book of Jem - a ‘sublime tale that explores theology with profundity and black humour’ with @ABiltonAuthor as part of @Culture_SwanUni ‘s literary salon series.