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Queen's Park Book Festival: That Difficult First Novel at Queen's Park Community Tent

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Time 13:30
Date 30/06/19
Price Free

Local writers Deirdre Shanahan & Yvonne Bailey-Smith reveal the secrets of writing & talk about their first novels, both published this year, in conversation with novelist & playwright Penny Faith.

Queen’s Park local Yvonne Bailey-Smith has lived in North West London for 45 years. For the past 20 years she has been a practicing psychotherapist working with children, young people and couples. A mother of three and grandmother of four, she has been writing for many years. Her short story based on her early childhood experiences in Jamaica was recently published in the New Daughters of Africa anthology and her forthcoming novel The Day I Fell Off My Island is due to be published by Myriad later this year.

Deirdre Shanahan has published stories in the UK and Ireland in journals including ‘ The Massachusetts Review’ and ‘The Southern Review’, as well as in anthologies including ‘The Phoenix Book of Irish Short Stories’, ‘New Writing’ from Vintage and ‘The Best of British Short Stories 2017’.  She won the international Wasafiri Fiction Award for 2018. Her new novel ‘Caravan of the Lost and the Left Behind’ is published in May this year by award-winning independent publisher Bluemoose Books. The recipient of awards from the Society of Authors and Arts Council England, she lives in North West London.

Twice published novelist, Hello, Mr Magpie (Flame 1999) and From A Past Life (Flame 2000), Penelope Faith spent many years teaching creative writing and can proudly include published writers among her past pupils. More recently she has written plays for The Pensive Federation, KimBo Theatre and Made Up Theatre and audio drama for Big Finish.

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