Stranger Than...

Second Autumn podcast from Nigel Slater.

Part one of two Autumn podcasts from Nigel Slater.

Second Spring podcast from Nigel Slater.

Part one of two Spring podcasts from Nigel Slater.

What are the differences in approaching the personal memoir and the political biography? Jung Chang was catapulted to international fame with her autobiography Wild Swans, first published in 1991. Since then, she has gone on to write a bestselling political biography Mao. Jung Chang will talk about her path to becoming a writer, and how Wild Swans allowed her to write about one of the world’s most mysterious leaders.

How do you teach someone to write non-fiction? Join us for a unique chance to hear Kathryn Hughes and Richard Holmes, both Professors at of the Life Writing Course at UEA, discuss the process of writing creative biography. Both Kathryn and Richard are successful biographers and renowned experts in their field. They are joined by two UEA graduates, Leonora Klein whose first book, a biography of Albert Pierrepoint was published in October 2006 and Druin Burch whose biography of surgeon Astley Cooper has just been published.

Many of the great narrative non-fiction books have been translated from the book to the screen. What makes a good film adaptation and how does a producer identify and adapt a book for the screen? Alexander Masters and Kathryn Hughes have been heavily involved in adapting their biographies, respectively Stuart and The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs Beeton for television. Simon Singh won a BAFTA for his documentary on Fermat’s Last Theorem, which he followed up with his book on the same subject. They are joined by Pippa Harris of Neal Street Productions, producer of Stuart.

What are the differences between writing fiction and non-fiction? Two authors who write in both genres will explore the different approaches to writing fiction and non-fiction. Hilary Mantel is one of our finest novelists and also the author of a critically acclaimed memoir Giving Up the Ghost. Bella Bathurst has written brilliant historical non-fiction as well as a fascinating and chilling novel. The event is chaired by Danuta Kean, freelance arts journalist and publishing commentator.

Xandra Bingley, Antonia Quirke & Salena Godden. What drives a writer to write an autobiography? What makes a memoir unique? And what is it about them that so appeals to publishers and readers? Three outstanding memoirists talk about their very different experiences of writing about their own lives. They are joined by Arabella Pike, Publishing Director of Harper Press and the event is chaired by Observer interviewer and writer Rachel Cooke.