Patricia Duncker is the author of Hallucinating Foucault (winner of the Dillons First Fiction Award and the McKitterick Prize in 1996), The Deadly Space Between, James Miranda Barry and Miss Webster and Chérif (shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 2007). She has written two books of short fiction, Monsieur Shoushana's Lemon Trees (shortlisted for the Macmillan Silver Pen Award in 1997) and Seven Tales of Sex and Death, and a collection of essays on writing and contemporary literature, Writing on the Wall. In 2010 she published The Strange Case of the Composer and His Judge (shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award 2010 and the Green Carnation Prize 2011). Her most recent novel, the critically acclaimed Sophie and the Sibyl: A Victorian Romance (2015), was also shortlisted for the Green Carnation Award 2015.

‍ MAY 2025 

Bestsellers!

can they be good books?

Presteigne Festival. 10 May 2025.  3-4pm

Assembly Rooms, Presteigne, Wales LD8 2AD

Each with multiple books, glowing reviews and award nominations to their names, authors Michèle Roberts and Patricia Duncker discuss what makes a bestseller. Can it actually be a good book? Who gets to judge? What about bestsellers of the past? Michèle and Patricia jointly ran the famous creative writing course at the University of East Anglia and have talked and thought about books ever since. Join their conversation about reading and writing in a warm, welcoming atmosphere.

Tickets: £7

 

View Presteigne Festival website

Jenny Newman: In the Blood

Patricia recently interviewed novelist Jenny Newman on the release of her new novel In the BloodCheck out the reviews on Amazon.

 

Read the interview here (pdf)

Read a review on the Nation Cymru website

Afterlives of George Eliot

The most interesting and enjoyable French event this year was a chance to discuss Georges Letissier's new project on the Afterlives of George Eliot in Contemporary Writing. He presented a suggestive comparison, in the Eribia seminar series at the University of Caen, between Eliot's Silas Marner and Claire-Louise Bennett's Pond. Georges is a wonderful speaker, and while I can't reproduce the enjoyment of the seminar there is more to read in the new issue of Neo-Victorian Studies: George Eliot’s Private Lives and Public Persona: The Biofictional Afterlives of a “Master of Pretence” and Versatile Realist.

 

Georges Letissier (Nantes University, France)

 

View poster (pdf)

View article on the Neo-Victorian Studies website

All Rights Reserved. Patricia Duncker 2025