Kamila Shamsie, Jeanette Winterson

Join two of our most incisive practitioners of fiction for a conversation about writing narratives that reflect and explore current affairs.

A contemporary retelling of Sophocles’ Antigone, Kamila Shamsie’s new novel Home Fire follows the story of Isma, studying in America after raising her twin siblings. A powerful tale of salvation, politics and enmity, two families’ fates intertwine amid rising danger, jihad and political unrest.

Peter Carey said: ‘it left me awestruck, on the edge of my chair, filled with admiration for her courage and ambition.’ Kamila is the author of six novels, including Burnt Shadows (shortlisted for the Orange Prize) and A God in Every Stone (shortlisted for the Baileys Prize), and was selected by Granta as a Best Young British Novelist in 2013.

She grew up in Karachi and now lives in London, and lectures at The University of Manchester’s Centre for New Writing. She will be in conversation with the award-winning and prolific author Jeanette Winterson, Professor of Creative Writing at The University of Manchester.