As part of our Big Book Festival, join ELLE for an exclusive panel talk and workshop to help fire your literary ambitions. The past year has seen some of the most exciting female literary debuts, whose voices are being celebrated far and wide – in bookshops, on social media and on the pages of ELLE. And while the publishing world can feel mysterious to those not in it, this event will be a link between aspiring writers and those in the know.

Come and get advice from debut author Sharlene Teo, who was the first recipient of the Deborah Rogers Writers’ Award for her debut novel, Ponti. Hear her talk about her writing process, how she brought her characters to life and find out how she got published. Joining Sharlene, is Zing Tsjeng the UK editor of Vice’s women-focused channel Broadly, and the author of not one but four books this year under the series title Forgotten Women.

Joining Sharlene and Zing on the panel will be Emma Paterson, literary agent at Rogers, Coleridge & White and editor at Faber & Faber Emmie Francis. Emma’s clients include some of the most talked-about debut writers right now, including author of the modern career guide Little Black Book Otegha Uwagba and the much-lauded author of The New Yorker short story Cat Person, Kristen Roupenian. Emmie edits both literary fiction and non-fiction, and has worked on books by Chris Power, Sally Rooney and Leïla Slimani.

As well as an in-depth panel discussion, each audience member will take part in a short interactive workshop led by the panel.

So if you want to know more about being a writer and getting your book on the shelves, or maybe you’re a budding publisher and want to know more about the industry, come and hear how to take the next step.

When

Saturday 9th June

Where

Ham Yard Hotel, 1 Ham yard, Soho, W1D 7DT

Timings

3:30pm to 5:00pm

Price

£25, including booking fee

Enjoy a welcome drink and an exclusive ELLE goodie bag.

To book your tickets, click HERE.

To see the full Big Book Festival Programme, visit: hearstlive.co.uk