Jeanette Winterson in conversation with Audrey Niffenegger: Manchester Literature Festival at Martin Harris Centre, October 13th, reviewed by Lauren Hill
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Tonight\u2019s event, held at the Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, was a discussion between acclaimed novelist Jeanette Winterson (author of such works as Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit \u2013 1985 \u2013 and Sexing the Cherry \u2013 1989) and Audrey Niffenegger. As an avid fan of Niffenegger\u2019s novels, I was extremely excited about the opportunity to hear her speak on her inspirations and creative process, while less-than-secretly harbouring hopes for a snippet of novel number three (alas…).<\/p>\n
Niffenegger is best known as the mastermind behind the 2003 bestseller, The Time Traveler\u2019s Wife<\/i>, in which she explores the concept of a woman whose time runs linear, and who perpetually waits for her love to return from his time travelling exploits. Less well known is the 2009 novel, Her Fearful Symmetry<\/i>, set against the backdrop of London\u2019s Highgate Cemetery. Many, however, are unaware that Audrey\u2019s work began with illustrated books and graphic novels, including The Three Incestuous Sisters<\/i> (2005); The Night Bookmobile<\/i>(2010), which was originally serialised in The Guardian; and Niffenegger\u2019s 2013 offering, The Raven Girl<\/i>.<\/p>\n
The discussion kicked off with an introduction by the Centre for New Writing\u2019s own Geoff Ryman, who described Her Fearful Symmetry as \u201cdelicious\u201d, and Niffenegger\u2019s style in general as \u201cfantastical, but not fantasy\u201d. Personally, I don\u2019t think there could be a better summary of Audrey\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
Walking onto the stage, Jeanette and Audrey were greeted by a round of applause, which I\u2019ve yet to see at another Manchester Literature Festival event. This, coupled with the palpable buzz in the surprisingly mixed crowd (which I would liken to an over-eager book club, despite Niffenegger\u2019s aversion to visiting them), speaks volumes about Audrey\u2019s reputation as a spectacularly gifted author.<\/p>\n
What made tonight\u2019s event so interesting was the way in which Jeanette and Audrey complimented each other. Humour bounced back and forth between the pair almost seamlessly, raising many a laugh from the audience while discussing topics such as the pair of skeletons which stand at either side of Audrey\u2019s drawing table (Fondly known as Cecil and Nigel), and Audrey\u2019s initial distaste for E-books (\u201cWhat is this E-book thing? I do not like<\/i> it!\u201d), and later conversion to them.<\/p>\n
Also touched upon were Niffenegger\u2019s love of 19th<\/sup> century literature, and a feeling that she belongs in another time to our own. The greatest quote of the night came when Jeanette asked Audrey to define creativity, and received the reply: \u201cFreedom. Creativity is the ability to do what you want to do, what you need to do. It is intellectual boundlessness. Everyone is creative.\u201d<\/p>\n Well said, Audrey. I thoroughly enjoyed this event, and look forward to future opportunities to hear Niffenegger speak about her work. As for fellow fans, I discovered that Audrey has committed to a date for the release of a sequel to The Time Traveler\u2019s Wife. 2018 seems an age away right now, but considering the skill which seeps from every page of her novels, Audrey is not far wrong to call it \u2018right around the corner\u2019.<\/p>\n Lauren Hill<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jeanette Winterson in conversation with Audrey Niffenegger: Manchester Literature Festival at Martin Harris Centre, October 13th, reviewed by Lauren Hill Tonight\u2019s event, held at the Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, was a discussion between acclaimed novelist Jeanette Winterson (author of such works as Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit \u2013 1985 \u2013 and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[16,283],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n