Life of Pi author joins UEA Live’s line-up of acclaimed and emerging writers
By: Communications
UEA Live returns this year with an engaging line-up of debut writers, emerging talent and seasoned authors.
The roster includes Yann Martel, the author of Booker prize-winning Life of Pi (which was adapted for the screen by Ang Lee and garnered four Oscars).
Tash Aw, an award-winning author and graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at UEA, will also be returning to campus.
As the home of creative writing, nestled within a UNESCO City of Literature, this literature festival has a legacy of inviting the best of British and international publishing to the Norwich campus.
With 2026 marking the National Year of Reading, this is a chance for attendees to immerse themselves in the world of words. These in-conversation events will allow audiences to discover the authors’ inspirations, creative processes and routes to publication – as well as the chance to get a book copy signed.
All events offer a concessionary price for UEA staff and students, whether you want to book an individual ticket or a season pass.
Image: Sanam Mahloudji (credit: Amaal Said), Francis Spufford (copyright: Antonio Olmos), Cecile Pin (credit: Ariane Lebon)
Find out more about the events and book your place via the UEA Live website.
Tuesday 27 January, 6.30pm, UEA
Polari Prize winner and author of Bellies, Nicola Dinan latest novel Disappoint Me explores millennial angst, trans panic, and the allure of domesticity.
In addition to winning the Polari First Book Prize, Dinan's debut novel, Bellies, was shortlisted for the Diverse Book Awards and Mo Siewcharran Prize, was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award, and was longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize and Brooklyn Public LibraryBook Prize.
Monday 9 February, 6.30pm, Dragon Hall
Debut novelist Sanam Mahloudji will appear at Dragon Hall to discuss The Persians. Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize 2025, this dark comedy explores an Iranian family’s status demise.
Mahloudji is the winner of a Pushcart Prize for her fiction and was nominated for a PEN/Robert J Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers.
Tuesday 24 February, 6.30pm, UEA
Celebrated for his versatile writing career, Francis Spufford will be in discussion about his thrilling new historical fantasy, Nonesuch.
His debut work of fiction was the historical novel Golden Hill, which won the Costa First Novel Award and the Desmond Elliott Prize. His second novel, Light Perpetual, was longlisted for the Booker Prize.
Tuesday 10 March, 6.30pm, UEA
UEA graduate Tash Aw returns to campus to discuss his latest Booker 2025 longlisted novel, The South – a radiant tale about family, desire and what we inherit.
Aw is the winner of the Whitbread, Commonwealth Prize and O. Henry Award and his work has thrice been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. He is a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing programme at UEA.
Friday 27 March, 6.30pm, UEA
Yann Martel is the author of four novels, including the Booker prize-winning Life of Pi (which was adapted for the screen by Ang Lee and won four Oscars), as well as a short story collection.
At this March event, he will talk about his latest novel Son of Nobody, which explores how stories become facts, the price we pay to share them and how we live – then, now and always.
Tuesday 21 April, 6.30pm, UEA
Award-winning Cecile Pin rounds off the season to discuss her upcoming breathtaking story of fate, love and sacrifice, Celestial Lights.
Her debut, Wandering Souls, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Prix Femina Etranger, and shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize.
Hannah Tough, Public Events and Engagement Manager, said: “There is always a bit of excitement when it comes round to announcing the UEA Live programme after weeks of finalising the list of invited speakers but, as a team, we are particularly delighted with this season’s varied line-up that offers something for everyone.
“As book lovers ourselves, we’re always keen to welcome new audiences to events that offer a chance to connect with others over a shared passion, whilst gaining a new perspective.”
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