Novel Voices: Caleb Azumah Nelson and Brandon Taylor at MLF Digital

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

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Novel Voices: Caleb Azumah Nelson & Brandon Taylor

1-30 November 2021

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Brandon Taylor
Writer Brandon Taylor.
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Host Ellah P Wakatama chats to novelists Caleb Azumah Nelson and Brandon Taylor about their debuts in this special edition of Novel Voices for the digital leg of this year’s Manchester Literature Festival.

For this MLF Digital event, available to view from Monday 1 November to Tuesday 30 November, Ellah will be joined by Caleb Azumah Nelson and Brandon Taylor, whose novels share themes of male vulnerability, trauma, grief, love and tenderness.

Presented in partnership with Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester, the Novel Voices series features Ellah P Wakatama, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Manchester’s Centre for New Writing and Editor-at-Large at Canongate Books, in conversation with debut authors about their craft and the journey to publishing their first full body of work. Spanning genres and exploring a range of narratives that reflect the new voices shaping the literary landscape, the writers in the series have been chosen from big and indie publishing houses alike, and, for the autumn term, Ellah welcomes Heba Hayek (25 October), Micaiah Johnson (8 November), Nicola Garrard and Joan Deitch (22 November), and Femi Kayode (6 December).

For this MLF Digital event, available to view from Monday 1 November to Tuesday 30 November, Ellah will be joined by Caleb Azumah Nelson and Brandon Taylor, whose novels share themes of male vulnerability, trauma, grief, love and tenderness, and question where writing by and about black men fits in a canon of predominantly white literature. The MLF blurb says: “In Caleb Azumah Nelson’s beautifully lyrical Open Water two young Black talented Londoners – he a photographer, she a dancer – fall in love to a soundtrack of the city and some exceptional music. In Brandon Taylor’s precise and absorbing Real Life, Wallace, a Black gay biochemistry student at a Midwestern university, tries to come to terms with the death of his father in Alabama.”

Living in south east London, British-Ghanaian writer and photographer Caleb Azumah Nelson has been shortlisted for both the Palm Photo Prize and the BBC National Short Story Prize 2020, and his writing has been published in Granta, Litro and The White Review. Described by the Guardian as “an exciting, ambitious debut”, Open Water came out earlier this year and has been longlisted for the Desmond Elliot Prize and the Gordon Burn Prize. He’s also delivering the keynote speech at this year’s National Creative Writing Industry Day on 5 November.

Based in the US, Brandon Taylor’s novel Real Life was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, as well as The National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize and the 2021 Young Lions Fiction Award. It is being made into a film produced by and starring Kid Cudi. His work has also appeared in Guernica, American Short Fiction, Gulf Coast, Buzzfeed Reader, O: The Oprah Magazine, Gay Mag, The New Yorker online and The Literary Review. Senior editor of Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, Brandon is also the author of the short story collection Filthy Animals.

Real Life by Brandon Taylor
Real Life by Brandon Taylor

Where to go near Novel Voices: Caleb Azumah Nelson and Brandon Taylor at MLF Digital

Hern Food
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Hern

This produce-driven bistro in Chapel Allerton, Leeds, prides itself on cooking with the only finest ingredients and his headed up by Cordon Bleu-trained chef Rab Adams.

Indie Makers
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Indie Makers

Indie Makers, located in Leads’ corn exchange, trades in art and gifts from independent makers across the UK.

Plant Point
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Plant Point

Plant Point is designed to help you bring the jungle into your urban or suburban space. The home of beautiful plants in Leeds.

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Eat Your Greens

Eat Your Greens is a vibrant, organic restaurant bringing a hint of European flair to the city’s plant-based dining scene.

Sela opened in 2004 with an idea to provide quality imported beers from around the world, fun cocktails to compliment the beer selections and a stage for the region’s finest and most talented musicians to play on.Over ten years later, we’re still all about the beer, cocktails, live music and pizza!We carry over a selection of over thirty different beers spanning the globe from Pickering with The Great Yorkshire Brewery’s Yorkshire Blackout, to New York with a selection from Brooklyn Brewery, and Belgium with longtime Sela favourite, Vedett.Our cocktails change regularly too. Our best-sellers are joined by fun, new offerings and our pizza menu is regarded as one of the best the city of Leeds has to offer.As for the live music, Sela has had not only the great and the good from the region. Local funksters, The New Mastersounds are regular visitors and we stage the amazing Mojah Reggae Band for their weekly Wednesday residency.  Our other long running programming incl
Leeds
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Sela Bar & Pizzeria

Sela Bar is a cosy Leeds basement spot with live music, great drinks, and a cool, laid-back, atmospheric vibe.

Leeds Beckett SU
Leeds
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Leeds Beckett Student Union

Leeds Beckett Student Union hosts big-name artists and supports students through events, live music, and a vibrant campus venue.

Located on Cardigan Fields Leisure Park, Vue Leeds Kirkstall is a nine screen cinema with almost 2000 seats. There's ample parking and the cinema is surrounded by various restaurants and entertainment facilities, making for a great evening out!

Watch the latest film releases and enjoy the industry-leading Sony 4K Digital screens, boasting spectacular picture quality, along with enhanced audio quality courtesy of Dolby 'Profound Sound'. Stepped SuperVue seating means you will never miss a second of the action while VIP seating guarantees you an extra touch of luxury whenever you want to upgrade.

Three of the nine screens showcase the newest 3D releases while Vue Classical brings the latest stage sensations to the big screen, and parents can save as they go with Family Tickets and Kids AM screenings offering great value for money.
Leeds
Cinema
Vue Cinema – Leeds Kirkstall Road

Located on Cardigan Fields Leisure Park, Vue Leeds Kirkstall is a nine screen cinema with almost 2000 seats. There’s ample parking and the cinema is surrounded by various restaurants and

Restaurant 2
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Café or Coffee Shop
Empire Café

Empire Café is located in Leeds’ ‘home of day dining’- Fish street!

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Phranakhon

Phranakhon Thai Tapas is a revolutionised Thai dining restaurant with a combination of European indulgence and authentic Thai tastes.

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Wen’s

Wen’s is a family owned Chinese restaurant specialising in authentic, home cooked cuisine.

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