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

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor
Brandon Taylor
Writer Brandon Taylor.

1 — 30 November 2021 Tickets from £7.50 — Book now

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

1 — 30 November 2021 Tickets from £7.50 Book now

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

 Patrick, SpongeBob and Squidward at the UK's only Nickelodeon Land.
Blackpool
Tourist Attraction
Nickelodeon Land

Combine the thrill of an amusement park with the colourful world of Nickelodeon at the UK’s only Nickelodeon Land, located within Blackpool Pleasure Beach Resort.

Leeds
Restaurant
Archive

Archive serving up speciality coffee and bespoke events to the people of Kirkstall, including craft fairs, vintage pop ups and exhibitions.

Ego Death
Manchester
Restaurant
Ego Death

Ego Death is a speakeasy-style secret bar in the Northern Quarter with a cocktail menu as good as its atmosphere.

Flat Iron Leeds
Manchester
Restaurant
Flat Iron Manchester

Relaxed restaurant in the centre of Manchester, serving impressively high-quality steaks at an affordable price point.

hotel2
Hotel
Hilton Liverpool

The riverside location of Hilton Liverpool makes it one of the most centrally placed hotels in the city, close to the all attractions, big and small.

hotel
Baltic Triangle
Hotel
Maldron Hotel

The Maldron Hotel is perfectly located on the edge of the Baltic Triangle and offers comfortable stays and luxurious breakfasts.

hotel4
Liverpool
Hotel
The Halyard

The Halyard is one of Liverpool’s newest hotels, with top floor suites offering sweeping views of the city and delicious treats in the restaurant.

shop
Liverpool
Shop
COW Liverpool

Cow Liverpool is one of the city’s favourite vintage shops, with clothing, accessories and homeware in a spacious shop on Bold Street.

Liverpool
Shop
Pop Boutique Liverpool

Pop Boutique houses Vintage, clothing, homeware and vinyl. This bold street shop is in the centre of the ropewalks area of Liverpool which is fast becoming the indie centre of Liverpool.

cafe
Lark Lane
Café or Coffee Shop
Press Bros

Press Bros is one of Lark Lane’s best coffee spots, with coffee made from locally roasted beans and delicious breakfasts.

What's on: Literature

Sarah-Clare Conlon. Photo by Nic Chapman
LiteratureManchester
Verbose Tenth Birthday at The King’s Arms

Verbose is one of Manchester’s longest-running spoken word events, and we’re delighted to have been invited to help celebrate its ten-year anniversary at a special evening on Monday 27 January.

free entry
LiteratureWest Yorkshire
Poetry at the Dusty Miller

Poetry at the Dusty Miller is a now regular night with invited readers, organised by Carcanet-published Carola Luther and Judith Willson in the Coiners’ Room in the Mytholmroyd pub.

free entry

Culture Guides

A man and a woman stood in front of a window at night look into each others' eyes
Cinema in the North

Hollywood greats and early bird film fest tickets are on our horizon as we start the New Year.

Olaf Falafel
Family things to do in the North

We might be past the holiday season, but Manchester and the North's arts and cultural calendar is still packed with brilliant events and activities for families

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Documentary performance, groundbreaking dance, world premieres and fresh takes on classic works - check out our early theatre highlights for 2025.

Music in the North

Warm, intimate storytelling is the thread connecting our new picks, which include a number of brilliant folk artists.

A sculpture of a dark brown dog looks to the right, hanging out of its middle and the back are what appears to be its insides (in cream) spilling out.
Exhibitions in the North

From genre-defying art film to vibrant embroidery and Surrealist sculpture, check out the best winter exhibitions to see right now.