In Conversation: Portico Prize winner Jessica Andrews

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

Book now

In Conversation: Portico Prize winner Jessica Andrews

9 December 2020

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

Jessica Andrews
Author Jessica Andrews.
Book now

Donning our finery and heading to the hostelry below Manchester’s best-kept library secret for canapés and chat seems like aeons ago, but it was only at the end of January when we were ushered upstairs for the glittering ceremony to award the Portico Prize 2020. The gong – and a tidy sum – went to debut novelist Jessica Andrews, born in 1992, thus making her the youngest author to receive the honour. Quite an achievement, not least because she pipped other more well-known names – such as literary power couple Benjamin Myers and Adelle Stripe – to the so-called Booker of the North.

Described as “lyrical and boundary-breaking”, Portico Prize-winning Saltwater (published by Sceptre) is a coming-of-age novel that explores mother-daughter relationships and identity in relation to place and social class

Like the protagonist in her debut Saltwater, Jessica grew up in Sunderland. In a recent Guardian column, she said: “At 24 I sat down to write my first novel and the raucous bars and rusty bridges of my hometown rushed out of me with a bright, hot urgency.” She has swapped one port city for another; she now lives in Barcelona, where she teaches literature and creative writing to adults, young people and children, and is working on her second novel. She also co-runs and organises events with literary and arts magazine The Grapevine and co-presents literary podcast Tender Buttons, a nod to another expat, Gertrude Stein.

Described as “lyrical and boundary-breaking”, Portico Prize-winning Saltwater (published by Sceptre) is a coming-of-age novel that explores mother-daughter relationships and identity in relation to place and social class and also to the body. It follows a young woman, Lucy, as she leaves behind her working-class northern roots and heads to university in London, where life turns out to be rather more overwhelming than she anticipated. She winds up seeking solace in Ireland, trying to piece together who she really is while living in the quiet of her late grandfather’s cottage and the wild landscape that surrounds it. Author Daisy Johnson (whose Man Booker Prize-shortlisted debut Everything Under and latest novel Sisters also explore female relationships) called the book “sublime”. “Powerful” said the Observer, while the Evening Standard went with “lyrically poetic”, the Independent “stunning” and the Sunday Times described it as “raw, intimate and authentic”.

Jessica will be discussing, among other things, the freedom she finds in writing fiction and how identity and community influence her work. She is joined in conversation by award-winning writer, journalist and broadcaster Anita Sethi, who has written for newspapers and magazines including the Guardian, Sunday Times and Vogue – and who interviewed the six Portico Prize finalists (who also included Glen James Brown, Graham Caveney and Ray Robinson) for January’s Observer piece discussing why “a north-specific prize is more important than ever”.

Jessica Andrews Saltwater
Jessica Andrews Saltwater

Where to go near In Conversation: Portico Prize winner Jessica Andrews

Testbed Main Space
Leeds
Event venue
TESTBED

TESTBED is a newly renovated 10,000 sq foot event venue in Leeds that offers endless possibilities for creating unique and inspiring experiences.

Manchester
Restaurant
Salt & Pepper

Chinese inspired British food in the centre of Manchester, backed up by plenty of well-deserved local hype.

Morning Glory - Coffee Cup
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Morning Glory

Morning Glory positions itself as a grab-and-go spot, with just 12 seats inside serving coffee, bagels and sweet treats.

The Warehouse In Holbeck
Leeds
Event venue
The Warehouse In Holbeck

Run by acclaimed theatre company Slung Low, The Warehouse in Holbeck is home to boundary-pushing performance and community projects.

Leeds
Event venue
The Attic

Tucked away above the bustle of Merrion Street, The Attic is one of Leeds’ most distinctive small venues – intimate, unpretentious, and steeped in DIY spirit.

The Chevin is a great place for visitors to do lots of different activities and is open all year round with 5 free car parks. To help you find out whatís best for you we have divided this section up into some of these different activities.Please be aware that The Chevin is a working estate so you may see vehicles including timber-extraction lorries using some of the tracks.Self-guided WalksThe Chevin is a big place and there is a good network of paths to make your own circular walk, but if you want to follow a themed trail there is a Geology Trail, Heritage Time Trail and a route for Tree Spotters.Bikes & HorsesThere is an extensive bridleway network on the eastern parts of The Chevin that caters for a range of abilities.Orienteering and GeocachingTwo orienteering courses and a number of geocache sites are waiting to be discovered.Climbing & BoulderingThere are many fantastic crags for climbing and boulders for bouldering.Mobility Scooters & Wheelchairs
Leeds
Restaurant
Oporto

For many years, Oporto has been a beacon of alternative energy on Leeds’ Call Lane – serving up great food and drink alongside resident DJs and live music.

What's on: Literature

Dan Coxon.
LiteratureLiverpool
Writing The Magic launch at Dead Ink Bookshop

Writing the Magic (Essays on Crafting Fantasy Fiction) is the fourth in Liverpool-based publisher Dead Ink Books’ award-winning series of guides, and this launch event hears from editor Dan Coxon.

From £5.00
LiteratureManchester
Manchester Poets at Chorlton Library

This autumn Manchester Poets returns to its usual home of Chorlton Library, following its exile to Withington while renovations took place at the Carnegie HQ.

Free entry
LiteratureCalder Valley
Arvon’s Story House at Lumb Bank

We just celebrated former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes’s birthday in the town of his birth, now head to his former home Lumb Bank for Arvon’s Story House.

Free entry
Rose Condo
LiteratureKendal
Verbalise at Kendal Brewery Arts

Rose Condo is a multi-award-winning poet and spoken word artist, who carefully blends poetry and prose to create live shows she performs with aplomb.

From £11.00

Culture Guides

Cinema in the North

A host of Halloween horrors, experimental shorts, plus pioneering black British cinema make our October Cinema Guide.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Theatre this month bursts with contrasts - from bold new writing and Black History Month highlights to contemporary arts and reimagined classics.

Exhibitions in the North

Galleries around the North are gearing up for a new season of exhibitions - from iconic art prizes to smaller, artist-led gems.

Wisp Press Image
Music in the North

From corrupted shoegaze to experimental electronica, post-hardcore to Indian classical, these are the shows that should be on your radar.