CANCELLED – Why Women Read Fiction with Helen Taylor, Beth O’Leary and Catherine Isaac at The Lowry

Why Women Read Fiction with Helen Taylor, Beth O'Leary and Catherine Isaac at The Lowry, Salford, 27 March 2020, from £10 - Book now

Due to the ongoing situation with  COVID-19, this event has been cancelled.  Words Weekend Artistic Director Beth Gallimore’s statement reads:

‘It is with huge sadness that we have taken the decision to cancel Words Weekend at The Lowry following the escalation of COVID-19 in Europe. Although this is an incredibly difficult decision, the health of authors and audiences must be the priority.

The cancellation of London Book Fair was an early indicator of the impact COVID-19 would have on our industry, and given the fast-changing nature of the situation, we feel we must act quickly and decisively.

All ticket holders will be contacted directly by the venue.

We will be pressing ahead with our plans for Bury St Edmunds in May, our spring 2021 festival at Sage Gateshead, and hope to plan another festival at The Lowry in the future.’

Why is fiction so appealing to women? Join Helen Taylor, Beth O’Leary and Catherine Isaac as they explore why women are the main buyers and readers of fiction, members of book clubs and attendees at literary festivals. This bestselling line-up will discuss the special appeal and changing readership of the genres of romance, erotica and crime.

Why Women Read Fiction will draw upon interviews with women readers and writers, including Hilary Mantel, Helen Dunmore, Louise Doughty, Sarah Dunant, Katie Fforde and Lennie Goodings, who is appearing at the Words Weekend festival on Saturday.

Helen Taylor was the founding Director of the Liverpool Literary Festival, is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Exeter and is an Honorary Fellow of the British Association of American Studies. Her book Why Women Read Fiction will be published in February 2020.

Catherine Isaac wrote Bridesmaids while on maternity leave as a trainee reporter at the Liverpool Echo. From her eight subsequent best-selling novels, You Me Everything was selected by the Richard & Judy Book Club, and has been translated into 24 languages, with a movie adaptation in development by Lionsgate and Temple Hill. Catherine’s latest novel, Messy, Wonderful Us, is about the transformative power of love.

Beth O’Leary’s debut The Flat Share was a top 10 bestseller in 2019. Her highly anticipated follow-up The Switch will be published by Quercus in April 2020.