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Bernardine Evaristo with her novels at the reading on Friday 26 March

Celebrated poet and writer visits the University of Leicester

Bernardine Evaristo, acclaimed author of Blonde Roots and The Emperor’s Babe, to speak at a free public event on Friday 26 March

Issued on 16 March 2010

Photo opportunity with Bernardine Evaristo at 5.45pm in the New Lecture Theatre, Fielding Johnson Building South Wing, University of Leicester.

In a Literary Leicester festival special event hosted by the University of Leicester’s School of English, Bernardine Evaristo will read from her work and answer questions from the audience.

Evaristo’s work is vibrant and adventurous, and her novels have enjoyed excellent reviews in the British press. Blonde Roots, her novel about the slave trade, was praised in The Observer as ‘ingenious’, and a review in The Times described her writing as ‘astonishing’. Evaristo is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She actively mentors young writers and received an MBE for her work in 2009.

At the event, Evaristo will read from her novels Blonde Roots and The Emperor’s Babe, and then answer the audience’s questions. The two novels have recently been added to the undergraduate syllabus at the University of Leicester, so the event offers a fantastic opportunity for English students to meet one of the writers they study.

Dr David Farrier, who is a Lecturer in post-colonial literature and Chair of the event, commented:

“Bernardine Evaristo is one of the most exciting British authors currently writing. Her work is vibrant, adventurous, and equally invested in pushing the boundaries of literary form, historical memory, and the complexities of multicultural society. We’re delighted to welcome her to the campus.”

‘A Reading from Bernardine Evaristo’ will take place at 6pm on Friday 26th March in the New Lecture Theatre, Fielding Johnson Building South Wing, University of Leicester. The lecture is free and open to all.

Notes to Editors

For more information about the event, please contact Dr David Farrier on 0116 252 2626 or via email at df59@le.ac.uk.

Ruth Shepherd