The Belfast Book Festival is set to host an inspiring session featuring two distinguished authors, Pallavi Padma-Uday and Catherine Dunne. This eagerly anticipated event will take place at Crescent Arts Centre on Tuesday, June 11th, offering festival-goers a profound discussion on themes of motherhood, love, and identity.
Pallavi Padma-Uday, an acclaimed writer, journalist, and business historian, will present her newly published poetry collection, Lola in Belfast. This collection delves into the complex emotions of love, longing, assimilation, and identity. Pallavi’s previous work, Orisons in the Dark, published in April 2023 by Writers Workshop, India’s leading publisher of poetry, has already cemented her reputation as a powerful poetic voice. With multiple bursaries and awards from the Arts Council of Ireland and the Irish Writers Centre under her belt, Pallavi has captivated audiences at events like the Rostrevor Literature Festival and the Northern Soul Road Show. Her writing, featured in numerous literary journals and anthologies across India and the UK, reflects her deep understanding of economic history, a subject she studied at the London School of Economics.
Joining her is Catherine Dunne, a celebrated author known for her compelling narratives on the human experience. Her latest novel, A Good Enough Mother, explores the multifaceted nature of motherhood in Ireland, from the harrowing experiences of women in mother and baby homes to the contemporary challenges faced by mothers today. With a prolific career that includes twelve novels, several essays, and a notable non-fiction work, An Unconsidered People, which documents the lives of Irish immigrants in 1950s Britain, Catherine has earned numerous accolades.
Her novels have been shortlisted for prestigious awards such as Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards and the International Strega Prize. Her book The Things We Know Now won the Giovanni Boccaccio International Prize for Fiction in 2013, and The Years That Followed was longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. Her recent success with A Good Enough Mother, which won the European Rapallo Prize for Fiction in November 2023, underscores her significant contribution to literature. Catherine’s work has been translated into several languages, and she was honoured with the 2018 Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature.
This session at the Belfast Book Festival promises to be a compelling exploration of significant themes through the lenses of two highly respected authors. Attendees will have the unique opportunity to engage in a dialogue on the intricate dynamics of motherhood, love, and identity, gaining insights from Pallavi’s evocative poetry and Catherine’s poignant storytelling.
Don’t miss this chance to hear from Pallavi Padma-Uday and Catherine Dunne and delve into their recent works, which continue to enrich the literary landscape. The conversation promises to be an enlightening experience for all who attend, highlighting the power of literature to explore and understand the human condition.
Book the experience – www.belfastbookfestival.com