Baileys Prize winner Ali Smith will deliver the PEN HG Wells lecture at Edinburgh International Book Festival at 2.15pm on Saturday 15 August.
Author, visionary and human rights campaigner, HG Wells foresaw the creation of the worldwide web, most particularly in a series of talks and essays which he first published in 1936 under the title World Brain. The PEN HG Wells lecture showcases visionary writing and new thinking that embodies Wells’s interests.
Ali Smith said:
In the spirit of HG Wells, I’ll be writing this lecture in the future.
Jo Glanville, Director of English PEN, said:
We’re delighted that Ali Smith is giving the PEN HG Wells lecture. Wells was ahead of his time. The breadth of his preoccupations – from human rights to literature – remains at the core of PEN’s activities nearly a century later. As well as being an original and outstanding writer, Ali Smith is a great supporter of English PEN, and we’re very much looking forward to holding the event at Edinburgh International Book Festival for the first time.
Nick Barley, Director of Edinburgh International Book Festival, said:
Ali Smith is a natural choice for the PEN HG Wells lecture – her playfulness, and her novel way of looking at novels means I am sure she will deliver an extraordinarily stimulating event.
Saturday 15 August, 2.15pm
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Garden Theatre, Charlotte Square Gardens
Edinburgh EH2 4DR
£10/ £8
Tickets go on sale at 8.30am on Tuesday 23 June through www.edbookfest.co.uk or on 0845 375 5888.