will-self.com » Will’s Diary

Llangollen fringe festival

Chris H — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:26:54 +0000

As part of the Llangollen fringe festival, there weill be an Audience with Will Self at the Royal Pavilion, Llangollen at 7.30pm on July 22. Tickets cost £15. For more details go here.

Edinburgh book festival

Chris H — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:06:27 +0000

Will Self is going to be at the Edinburgh book festival at 9.30pm on Sunday August 29 and will be reading from and talking about his new book, Walking to Hollywood (which can be ordered from Amazon here). Titled “The dreams and fantasies of an obsessive-compulsive flâneur”, the event costs £10 (£8 concessions).

“Self’s mordant satire is at the peak of its form in a new triptych, Walking to Hollywood, a potent mixture of memoir and invention, which centres on his passion for wandering on foot around cities. Eventually Self decides to take a walk on British land that is about to be consumed by the sea.”

To book a ticket and to find out more, go here.

Guildhall Arts Centre, Grantham

Chris H — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:13:04 +0000

There will be an Audience with Will Self at the Guildhall Arts Centre, Grantham, 7.30pm next Thursday, June 17. For details and to book tickets, follow this.

Enterprise improv

Chris H — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:30:27 +0000

Will Self is going to be at the Enterprise Pub in Chalk Farm, north London tonight for the Express Excess cabaret, and will be on stage at 10pm with Matt D’Abaitua doing improv. For details go here.

Shakespeare & Company festival in Paris

Chris H — Sun, 02 May 2010 14:15:19 +0000

Will Self will be at the renowned Parisian bookshop Shakespeare & Company this summer, which is staging its festival from June 18 to 20 in the park René Viviani, opposite Notre Dame. On the Friday he will be in conversation with Janine di Giovanni and will give a reading from his novel Dorian. On the Saturday he will be in conversation with Martin Amis.

This year’s theme will be “Storytelling and Politics” and will explore the way writers depict, transform and influence their environment. What role does the imagination play in the world today? Who are today’s storytellers and what are the most influential narratives? Can a work of fiction reflect society without being political? Do writers have a particular responsibility? Should literature engage with the world, or offer respite from it? Authors will discuss these issues amongst others and look at the importance of literature in our present cultural and political climate.

For further details, visit Shakespeare & Company’s website here.

This Week appearance

Chris H — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 14:08:05 +0000

Will Self is going to be on This Week on BBC1 tomorrow night at 11.35pm.

Erasing David Q&A

Chris H — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 19:13:10 +0000

“Leaving his pregnant wife at home in London, director David Bond takes his camera on the run, trying to evade capture for 30 days from private investigators hired to track him down. Trawling through social networking websites and state and commercial databases, and utilising mobile phone tracking technology, the investigators are soon hot on the trail, probing into the most minute details of David’s family life. With the film demonstrating the staggering amount of information about our lives available in the public domain, notions of a surveillance state suddenly seem all too real.”

On April 29, after the premiere of Erasing David there will be a live Q&A from the Brixton Ritzy that will get beamed to the other Picture House screens. The debate will be about civil liberties and surveillance, and will be hosted by Will Self. The panel members will include director David Bond, director of Liberty Shami Chakrabarti, MP David Davis, Phil Booth of NO2ID and composer Michael Nyman. Questions can be submitted on the night via text message.

Erasing David will also be screening on More4 on May 4 at 10pm. Afterward, there will be a live online debate with David and the private investigators who tracked him down.

Solihull Arts Complex

Chris H — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:38:19 +0000

There will be an audience with Will Self at the Solihull Arts Complex on May 20 at 7.30pm – tickets cost £15. For further details, go here. But, be warned, as Solihull council says, it “may contain swearing”.

De La Warr Pavilion

Chris H — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:47:39 +0000

Will Self is going to be giving a reading at the De La Warr Pavilion on Thursday April 22 at 6.30pm, followed by a Q&A and a book signing. Tickets are free. For further details, visit their website.

David Eagleman talk

Chris H — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:48:06 +0000

David Eagleman, the neuroscientist and author of Sum, is going to be in conversation with Will Self on March 25 at a rare appearance at Conway Hall in London. For further details and to book tickets, go here.