Rachel Joyce has created some of the most deeply beloved novels of recent years - stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, shot through with compassion, humour, and a deep understanding of the human heart. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry became a phenomenon; Mrs Benson's Beetle enchanted a new generation of readers. Now, with The Homemade God, she returns with a literary family drama set on the sundrenched shores of an Italian lake, as four adult siblings try to make sense of their father’s untimely death.
 
In this headline event, Rachel will be in conversation with BLF Artistic Director Kate Sawyer, talking about The Homemade God, her remarkable career to this point and what we can expect from her next.
 
An unmissable evening for fans and new readers alike. 
 
Format: Interview & Q&A
Themes: Fiction, Adults, Young People, Headliner, Literary, Book Club
Access: Hearing Loop
 
Rachel Joyce Books: The Homemade God, Mrs Benson's Beetle, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, Maureen Fry and the Angel of The North, Perfect, The Music Shop.
Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy and many more.
Rachel’s books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The critically acclaimed film of the novel, for which Rachel also wrote the screenplay, was released in 2023.
Rachel was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards New Writer of the Year in December 2012 and was shortlisted for the UK Author of the Year in 2014. In 2024 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Kingston University.
Rachel has written over twenty original afternoon plays and adaptations of the classics for BBC Radio 4. She lives with her family near Stroud.
 
Kate Sawyer  Books: The Stranding, This Family, Getting Away
Kate Sawyer is the Artistic Director of Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival and author of The Stranding, This Family, and Getting Away.