NWC - Northern Writers' Centre

Andrew Crumey was described by Jonathan Coe as “a wise, funny, alert and original novelist who has never disappointed". In his new novel Sputnik Caledonia, Robbie Coyle dreams of going to space but, as he is indoctrinated in the ways of the Left, Robbie can't entertain the idea of going into orbit with the capitalist Americans. So he acquires a 'Teach Yourself Russian' book and settles down with Einstein's Meaning of Relativity. Written with Crumey's characteristic brio, Sputnik Caledonia is rich with the tenderness and frustrations of family life; it is comic and sinister by turns, and, above all, audaciously imaginative, an exploration of space, of society, and of the tenacity of the human spirit.
 
Andrew Crumey teaches creative writing at Newcastle University, and was until recently the literary editor of Scotland on Sunday. In 2006 he was recipient of the Northern Rock Foundation Writer’s Award.
 
James Meek's new novel We Are Now Beginning Our Descent spans continents and cultures with all the explosive drama of its critically-lauded predecessor, The People's Act of Love (winner of the Ondaatje Prize). At the dawn of the 21st century, like the world around him, Adam Kellas' life is showing distinct signs of cracking apart. Against his better judgment, Kellas – divorced, unstable, spurned by his lover and by the world of letters – accepts a war assignment. It is the beginning of a journey which takes him from the mountains of Afghanistan to the marshlands of the American South and, ultimately, to the darkest realms of the imagination.
 
James Meek worked as a newspaper reporter for 20 years. In 2004 his reporting from Iraq and about Guantanamo Bay won a number of British and international awards. He lives in London, where he still contributes to The Guardian and the London Review of Books.  
 
The event will be chaired by Newcastle University professor of poetry and creative writing, WN Herbert.

Venue: Culture Lab 

HOW TO BOOK
Northern Stage is providing box office services for our events programme which will allow tickets to be bought and paid for in advance. Tickets that are already paid for can be picked up from Culture Lab on the night of the event. We advise you to book in advance to avoid disappointment.

Tel: 0191 230 5151
www.northernstage.co.uk
Full price: £6
Concessions: £4
Students: £2
 
Special offer: 3 for the price of 2 on all full-price tickets

Culture Lab
Grand Assembly Rooms
King's Walk
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU

Culture Lab is fully accessible to disabled visitors. Please contact us on 0191 222 1332 if you require any specific information in relation to your visit to an event.