Durham Book Festival 2017: a look at this year’s Gordon Burn Prize nominees

Durham Book Festival returns between 7 – 15 October, giving a chance for lovers of literature to indulge their passion.

While there are plenty of author events and workshops taking place across the eight days, one of the highlights of the festival is the unveiling of the winner of the Gordon Burn Prize. Six books have been nominated for the 2017 prize, and in the spirit of the award they span a far-reaching range of literature, including two debuts, and two works of non-fiction.

With the festival and the announcement on 12 October at Durham Town Hall both fast-approaching, we take a whistle-stop tour of this year’s eclectic nominees.

‘Black Teeth And A Brilliant Smile’ by Adelle Stripe

Stripe’s work has been inspired by the life of troubled Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar, who was brought up on the infamous Buttershaw estate and died at a tragically young age. Recreating the North of England during the Thatcher years, Stripe follows the events that led a teenage girl from a council estate becoming one of the nation’s best dramatists.

‘Border: A Journey To The Edge Of Europe’ by Kapka Kassabova

Both a piece of reportage and art, ‘Border’ sees writer Kassabova returning to the border zone between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. It was once swarmed with soldiers, spies and fugitives and still remains an area scarred by its tumultuous past. A piece of travel writing that takes in the dark yet colourful region, it’s also a meditation on the nature of borders, not just between countries, but also between people and cultures.

‘First Love’ by Gwendoline Riley

With her fifth novel ‘First Love,’ Gwendoline Riley delivers an often unflinching look at the marriage between two characters: Neve, a writer in her thirties, and her older husband, Edwyn. Neve traces the development of their relationship, but also examines the nature of her ties to others, including her tyrannical father and self-involved mother. While it can be a brutal insight into Neve and Edwyn’s lives, Riley also peppers the prose with wit to help give a sense of much-needed lightness.

‘The Long Drop’ by Denise Mina

Denise Mina takes the reader back to Glasgow in the 1950s. There, a series of deeply disturbing and violent murders are shaking the city to its core. William Watt, a businessman and social climber whose family has been brutally killed, and Peter Manuel, a sinister yet charming man and known liar, are placed at the heart of the novel. The blossoming of their uneasy relationship, which has long-reaching consequences for them both, takes centre-stage.

‘This Is Memorial Device’ by David Keenan

In his debut novel, David Keenan examines the youthful vigour, wild energy and intensity that is brought to a small Scottish town by the possibilities of alternative music. The band Memorial Device are placed at the heart of the story, as their story unfolds. Their bloody-minded belief and indulgence in excesses don’t help with their journey to the top though.

‘This Is The Place To Be’ by Lara Pawson

‘This Is The Place To Be’ is writer Lara Pawson’s fearless memoir, which is told in fragmented sections taking the reader from experience to experience. We follow Pawson as she works as a war reporter in Angola and the Ivory Coast, as well as her upbringing in England and intimate elements of her personal life. Pawson’s unflinching honesty helps to explore themes of race, identity and class across continents in the process.

Where to stay during Durham Book Festival...

Here is a list of accommodation in Durham City, or you can explore all accommodation across the county here.

For further help and advice contact Durham’s official Visitor Contact Centre on 03000 26 26 26, email visitor@thisisdurham.com.

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