Five St Hilda’s College alumnae debate the motion ‘Genre fiction is no different from literary fiction’. Orange Prize longlisted Gaynor Arnold (The Girl in the Blue Dress, After Such Kindness), Elizabeth Edmondson, who writes historical mysteries and romances under her own name and as Elizabeth Aston (Devil’s Sonata, the Darcy novels), Booker-shortlisted Anita Mason (The Illusionist, The Right Hand of the Sun), and writer of fantasy novels, Juliet McKenna (The Hadrumal Crisis, The Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution) consider the value or pointlessness of labelling and compartmentalising fiction. Discussions are chaired by Claire Armitstead, literary editor of the Guardian.