American author Diana Gabaldon discusses her award-winning and bestselling Outlander novels about a 20th-century nurse who time travels to 18th-century Scotland and finds adventure and romance with a dashing Highland warrior. The series was described by Salon Magazine as ‘the smartest historical sci-fi adventure-romance story ever written by a science PhD with a background in scripting “Scrooge McDuck” comics’.

Gabaldon holds a PhD in quantitative behavioural ecology and is an expert in scientific computation, but left that life behind in 1991 when she began writing her Outlander novels, which have since sold more than 26 million copies worldwide in 40 countries and 36 languages. She is also the author of a graphic novel and the Lord John series, featuring characters from Outlander. In 2014, a British-American television series based on the books was launched by STARZ to critical acclaim.

Gabaldon will be introduced by award-winning historical novelist Professor Jewell Parker Rhodes.

This event is part of the American strand at this year’s festival.

Presented by Virginia G Piper Center for Creative Writing.