Lianne Dillsworth, Rebecca Watson and Keiran Goddard Interviewed by Suzi Feay

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Debut novelists Lianne Dillsworth, Rebecca Watson and Keiran Goddard talk about their first works and their approaches to writing, under the chairmanship of FT critic Suzi Feay.

Dillsworth is a recent graduate of Royal Holloway’s MA in creative writing and won a place on the London Library Emerging Writers Programme. Her first work is Theatre of Marvels, a historical novel set in the West End of Victorian London. It is the story of mixed-race woman Zillah who becomes the star of a variety show. It throws a light on being Black and British in Victorian London.

Watson is an assistant arts editor at the Financial Times and one of the Observer’s ten best debut novelists of 2021. Her first work, Little Scratch, was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott and Goldsmith prizes. It is the story of one unnamed woman over a single day and of how she is consumed by trauma.

Goddard is a published poet. His first novel, Hourglass, is about love, loss, time, work and the search for meaning and beauty. It turns time upside down and asks what it means to lose what you love.

Discussions are chaired by Suzi Feay, a reviewer for the FT.