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Debut Writers Panel

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Event details

Part of Chester Literature Festival 2023

To write a book is a remarkable achievement, but to get it published and on the book-shop shelves is no easy task.

A must for all aspiring writers – this panel of debut writers sees our guests discuss their trials and tribulations of writing and publishing their first book as well as the inspiration behind their stories and how their passions for new writing kept them going. 

The panel will feature Jessie Wells (The Good News Gazette) and Emma Venables (Fragments of a Woman) with more names to be announced soon.   

Prices

Members: £9

Young Members: £5

Non-members: £10 (each ticket is subject to a £1.50 booking fee)

Jessie Wells

Jessie Wells has always written in some form, previously working as a journalist for the Liverpool Echo and Sunday Mirror. She loves nothing more than getting lost in her imaginary worlds, which are largely filled with romance, communities bursting with character and a large dose of positivity.

Jessie wrote her debut novel The Good News Gazette during lockdown after being inspired by the acts of kindness she saw in communities right across the country. This year she followed up her success with a much-anticipated sequel, Saving the Good News Gazette.

Emma Venables

Emma Venables is a writer and academic, originally from Staffordshire but now living in Merseyside.

Her debut novel, Fragments of a Woman, was published by Aderyn Press in 2023. The novel explores the lives of five women in National Socialist Berlin.

Her short and flash fiction has been widely published in places such as Mslexia, The Lonely Crowd, Ellipsis Zine, and The Forge Literary Magazine. Her short story, ‘Woman at Gunpoint, 1945‘, came runner-up (3rd) in the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize 2020.

Kathryn Malcolm

Kathryn is a British YA Fantasy author with a passion for classical art, mythology and folklore all of which echo throughout her work.

She has been writing stories since before she could hold a pencil correctly but started her journey as an author in 2023 with her debut novel The Shadow of the Scholar.

Born and raised in Southampton, Kathryn now lives in Cheshire with her husband and works as a Librarian, sharing her love of literature with children and teens.