Stuart, Smith and Gurnah to headline Cambridge Literary Festival 

Douglas Stuart, Ali Smith and Abdulrazak Gurnah are among authors headlining Cambridge Literary Festival this spring. 

Smith will be presenting her latest book, Companion Piece (Hamish Hamilton), while Gurnah, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature last year, will discuss Afterlives (Bloomsbury), his latest novel about how German colonial rule disrupted lives in Tanzania. Booker Prize winner Stuart will be showcasing his second novel, Young Mungo (Picador).

Julian Barnes will talk about his forthcoming work, Elizabeth Finch (Vintage), while historical novelists Patrick Gale, Rose Tremain and debut writers Kieran Goddard and Ayanna Lloyd Banwo also feature in discussions. 

Joining the line-up is Lola Olufemi with Experiments in Imagining Otherwise (Hajar Press), plus Kiran Millwood Hargrave and illustrator Tom de Freston, who will introduce children to their picturebook Julia and the Shark (Hachette Children’s Group). Michael Morpurgo will also be hosting a family event. 

Also featuring at the festival will be local authors Susan Sellers, Parwana Fayyaz and Kübra Gümüşay. 

Football legend John Barnes will expose The Uncomfortable Truth about Racism (Headline) while Dr Roopa Farooki shares her personal story of working on the front line during a pandemic and her latest book, Everything is True (Bloomsbury). Meanwhile, political satirist John Crace will be discussing the role of laughter during dark times while gardener Joe Swift celebrates spring with his new series of gardening guides. Claudia Roden also appears, discussing Mediterranean food and Med: A Cookbook (Ebury).  

Elsewhere, former shadow chancellor Ed Balls will be talking about his memoir, Appetite (Simon & Schuster), which blends recipes with autobiography, and Will Young, the first winner of "Pop Idol", will speak to audiences about mental health and his new book, Be Yourself and Happier (Ebury).

The festival will take place from 20th to 24th April in a variety of venues including the University Arms Hotel, the Cambridge Union Debating Chamber, the Old Divinity School, and the Fitzwilliam Museum.

The full line-up can be viewed here.