Spring 2013 | Public lectures and events | Video

Contributor(s): Ben Galley, Claire Squires, Damon Zucca | New technologies have the potential to revolutionise how publishing works. And the benefits for authors of faster and more accessible opportunities are obvious. But the death of books has long been predicted but has not yet come to pass. This session will look at the prospects for the future of academic and traditional publishing in the digital age. The session will examine the current state of play in digital publishing, how readers’ views are being heard and how the publishing world may change over the next decade. Ben Galley is an author and indie publisher. He will look at will look at what technology offers for both writing and publishing. Claire Squires is director of the Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication at the University of Stirling. She researches the history of the book and publishing in the 20th and 21st centuries and is director for Publications and Awards for the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing. Damon Zucca is publisher of Scholarly and Online Reference at Oxford University Press, where he oversees the planning and development of a range of print and digital publishing initiatives, including Oxford Biblical Studies, Oxford Bibliographies, and Oxford Handbooks Online. He has been working in scholarly book publishing for fifteen years as an editor at Garland Publishing, Routledge, and Peter Lang before coming to OUP. Jonathan Derbyshire is culture editor of the New Statesman. His literary journalism has also appeared in a number of newspapers and magazines, including the Financial Times, the Guardian, Literary Review, Prospect and the Times Literary Supplement. This event forms part of LSE's 5th Space for Thought Literary Festival, taking place from Tuesday 26 February - Saturday 2 March 2013, with the theme 'Branching Out'.

Contributor(s): Paul Farley, Tristan Gooley, Sara Maitland | Paul Farley has received widespread acclaim for his poetry, including the Whitbread Prize, the Somerset Maugham Award, the E.M. Forster Award and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. From 2000-02 he was poet-in-residence at the Wordsworth Trust in Grasmere, and as a broadcaster he has made many programmes with the BBC on art, landscape and literature, including Auden: Six Unexpected Days, The Larkin Tapes and Children of the Whitsun Weddings. Edgelands, a non-fiction book (co-written with Michael Symmons Roberts), was serialised as a Radio 4 Book of the Week in 2011. His latest collection, The Dark Film, is a Poetry Book Society Choice. Tristan Gooley is a writer, navigator and explorer. He has worked in travel most of his life, led expeditions on five continents and pioneered a renaissance in the very rare art of natural navigation. Tristan is the only living person to have both flown solo and sailed single-handed across the Atlantic. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Institute of Navigation and Vice Chairman of the UK's largest independent travel company, Trailfinders. His books include The Natural Explorer and The Natural Navigator. His website is www.naturalnavigator.com. Sara Maitland is the author of numerous works of fiction, including the Somerset Maugham Award-winning Daughters of Jerusalem, and several non-fiction books about religion. The Book of Silence was shortlisted for four prizes: The Orwell, the Saltire, The Scottish Arts Council book award and the Bristol Festival of Ideas Book prize, and has sold more than 30,000 copies. Born in 1950, she studied at Oxford University and currently tutors on the MA in creative writing for Lancaster University. Her latest book is Gossip from the Forests. Tim Cresswell is pofessor of human geography at Royal Holloway. This event forms part of LSE's 5th Space for Thought Literary Festival, taking place from Tuesday 26 February - Saturday 2 March 2013, with the theme 'Branching Out'.

Contributor(s): Claude Fischler, Matthew Fort, Katie Miller, Carl Warner | Food is something of an obsession in contemporary culture, with 'celebrity' chefs topping the bestseller lists and pop-up restaurants and foodie blogs the height of cool. But are we thinking about food in the right way? Food shortages are predicted to be the next major world crisis, and obesity and eating disorders increasingly test our health services. Do campaigns to encourage sustainable healthy eating make any difference? This panel will explore international attitudes to food. Claude Fischler is director of Research at CNRS, the national research agency of France, and heads the Interdisciplinary Institute for Contemporary Anthropology, a research and graduate studies unit of Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. His main area of research is a comparative, social science perspective on food and nutrition, their role and determinants in societies and cultures. His work covers the structure and function of cuisines, taste and preferences, body image and their evolution and change over time and space. He has published numerous articles on these issues, as well as books including L'Homnivore, Du Vin and Manger. His latest book Les Alimentations particulières on special dietary requirements and the issues they involve will be published in 2013. Matthew Fort was Food and Drink editor of the Guardian from 1989- 2006. He has written for a wide variety of British, American and French publications. In 1992 he won the title of Glenfiddich Food Writer of the Year and, in 1993, Glenfiddich Restaurant Writer of the Year, as well as The Restaurateurs’ Association Food Writer of the Year. He was Glenfiddich Cookery Writer of the Year in 2005. He has written three books on food, the third of which, Eating Up Italy, was the Guild of Food Writers Book of the Year in 2005, and his fifth, Sweet Honey, Bitter Lemons, a food portrait of Sicily, won the Premio Sicilia Madre Mediterranea in 2009. Recent television series include Greatest Dishes in the World (Sky; 2005); The Forager’s Field Guide (ITV; 2005). He co-presented Market Kitchen (UKTVFood) with Tom Parker Bowles until 2010. Currently he’s a judge on The Great British Menu (BBC2; 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011,2012, 2013). Katie Miller is Sustainable Seafood Coalition advisor at ClientEarth. Prior to joining ClientEarth, Katie coordinated events for environmental NGO Green Alliance and worked on both fisheries and coral reefs in marine and freshwater conservation programmes at the Zoological Society of London. Carl Warner is a professional still life photographer with a studio in London, and has worked in the advertising industry for more than 20 years. Over the past ten years he has been developing a body of work making landscapes out of food. This work has been featured in magazines and newspapers all over the world, as well as advertising campaigns and commissions from some of the biggest brand names in the food industry. His book Carl Warner's Food Landscapes is published by Abrams Image. James Thornton is an environmental lawyer, social entrepreneur, and the founding CEO of ClientEarth. James founded ClientEarth - Europe’s first public interest environmental law organisation - in 2007. Now operating globally, it uses advocacy, litigation and research to address the greatest challenges of our time - including biodiversity loss, climate change, and toxic chemicals. The New Statesman has named him as one of 10 people who could change the world. This event forms part of LSE's 5th Space for Thought Literary Festival, taking place from Tuesday 26 February - Saturday 2 March 2013, with the theme 'Branching Out'.

Contributor(s): Carola Luther, Michael McGregor, Dr Llewelyn Morgan | How well can political ideas and sentiments be expressed and illuminated in poetry? Are oblique references more successful than the overt? Is the formulation of political ideas in poetry intrinsically more difficult than other ideas? Does a poet’s expression of politics necessarily compromise her status as a poet, or are our views of these matters culturally specific, related to assumptions about and ideals of the poet that cannot be applied at all historical times. In this panel discussion speakers will read short passages of poetry to illustrate their points. Carola Luther is a former poet in residence at The Wordsworth Trust, now living in Yorkshire. She is the author of Arguing with Malarchy and Walking the Animals (Carcanet Press) and Herd (Wordsworth Trust). Carola will examine the topic from the perspective of contemporary poetry. Michael McGregor is The Robert Woof Director of The Wordsworth Trust – an organisation that not only curates the world’s most important collection of Wordsworth manuscripts, but also supports contemporary poetry through readings, workshops and a poetry residence. Michael’s remarks will centre on the treatment of political issues such as the French Revolution by Wordsworth and other Romantics. Llewelyn Morgan is lecturer in classical literature and language and tutorial fellow in classics at Brasenose College, Oxford, and author of Musa Pedestris: Metre and Meaning in Roman Verse, Oxford University Press. Llewelyn will focus on the Latin poets, Virgil and Horace, who wrote under the indirect patronage of the first Roman emperor. Richard Bronk is a visiting fellow at the European Institute, LSE, and author of The Romantic Economist (Cambridge University Press). This event forms part of LSE's 5th Space for Thought Literary Festival, taking place from Tuesday 26 February - Saturday 2 March 2013, with the theme 'Branching Out'.

Contributor(s): Pat Barker | Moving from the Slade School of Art to Queen Mary's Hospital, where surgery and art intersect in the rebuilding of the shattered faces of the wounded, Pat Barker’s latest novel Toby's Room is a riveting drama of identity, damage, intimacy and loss. This event will explore art’s responsibility to war, and the links between art, literature, science and history. Pat Barker was born in Thornaby-on-Tees in 1943. She was educated at LSE and has been a teacher of history and politics. Her books include Union Street (1982), winner of the 1983 Fawcett Prize, which has been filmed as Stanley and Iris; Blow Your House Down (1984); Liza's England (1986), formerly The Century's Daughter, The Man Who Wasn't There (1989); the highly acclaimed Regeneration trilogy, comprising Regeneration,The Eye in The Door, winner of the 1993 Guardian Fiction Prize, and The Ghost Road, winner of the 1995 Booker Prize for Fiction and Another World. Her last novel was Life Class. Suzannah Biernoff is lecturer in modern and contemporary visual culture, Department of History of Art and Screen Media at Birkbeck College. This event forms part of LSE's 5th Space for Thought Literary Festival, taking place from Tuesday 26 February - Saturday 2 March 2013, with the theme 'Branching Out'.

Contributor(s): Dr Vayu Naidu, Michael Wood | After a performance by the highly acclaimed story teller Vayu Naidu of a story from the Ramayana, this discussion will explore the oral tradition of storytelling, and fiction. Vayu Naidu is a story teller. She is founder and artistic director of the Vau Naidu company, which promotes storytelling as theatre, with a signature style combining text, music and dance. She has brought research and performance of oral traditions into British Academy, creating new works with composers and orchestras and for theatre and radio drama. Her debut novel is Sita's Ascent. Michael Wood is a British historian and filmmaker. He has made over 100 documentary films including In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great and The Story of India, which have been seen in most countries of the world; the latest was The Great British Story on BBC 2 this summer. Among his many books he is the author of The Story of India (BBC) and a contributor to Chidambaram the Home of Nataraja (Marg Mumbai); his South Indian Journey (Penguin) was praised by Rough Guides as ‘one of the most enlightening books ever written about South India’. He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a governor of the RSC. Mukulika Banerjee is a reader in Social Anthropology at LSE. This event forms part of LSE's 5th Space for Thought Literary Festivals, taking place from Tuesday 26 February - Saturday 2 March 2013, with the theme 'Branching Out'.

Contributor(s): Katy Darby | Bored of the same old viewpoint or genre? Want to inject new life into your prose? Katy Darby talks about experimenting and playing around with different approaches to writing fiction. We'll explore the genesis and development of ideas (and come up with some new ones of our own) - and discuss ways of telling a story which can refresh a dusty narrative and teach an old plot new tricks. Katy Darby is author of The Unpierced Heart, director of short story event Liars' League and writing tutor at City University. This is the second of three workshops, preceded by Fast Fiction: creative writing and changing technology at 10am, and followed by Based on a True Story at 12noon. This event forms part of LSE's 5th Space for Thought Literary Festival, taking place from Tuesday 26 February - Saturday 2 March 2013, with the theme 'Branching Out'.

Contributor(s): Gabriella Ambrosio, Vered Cohen–Barzilay, Marina Nemat | Literature has a unique capacity to touch the hearts and minds and engage readers in a way that is distinctly different from political or academic texts. Can it play a role in exposing human rights violations? Should literature be ‘engaged’, and should authors take political or social stand? Gabriella Ambrosio’s first novel, Before we Say Goodbye, was inspired by the true story of a suicide bombing and is widely used as an educational tool. Vered Cohen–Barzilay is founder of Novel Rights, which encourages the literary community to take action. Marina Nemat’s memoir, Prisoner of Tehran, tells of growing up in Iran, being imprisoned for speaking out against the Iranian government and escaping a death sentence. Susan Marks joined the LSE in 2010 as Professor of International Law. This event forms part of LSE's 5th Space for Thought Literary Festival, taking place from Tuesday 26 February - Saturday 2 March 2013, with the theme 'Branching Out'.

Contributor(s): Jonathan Gibbs | It’s a truism that technology is changing the way we live our lives – but should this fact change just what we write about, or should it change the way we write too? In this workshop we will look at – and try out – various ways that writers have tried to keep pace with the new dynamics of the digital age, including flash fiction and Twitter fiction, as well as seeing what happens when we try to incorporate these new ways of understanding the world, and dealing with the information overload, into more tradition prose styles and forms. Bring a pad and paper, and a Twitter-enabled communication device (phone or laptop) ready to tweet – set up an account if you don’t have one. Jonathan Gibbs is currently finishing a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of East Anglia, where he was awarded a Malcolm Bradbury memorial bursary, and graduate teacher of the Year. His story, Tiny Camels is published by www.shortfirepress.com and his novel Randall, or The Painted Grape is currently on submission. This is the first of three workshops, followed by Trying New Positions: how to spice up your text life at 11am, and Based on a True Story at 12noon. This event forms part of LSE's 5th Space for Thought Literary Festival, taking place from Tuesday 26 February - Saturday 2 March 2013, with the theme 'Branching Out'.

Contributor(s): Hugh Tomlinson QC, Karon Monaghan QC, Jamie Burton, Martin Howe QC, Richard Honey, Tim Frost, Will Hutton, Andrew Lilico, Ruth Porter, Magdalena Sepulveda, Polly Toynbee | Organisers: Professor Conor Gearty, Professor of Human Rights Law, LSE; Professor Aoife Nolan, Professor of International Human Rights Law, The University of Nottingham. Introduction: Conor Gearty (LSE Department of Law) and Aoife Nolan (Just Fair). Judge: Hugh Tomlinson QC (Matrix Chambers). Prosecution: led by Karon Monaghan QC (Matrix Chambers) with Jamie Burton (Doughty Street). Defence: led by Martin Howe QC (8 New Square) with Richard Honey (Francis Taylor Building). Expert Witnesses: Tim Frost (Cairn Capital Group), Will Hutton (Oxford University), Andrew Lilico (Europe Economics), Ruth Porter (Institute of Economic Affairs), Magdalena Sepúlveda(UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights) and Polly Toynbee (The Guardian). Does UK government policy on economic austerity breach international human rights law? In an innovative legal proceedings, the charges will be brought, and 'Austerity' defended, by a team of legal experts, backed by distinguished human rights and other specialist witnesses from the UK and around the world. Overseen by a leading barrister acting as judge, the trial will end with a verdict delivered by a jury of children and young people, as well as the audience. The jury is made up of members of Amplify (the Children's Commissioner for England's Advisory Group of children and young people) and members of the LSE Widening Participation Programme. For full speaker biographies, the prosecution indictment and the defence statement for the event, please click on Event posting. For additional information on the event, please click on the Just Fair - Austerity on Trial link in Related Links below.