Chairperson: Nicholas Grene

In the return of this popular festival strand, two contemporary authors choose a favourite literary work (or works) that have inspired or influenced their own writing and reading. Join them for these intimate and engaging conversations as they celebrate and explore their treasured texts.

Tim Parks, Booker-shortlisted novelist, essayist and translator (Cleaver, A Season in Verona, Teach us to Sit Still) shares his love of Chekhov’s short fiction. For Parks, Chekhov was a master of the genre: ‘the stories do not gain with greater length: the fascination and fear of life’s unruliness come across in the way circumstances are rapidly but also tersely described, with appetite, but never excess.’ Here Parks revisits a personal selection from the Wordsworth Classics Selected Stories and Granta’s The Essential Tales of Chekhov (ed. Richard Ford).

*To participate in these events please read the selected book in advance of the event. Capacity is limited to 50. Books are available for sale from The Gutter Bookshop (our dedicated Festival Bookseller) located on Cow’s Lane in Temple Bar.