with Nell McCafferty, Xiaolu Guo and Jackie Kay

In association with The Ark, A Cultural Centre for Children
For many writers childhood is a rich source of inspiration – a realm of heightened awareness, which he or she forever attempts to recapture. In this exclusive event, three acclaimed writers — from three very different backgrounds — revisit what Virginia Woolf termed the ‘vast cathedral space of childhood’.

For over 30 years, playwright, journalist and renowned feminist Nell McCafferty has been one of Ireland's most vociferous commentators/campaigners, fighting for social justice and sexual equality, often against the grain of Ireland's prevailing mores.

Xiaolu Guo is a prolific novelist, screenwriter and filmmaker, raised in South China, but currently working in East London. With a debut English-language novel and first feature film currently making waves, her star is well and truly in the ascendant.

Jackie Kay is a major Scottish poet, novelist and short story writer. From her five volumes of poetry to her Guardian Prize-winning novel Trumpet and short story collection Wish I Was Here, she has become one of Britain's most celebrated writers.

This afternoon, each author responds to the notion of childhood with a specially commissioned short talk or reading from their own unique perspective, culminating in an open discussion on the language, literature and landscape of this evocative terrain.