Statement from The Folio Prize about the inaugural Folio Society Lecture

The Folio Prize announces with regret that the inaugural Folio Society Lecture due to be given tonight by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie at the British Library will not be going ahead. Ms Adichie has been taken unwell and is therefore unable to travel to London to deliver the lecture.

The British Library and The Folio Prize Fiction Festival have put plans in place to compensate ticket holders who are offered a full refund or a day pass for this weekend’s Folio Prize Fiction Festival. A full refund can only be obtained by calling The British Library Box Office on 01937 546546 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm). For a day pass for the Folio Prize Fiction Festival this Saturday or Sunday (usual price £24 plus concessions) please email [email protected]. These are limited availability so if you would like to take up this option please email as soon as possible.

Andrew Kidd, Folio Prize co-founder, comments; “It is with great regret that we have had to cancel the inaugural Folio Society lecture at short notice. We were all hugely excited to have Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie open this year’s Folio Prize Fiction Festival, but unfortunately she is unwell and unable to take part. We’d like to extend our sympathy and best wishes to Chimamanda for a speedy recovery, and we hope that her fans will join us instead over the weekend, which will be both a rich celebration of storytelling and a fascinating exploration of fiction as a social force.”

The Folio Prize Fiction Festival taking place at the British Library on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 March will feature a host of authors and critics from The Folio Prize Academy, as well as the Prize judges and this year’s shortlisted authors: Ben Lerner, Miriam Toews, Jenny Offill, Yvonne Adhiabmbo Owuor, Akhil Sharma, Ali Smith, Colm Tóibín and Rachel Cusk.

The festival is structured around a series of panel discussions, which this year will explore the themes that propel and punctuate a story, amongst them Betrayal, Desire and Conflict. These discussions are designed to give writers an opportunity to investigate a set of linked subjects in real depth. Throughout the weekend, the shortlisted authors will be giving readings from their work.

The winner of The Folio Prize will be announced on Monday 23 March at a ceremony at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in central London.