Announcing The Folio Academy Sessions at the British Library

 

 

The Folio Prize Foundation announces The Folio Academy Sessions at the British Library

Thursday 28 April 2015: The Folio Prize Foundation and the British Library are pleased to announce The Folio Academy Sessions, which will take place at the British Library over the weekend 18-19 June 2016.

The Folio Prize Foundation and the British Library will host some of the world’s finest writers and their guests – from the fields of literature, art, music and law – at a weekend devoted to the art of storytelling.

This series of unique events, each programmed by a different member of the Folio Prize Academy, will examine how stories have the power to transform us: how they can impact individuals and effect social change.

Events speakers include: Kevin Barry, Tracy Chevalier, Geoff Dyer, Tom Holland, Penelope Lively, Paul Mason, Cornelia Parker, Caryl Phillips, Geoffrey Robertson, Sathnam Sanghera, Tracey Thorn, Jeanette Winterson and Evie Wyld.

 

The full programme can be viewed here: www.thefolioacademysessions.com

 

Andrew Kidd, co-founder of the Folio Prize, says: ‘From the outset, the Prize Foundation’s remit has been to explore and celebrate storytelling in all its forms, and now – thanks to the generosity of our many supporters – we are delighted to be introducing the Folio Academy Sessions. The Sessions also signal a new, closer partnership between the Foundation and the British Library: a vibrant collaboration that brings together the 240 members of our Academy with one of the world’s great institutions, an international hub of living knowledge’

Suzy Lucas, executive director of the Folio Prize, says: ‘As we work toward securing sponsorship for the 2017 prize and beyond, these outstanding events at the British Library demonstrate the real value and purpose of the Folio Prize and its Academy - to celebrate the power of great storytelling’

Roly Keating, Chief Executive of the British Library, says ‘We are excited to be hosting the Folio Academy Sessions at the Library, and to be building on our great collaboration with the Folio Prize and the Academy, established over the last three years. The Sessions promise an exceptional set of discussions and a superb gathering of speakers’

We are grateful to the Eccles Centre for American Studies at the British Library for their generous support of the weekend: ‘The Eccles Centre was founded by David and Mary Eccles in 1991 to promote the use of the British Library’s North American materials, and to support American, Canadian, and Caribbean Studies in schools and universities.’

Arrangements for the Prize are ongoing, with enquiries welcomed via the Prize’s executive director Suzy Lucas [email protected]

 

Notes to Editors:

 

  • The Folio Prize is the first major English language book prize open to writers from around the world. Its aim is simple: to celebrate the best fiction of our time, regardless of form or genre, and to bring it to the attention of as many readers as possible. Unique in its conception, it is the only literary prize to give writers the power to decide the shortlist and winner.
  • The Folio Prize Academy is a community where conversations about the value and direction of fiction take place. There is no equivalent body of international writers anywhere in the world. The 240 current Academicians include: Margaret Atwood, Peter Carey, J.M. Coetzee, Carol Ann Duffy, Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie and Zadie Smith www.thefolioprize.com/the-academy
  • The Folio Prize 2015 was awarded to Akhil Sharma on 23 March for Family Life, published by Faber & Faber. In the week following the win, orders of Family Life trebled on the back of blanket media coverage for the Prize, with the paperback edition pulled forward and a reprint of 17,500 copies ordered on top of a first additional print run of 12,000.
  • The Literature (Folio) Prize Foundation is a registered charity committed to bringing the most outstanding works of English language fiction to public attention through the awarding of the Prize. Overseen by its trustees, the Foundation seeks to engage readers and writers throughout the English-speaking world in cultural debate and in the celebration, sustainment and furtherance of the art of literature, which it believes has the capacity to enrich and change people’s lives.
  • The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world’s greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library’s collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation and includes books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, photographs, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages. Up to 10 million people visit the British Library website - www.bl.uk - every year where they can view up to 4 million digitised collection items and over 40 million pages.