Gwendoline Riley & David Szalay

Two prize-winning voices in contemporary fiction discuss the craft of pared-back prose and the inner lives of difficult characters. Expect blunt observation, sharp wit and not a word wasted. 

David Szalay won the 2025 Booker Prize for Flesh, his hypnotic novel following one man from a Hungarian housing estate to the mansions of London’s super-rich, a portrait of masculinity and class. Gwendoline Riley, winner of the 2026 Windham-Campbell Prize, presents The Palm House, the story of two lifelong friends holding on to each other as they navigate their separate troubles. 

‘It’s rare to find prose this spare that doesn’t feel affect, but Szalay handles surface and depth with skill, as only great novelists can.’
Sunday Times 

‘The Palm House on almost any page will give you more delight than most other novels published this year.’
John Self, The Critic

Gwendoline & David will be in conversation with writer, broadcaster & literary critic Chris Power.