i did a reading at the fitzcarraldo summer party

09/07/24 ZM

this is one of those blog posts where i have to write it n post it otherwise i’ll forget i did it, n i wana save the memz bc i Had A Lovely Time!!

recap:

as u may or may not know: a couple years ago world renowned food writing Big Cheese Jonathan Nunn asked me to write an essay for a book he was editing, i said YES(!!!) bc i respect and admire him enormously (as does everyone, we all love JN). i wrote a silly essay about taking boys to gujarati sports bars and how much i love the suburbs. The book was London Feeds Itself and my essay was in the company of several very illustrious names who had written many very important and interesting essays about serious things. the first edition was published by open city and it sold out faster than taylor swift tickets i think. fair play! the second edition came out earlier this year with fitcarraldo editions and it is updated – it has been expanded with new writing and it has also been given a fitzcarraldo facelift so it’s all sleek and minimal. HUGE DEAL, i am very honoured. can’t believe my luck n how i’ve managed to wangle my way in there like that, i stay jammy etc.

I also got an email from fitzcarraldo asking if i’d be up for reading my essay at their 2024 summer party. OBVIOUSLY SAID YES. i read my essay alongside Marianne Brooker who read from her book Intervals, Antonia Lloyd-Jones who read from her translation of Olga Tokarczuk’s The Empusium, and Toby Jones who read an excerpt from i think Jon Fosse’s a shining?

it was very good, i really enjoyed being read to – it’s nice being read to by a writer, their own words in their own voices. but toby jones is like a proper Actor, and his reading was like genuinely entertaining – it was funny, alive, he read the words and they became this moving performed thing. it was so magic and cool, so interesting to see. as a nervous public speaker i found myself wishing i knew a proper actor who could read for me! i wish!! one day maybe!!

& a week or so ago, jonathan nunn sent me this link in the new yorker, who’ve done a whole longread about fitzcarraldo – worth reading for other reasons, but mentioning it here bc i am MENTIONED in the NEw YoRKER!! publication of note! silly!!! thrilling!!! how glam! but they covered the summer party in this text he he he.

and clare from fitzcarraldo (thank u clare!) has j emailed with some fancy professional pics from the evening. this is whole blog post is also an excuse to paste them in below. the photos were taken by Dan John Lloyd, courtesy of Fitzcarraldo Editions. and the summer party was hosted at Bold Tendencies down in Peckham. had a really lovely time after the readings chatting to everyone too, esp since it’s so rare for me to be south of the river, so thank u fitzcarraldo for having me, thank u bold tendencies for hosting me – i had a very lovely time and i didn’t have to be nervous about anything at all. here are the pics!

this is me reading:

this is me giving my sweet bf a cuddle after, bc he was sat in the front row n smizing at me the whole time !!!! :') soooooo cute!

^^ those pics have proper image creds: Bold Tendencies 2024 - Fitzcarraldo Editions Annual Summer Party. Courtesy Fitzcarraldo Editions © Dan John Lloyd.

n then these are the pics my bf took on his phone (just as lovely) »»

ok that’s all!!!! bye love u!