Free UCL festival celebrates London and Literature

Free UCL festival celebrates London and Literature

A free one-day festival dedicated to the celebration of London and Literature will give the public an opportunity to listen to and share thoughts with celebrated authors, poets and academics on all things London.

’One Day in the City’, held on 15 June and organised by UCL English Language & Literature, includes talks and readings from Man Booker Prize-winners A.S. Byatt and Alan Hollinghurst; 2003 Granta-listed novelist, Adam Thirlwell; renowned poets Daljit Nagra, Alan Jenkins, Sarah Maguire and Mark Ford; filmmakers Chris Petit and William Raban; and the iconic London voices of Iain Sinclair and Will Self.

Panel topics include walking in the city, urban technologies, parkour, and what makes London a writers’ city. Novelists, poets, and academics will come together to read, perform and discuss some of the greatest works inspired by London.

The majority of the day’s events will take place within UCL’s Bloomsbury Campus, within the square created by the Euston Road, Gower Street, Torrington Place, and Gordon Street. The British Museum, British Library, Senate House Library, and the Royal Institute of British Architects will also be holding some linked events.

Organiser Nick Shepley, UCL English Language & Literature, said: "The festival aims to celebrate London and the creativity it inspires - and to be inclusive. That’s why we felt it was important that it was free, entirely focused on London and held in some of London’s most iconic buildings.

"For one day we aim to create intimate and dynamic forums through which the city, research on the city, and creative talents within the city can be celebrated and showcased to as wide an audience as possible.

"At a time when student fees are rising and funding is being slashed in Arts and Humanities faculties across the UK, this day will demonstrate, on a practical and visceral level, the importance of creativity and its non-quantifiable value within the city."

The festival aims to celebrate London and the creativity it inspires - and to be inclusive. That’s why we felt it was important that it was free, entirely focused on London and held in some of London’s most iconic buildings.

Nick Shepley

Alongside the festival, an art exhibition at UCL will juxtapose representations of life in London: past, present, and future. Rare items from UCL’s collections will sit alongside images streamed "real-time" from London’s streets. Two exhibition spaces will be populated with caricatures, paintings, sketches, books, photographs and digital media.

Part I of the ’One Day in the City’ exhibition will take place in UCL Art Museum and South Cloisters, Wilkins Building, from 15 June - 22 August. Part II of the exhibition will take place in the UCL Art Museum from 22 September - 15 December

The festival is supported by UCL English Language & Literature, UCL Grand Challenges: Sustainable Cities, Bartlett School of Architecture, The Man Booker Prize, Waterstones, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis.