Well what a ride it has been. This year The Good Son was shortlisted for The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize and selected as Best of 2015 by The Reading Agency, Wales Arts Review and ELLE Magazine.
This is me reading from the first chapter at Word Factory, filmed for the first time. It was quite an informal affair with lots of friends and colleagues in the audience, as you will see (I’m Associate Director at Word Factory).
I hope you enjoy it.
Reading for Word Factory at Waterstones Piccadilly this week was a whole lot of fun. It was great to read alongside friends and colleagues. I can remember only a couple of years ago being so terrified I stopped reading and froze after just a few lines. Now I look like a pro.
The ceiling was bouncing from the music and dancing above and below there were readings from authors such as Booker Prize-winner Marlon James. Lots to distract and get nervous about.
I say look like a pro because I never feel like one. I think it’s all a confidence trick. Just pretend you’re a pro and see what happens. Readings can be funny things – a mixture of ‘can’t wait for my turn’ and ‘please let me disappear’. My legs were shaking so badly I had to keep shifting from my front leg to my back leg so they didn’t give way completely. I couldn’t stand still or both legs. On the other hand – or rather, the top half – I was giving it my all. If I’m totally honest I was showing off. I got lots of great feedback from people who had seen me read before and no-one noticed. Not one. That’ll do for me. And I really enjoyed it.
One great piece of advice you’re given is that when reading you should make an effort to look up from the page. It drives the energy out, the audience see more of your ‘performance’ and with some eye contact they become more engaged. And I just found out – by looking up you could catch some images like this… people really having a good laugh. Strong and genuine reactions to your work.
Thanks to James Lawson for the pics. A video of the reading is coming soon… yikes!
Another wonderful review of The Good Son, this time from Susie Wild in Bare Fiction Magazine. Read the whole thing by clicking the link.
‘A vivid, playful, fence-hurdling, page-turning act of cocky bravado and endearing imagination. Mickey is a shining star of a protagonist; charming, erudite, and warmly, infectiously funny.
…a startling debut, McVeigh proves he more than warrants the literary company he keeps. The writing is sharp and the voice, a difficult one to sustain over a novel’s length, rarely falters. With pages so full of heart and helter-skelter movement, it is no surprise to learn that he also has a background in theatre. The pages of his first novel are alive with sparky dialogue and this visual language, the brash and the subtle, the compelling, the compassionate.
An engaging storyteller, I hope to see more from Paul McVeigh…’
You can hear me read from The Good Son Thursday Dec 3 at Waterstones Piccadilly at 6.30. For tickets to the Word Factory salon at the Waterstones Xmas evening email piccadilly@waterstones.com .
My final reading of this year is in the biggest bookshop in Europe (it’s also rather beautiful) Waterstones Piccadilly, London, on December 3 at 6.30pm. It’s part of their Christmas celebrations and Word Factory have been asked to do a literary salon. You can read more about it here and here.
These are the other authors and events appearing at this special evening…
Booker-winner Marlon James
Virginia Baily
Laura Barnett
Rob Biddulph
Jonathan Coe
David Downton
Miriam Elia
Cathy Galvin
The Gentle Author
Zoe Gilbert
Christopher Green
Professor Green
Dave Haslam
Christopher William Hill
Conn Iggulden
Little Atoms
Paul McVeigh
Irenosen Okojie
Chris Riddell
Kristina Rihanoff
Polly Samson
Alice Stevenson
Music & song with La La Piano Bar
Music & poetry with Brudini & Chip Martin
Quiz from the QI elves
Colouring-in The Menagerie with the O’Mara team
The Word Factory Salon
Pop-up cake stall from Bluebell Kitchen
Stories from the Petit Prance
Dance with Scott Cupit & Swing Patrol
Cocktails from Mr Lyan and the Society Club
It’s a free event – all you have to do is book your place by emailing piccadilly@waterstones.com. Hope to see some you there.
Lots of fun reading at City Reads Brighton last night. Reading alongside a long list of wonderful writers.
If you like live literature and you want to catch me reading you can come to Hastings on Oct 27 (my birthday) for my third Polari salon. It ‘s always an excellent line up. I met comedian Chris Green year’s ago when I was writing and directing comedy in London. I watched his first show and gave him some directing notes. I wonder if he’ll remember me? I hope to see some of you there.
I’m talking at West Sussex Writers tonight about writing, Word Factory, London Short Story Festival and my ‘Not The Booker’ Prize shortlisting.
Come to Inclusive Arts at Heene Gallery, Worthing at 7.30pm. Non-members very welcome, £5 including tea/coffee and cake.www.westsussexwriters.co.uk
Did you hear that? Includes tea and cake. And apparently there’s a raffle. I’d go just for that.
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| This Year’s Prize |
This sounds like a wonderful evening and I’m very excited to be part of it. Celebrating Matt Haig’s ‘Being Human’ with responses on the text from writers. Hope to see some of you there.
Polari presents… Friday 16 October 7:30pm Marlborough Theatre
A big hit last year, London’s award-winning LGBT literary salon returns to the Marlborough as part of a national tour. Described by The Huffington Post as “The most exciting literary movement in London… crackling with energy, ideas, excitement” Polari won ‘LGBT Cultural Event of the Year’ in the Co-op Respect Loved By You Awards 2013. Hosted by Paul Burston with guest authors and performers including VG Lee, Damian Barr, Juliet Jacques and Paul McVeigh . “Lively, funny and inspiring a gay-themed salon of interest to anyone remotely interested in literature, whatever their sexual bent” Patrick Gale
“Always fun, always thought-provoking a guaranteed good night out” Sarah Waters
“I love doing Polari a blend of audience sweetness, panache, cleverness and really good fun” Ali Smith
This event is part of a Polari National Tour funded by Arts Council England – See more at: http://www.marlboroughtheatre.org.uk/event/polari/#sthash.JywE16Bi.dpuf
I hope to see some of you at these events in July.
Monday July 13th 7.30-8.15pm: Harper Lee & Contemporary Fiction. Waterstones Piccadilly, London.
It’s a real honour to be part of the celebrations for the historic release of Harper Lee’s ‘Go Set a Watchman’ at Waterstones Piccadilly. I’ll be joining Joanna Trollope and theatre director Timothy Sheader to discuss Harper Lee and the enduring influence of her 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The event is chaired by my agent Carrie Kania who worked with Harper Lee in New York. Followed by more events and a screening of the film before an exclusive midnight opening where they will be the first bookshop to sell the noel in the UK. All events are free but please RSVP to piccadilly@waterstones.com.
Monday July 20th 7:30pm. Polari at The Southbank Centre, London.
I’ll be reading alongside Kerry Hudson, Lisa Jewell, Sarah Savage and Nigel May… for literary crackle, arousal and surprise in the final Polari salon of the summer. Polari was described by the Huffington Post in 2014 as ‘The most exciting literary movement in London… crackling with energy, ideas and excitement’. The salon is hosted by author and journalist Paul Burston. Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall. Please note that Polari contains adult themes. For ages 18+. For further info and booking click here.
Paul McVeigh 