Laura Barnett in conversation with Lucy Caldwell

This November, we are thrilled to welcome bestselling author Laura Barnett to join us to talk about her third novel Gifts. 

As a freelance arts journalist, features writer and theatre critic, Laura has worked for the Guardian, the Observer and the Daily Telegraph amongst others. Her debut novel, The Versions of Us, was a number 1 bestseller and has been translated into 23 languages. 

Gifts, due to be published in November 2021, is a collection of linked short stories set at Christmas in a fictional Kent market town. It's a novel about how wonderful and sad and difficult and happy and strange Christmas can be. Stories to inspire, move and comfort. Laura will be chatting about her book with Belfast Book Festival Patron and author Lucy Caldwell. 

Twelve People... 

Twelve Gifts...

One Christmas to Remember...

Maddy runs the bookshop on Market Square. She's struggling to choose a gift (a watch? a wine subscription? a weekend bag? all too much?) for her old school friend Peter, who's just moved back from London following a messy divorce.

Peter doesn't have a clue what to get for his teenage daughter Chloe - furious with her mother, she's decided to up sticks and move to Kent with him, but he worries that he really doesn't know her at all.

Chloe wants to buy something special for her grandmother Irene, who lives alone on the other side of town.

Irene doesn't get out much these days, but she'd really like to find the right gift for Alina, who's so much more than a carer, really - always stops to chat for a bit, have a cup of tea, even if it makes her late.

And Alina, meanwhile, has her eye on something for...

Keen for a comforting Christmas tale?

Look no further than this heartwarming read, which tells the stories of 12 people, 12 gifts and one Christmas to remember. Full of warmth, poignancy, and a huge dose of Christmas spirit. Red Magazine