The Southbank Centre has announced its exciting 2023 literature and spoken word season line-up.
The series of events and discussions will take place between June and October, covering fiction and non-fiction topics with prominent industry figures.
Head of Literature & Spoken Word at the Southbank Centre, Ted Hodgkinson, said: “This is a Summer programme filled with firsts, from fiery new talents to iconic authors breaking new ground.”
The season will tackle important contemporary cultural issues, producing an exciting deluge of thought-provoking discussions set against the backdrop of the world-famous Southbank Centre. These themes include power abuse, politics of race, masculinity, and the technological revolution.
Its diverse line-up is set to welcome new and well-versed names such as Elliot Page, actor, producer, and director. He celebrates the publication of his new memoir Pageboy discussing experiences of love, trauma and being a Hollywood star.
Journalist and author Caitlin Moran returns to discuss her new release What About Men? exploring masculinity and its related challenges with an urgent but amusing angle on the pressing area of extensive current interest.
Theresa May, former British Prime Minister and Home Secretary, will also discuss her upcoming book, The Abuse of Power. The book draws on her experience of high-level personal involvement in domestic and international affairs and expects to challenge how the public approaches politics in public life.
In addition to platforming non-fiction releases and breakthrough new novelists, June through July will showcase a one-of-a-kind collection of poetry, some platforming artists’ work pushing the boundaries of tradition and incorporating unique creative mediums in performances.
These include sound performances from interdisciplinary artists such as Camilla Nelson, Nicola Woodham and Emmanuelle Waeckerlé, who incorporate sonic arts into their spoken word.
Other notable speakers include poet and cultural activist Linton Kwesi Johnson and Colson Whitehead.
Yanis Varoufakis is an academic, politician and author who briefly served as the Greek Minister of Finance in 2015. His expertise is in the European debt crisis, and he will be discussing his upcoming book Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, where he argues that a technologically surged form of feudalism has usurped capitalism.
Novelist Zadie Smith, best known for her debut novel White Teeth (2000), will discuss her forthcoming historical book The Fraud.
The announcement comes shortly after the Southbank confirmed its Planet Summer featuring the Poetry International Festival, which world-famous climate activist Greta Thunberg will join.
The Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre, minutes away from the London Eye.
The centre has a rich cultural history from the 1951 Festival of Britain. It continues to be home to an extensive array of global annual culture & art events, including the BFI London Film Festival.
Tickets for the summer’s literature season went on sale for members on Thursday 4 May, and opened to the public Friday 5 May.
Tickets and a full line-up can be found here.
Featured image credit: Ben Bailey Smith via Southbank Centre
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