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Carys Davies – Clear

WithCarys Davies
In conversation withFiona Mozley

At: The Portobello Bookshop

On:5th March 2024, 7:00pm - 8:00pm

Carys Davies – Clear at The Portobello Bookshop

We can't wait to welcome Carys Davies to the bookshop to launch her third novel, Clear. It's an atmospheric and tender novel about the beauty of human connection, even if it is made at the edge of the world. Davies will be in conversation with fellow author Fiona Mozley.

This event will take place in the bookshop with an in-person audience, as well as a livestream for attendees watching from home. There will be a signing after the event.

In-person vouchers can be redeemed on the night of the event against a single copy of Clear – we will have a list of attendees with vouchers to be redeemed. Please note that only one voucher can be redeemed per book. Livestream vouchers are valid until the day after the event and can be redeemed on the website against a single copy of Clear.

About Clear:

1843. On a remote Scottish island, Ivar, the sole occupant, leads a life of quiet isolation until the day he finds a man unconscious on the beach below the cliffs. The newcomer is John Ferguson, an impoverished church minister sent to evict Ivar and turn the island into grazing land for sheep. Unaware of the stranger's intentions, Ivar takes him into his home, and in spite of the two men having no common language, a fragile bond begins to form between them. Meanwhile on the mainland, John's wife Mary anxiously awaits news of his mission.

Against the rugged backdrop of this remote island beyond Shetland, Carys Davies's intimate drama unfolds with tension and tenderness: a touching and crystalline study of ordinary people buffeted by history and a powerful exploration of the distances and connections between us. Perfectly structured and surprising at every turn, Clear is a marvel of storytelling, an exquisite short novel by a master of the form.

Please note: Tickets for our events are non-refundable. Professional photography and videography may take place during this event. Thank you for your understanding.

Participants:

Carys Davies Author

Carys Davies is the author of two novels, The Mission House (2020) and West (2018), which won the Wales Book of the Year Fiction award, was Runner-Up for the Society of Author's McKitterick Prize and was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize. Her short stories have been widely published in magazines and anthologies and broadcast on BBC Radio 4, and have won the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize, the Society of Authors' Olive Cook Award, the Royal Society of Literature's V S Pritchett Prize, and a Northern Writers' Award. Davies' second collection, The Redemption of Galen Pike, won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award 2015.

Fiona Mozley Chair

Fiona Mozley is the author of two novels: Elmet (2017) and Hot Stew (2021). She has been short-listed for the Booker Prize and the Ondaatje Prize and has won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Polari Prize. She has been long-listed for the Women's Prize and the Dylan Thomas Prize. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, The New Statesman, The Financial Times, The Fence Magazine and British Vogue, among others. She has been a judge for the BBC National Short Story Award. She lives in Edinburgh.

The venue

The Portobello Bookshop

46 Portobello High Street
Edinburgh
EH15 1DA

Telephone: 0131 629 6756

Website: www.theportobellobookshop.com


Wheelchair Access

We have a ramp at the front of the shop which has a ratio of 1:10 and loading capacity of 300kg, and so should be able to be used by most wheelchair users or those with mobility vehicles. The front doors are fully automated. Our shop interior is designed to allow access throughout for wheelchair users and prams, though please note there is only 700mm wide clearance to access the staff toilet.

Sound

We use a PA system to enhance the audio at our live events. We also have a hearing loop system installed, if you’d like to use our loop system during an event please let us know and we’ll make sure we have it set up and connected to the live audio feed during the event. If you wish to attend an event and require BSL interpretation, please give us a few weeks notice and we’ll do our best to arrange an interpreter.