Natasha Brown - Universality
WithNatasha Brown
In conversation withSasha de Buyl
On:13th March 2025, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Attendance options:
It's our pleasure to be welcoming Natasha Brown to the bookshop for the publication day launch of her new novel, Universality. We absolutely love her debut, Assembly, so it's really special to be hosting this event for her second novel. Brown will be in conversation with writer and programmer Sasha de Buyl.
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 Universality – 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 our website against a single copy of Universality.
About Universality:
Remember – words are your weapons, they’re your tools, your currency.
On a Yorkshire farm, a man is brutally bludgeoned with a solid gold bar.
A plucky young journalist sets out to uncover the truth surrounding the attack, connecting the dots between an amoral banker landlord, an iconoclastic columnist, and a radical anarchist movement. She solves the mystery, but her viral longread exposé raises more questions than it answers.
Universality is a twisty, slippery descent into the rhetoric of truth and power. Through a voyeuristic lens, it focuses on words: what we say, how we say it, and what we really mean.The follow-up novel to Natasha Brown’s Assembly is a compellingly nasty celebration of the spectacular force of language. It dares you to look away.
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:
Natasha Brown Author
Natasha Brown is a British novelist. Her debut novel Assembly was Foyles Fiction Book of the Year, shortlisted for several awards, and has been translated into 17 languages. She was a 2023 Granta Best of Young British Novelist and a 2021 Observer Best Debut Novelist.
Sasha de Buyl Chair
Sasha de Buyl is a writer and programmer from Cork. Their writing has been published in The Stinging Fly, Belfield Literary Review and Gutter, among others. Most recently, they were Programme Director for International Literature Festival Dublin and in 2023 acted as Guest Curator for StAnza, Scotland's International Poetry Festival. From 2019 - 2022, they were the Director of Cúirt International Festival of Literature in Galway, Ireland. They are currently undertaking a DFA in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow.
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.