Come and meet two talented writers as they discuss their writing, identity, multiculturalism, and diversity. Common Ground by Naomi Ishiguro is a bittersweet and beautifully observed coming of age story about belonging, class, and society in a divided world.  The Anthill by Julianne Pachico is a compelling and vibrant novel which lays bare the trauma of life in post-peace Colombia. Join them both alongside chair Alex Clark for an engaging conversation on fiction. 

Naomi Ishiguro is the author of the acclaimed story collection, Escape Routes. A former bookseller and Bibliotherapist at Mr B.’s Emporium in Bath, she now lives and writes in London. Common Ground is her first novel.  

Julianne Pachico was born in 1985 in Cambridge and grew up in Cali, Colombia. She is a graduate of both the MA and PHD in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, where she currently teaches on the Creative Writing MA. She is the only writer to have two stories in the 2015 anthology of The Best British Short Stories, and her short fiction has been published in The New Yorker, among other publications. In 2017 Pachico was shortlisted for The Sunday Times/Peter Fraser and Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award. 

Alex Clark (chair) is a British literary journalist and editor who has written for The Guardian, The Observer, and The Times Literary Supplement. She also presents Front Row on BBC Radio 4 and hosts the Vintage Podcast about books.