Stephen kindly answered a few questions so that the audience can get to know him in advance of the festival.
As you ask interviewees on your own blog, please give us a biography of yourself in 50 words...
Reader. Writer. Daydreamer. Innocent bystander. Sceptical. Curious. Radical but suspicious of change. Father. Husband. Son. Brother. Resident of West Yorkshire by way of Bedford, Colchester and Ipswich. But half-Scottish. And, like Flaubert, I attempt to be a bourgoise in my life so I can be an anarchist in my art.
You’ll be discussing your 'Costa prize' nominated novel ‘Life, death, prizes’ at the book festival, tell us a bit about that book for the reader’s who’ve not yet read it.
A single mother is killed in a botched street robbery - leaving behind two boys aged 19 and 6. The older boy, Billy, narrates the book as he struggles to become a kind of mum, dad and everything else for his little brother. He hopes that love and wit will be enough. And they're not quite. It's based partly on my experiences of being a very young and ill-equipped dad (I became a father while still at college), partly on my over-long acquaintance with menial jobs and the trigger was being involved in a failed mugging a few years back. With any luck it makes people laugh, makes people think...
How did you get involved with the Book Festival?
I love Felixstowe. My in-laws live here, so any excuse to come down basically...
You are a person of many talents – teaching, writing for TV, script writing as well as having published two novels – what are you working on at the moment?
You are very kind. I have just completed the screenplay for Life! Death! Prizes! and finished editing my next novel Wake Up Happy Every Day which is due out in Feb 2014. And I'm working on my fourth novel Stronger Than Skin. I'm busy because I've just begun to realise how short life is.
The theme of this year's festival is ‘a sense of place’, how do you capture a sense of place in your writing?
As economically as possible. I don't go in for a lot of scene-setting or long descriptive passages... I don't like these as a reader either. My books tend to be set in or around small towns because that is where the essence of Britain lies I think. I'm interested in ordinary people trying to show grace under pressure. I'm much more interested in people than places, though of course people are shaped by where they find themselves.
Where is your favourite place?
Possibly the hot pool at Grettirslaug in North-western Iceland. Possibly the view at Lumb Bank in Heptonstall in West Yorks where I lived for six years. Possibly Edinburgh in the first week of September just after the festival. Possibly here now. (I'm sitting at home in my silent kitchen. just me, no one else. Bliss)
Aside from appearing at the Felixstowe book festival, what are you looking forward to doing when you’re in town?
I'm going to see some old friends. I'm going to drink some Adnams ale. Possibly both at the same time.
What will your talk be like on Sunday June 16?
With any luck it'll be like a convivial brunch with some of your most interesting friends. It should be more of a free-flowing conversation than a talk. We'll have a laugh...
Stephen will be appearing on Sunday 16th June between 10 - 11 am at the Orwell hotel. Tickets are £5 + booking fee and include coffee and a danish.
To buy your ticket go to the booking website
You can find out more about Stephen and his work on his website www.sdmay.com .
As you ask interviewees on your own blog, please give us a biography of yourself in 50 words...
Reader. Writer. Daydreamer. Innocent bystander. Sceptical. Curious. Radical but suspicious of change. Father. Husband. Son. Brother. Resident of West Yorkshire by way of Bedford, Colchester and Ipswich. But half-Scottish. And, like Flaubert, I attempt to be a bourgoise in my life so I can be an anarchist in my art.
You’ll be discussing your 'Costa prize' nominated novel ‘Life, death, prizes’ at the book festival, tell us a bit about that book for the reader’s who’ve not yet read it.
A single mother is killed in a botched street robbery - leaving behind two boys aged 19 and 6. The older boy, Billy, narrates the book as he struggles to become a kind of mum, dad and everything else for his little brother. He hopes that love and wit will be enough. And they're not quite. It's based partly on my experiences of being a very young and ill-equipped dad (I became a father while still at college), partly on my over-long acquaintance with menial jobs and the trigger was being involved in a failed mugging a few years back. With any luck it makes people laugh, makes people think...
How did you get involved with the Book Festival?
I love Felixstowe. My in-laws live here, so any excuse to come down basically...
You are a person of many talents – teaching, writing for TV, script writing as well as having published two novels – what are you working on at the moment?
You are very kind. I have just completed the screenplay for Life! Death! Prizes! and finished editing my next novel Wake Up Happy Every Day which is due out in Feb 2014. And I'm working on my fourth novel Stronger Than Skin. I'm busy because I've just begun to realise how short life is.
The theme of this year's festival is ‘a sense of place’, how do you capture a sense of place in your writing?
As economically as possible. I don't go in for a lot of scene-setting or long descriptive passages... I don't like these as a reader either. My books tend to be set in or around small towns because that is where the essence of Britain lies I think. I'm interested in ordinary people trying to show grace under pressure. I'm much more interested in people than places, though of course people are shaped by where they find themselves.
Where is your favourite place?
Possibly the hot pool at Grettirslaug in North-western Iceland. Possibly the view at Lumb Bank in Heptonstall in West Yorks where I lived for six years. Possibly Edinburgh in the first week of September just after the festival. Possibly here now. (I'm sitting at home in my silent kitchen. just me, no one else. Bliss)
Aside from appearing at the Felixstowe book festival, what are you looking forward to doing when you’re in town?
I'm going to see some old friends. I'm going to drink some Adnams ale. Possibly both at the same time.
What will your talk be like on Sunday June 16?
With any luck it'll be like a convivial brunch with some of your most interesting friends. It should be more of a free-flowing conversation than a talk. We'll have a laugh...
Stephen will be appearing on Sunday 16th June between 10 - 11 am at the Orwell hotel. Tickets are £5 + booking fee and include coffee and a danish.
To buy your ticket go to the booking website
You can find out more about Stephen and his work on his website www.sdmay.com .
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