In Person Event: Kit de Waal on adapting My Name is Leon
Kit de Waal’s debut novel My Name is Leon was an international bestseller, and has been commissioned by the BBC to be adapted for broadcast, due to be aired in November 2021, with Lenny Henry as the Executive Producer.
Join us for a discussion with Kit, and others who are part of the TV adaptation, to discuss how writers approach adapting their novel for broadcast, as well as casting, finding the right locations, and telling the story faithfully in a completely new way.
About the speaker(s):
Kit de Waal was born in Birmingham to an Irish mother, who was a childminder and foster carer and a Caribbean father.
She worked for fifteen years in criminal and family law, was a magistrate for several years and sits on adoption panels. She used to advise Social Services on the care of foster children, and has written training manuals on adoption, foster care and judgecraft for members of the judiciary.
Her writing has received numerous awards including the Bridport Flash Fiction Prize 2014 and 2015 and the SI Leeds Literary Reader’s Choice Prize 2014 and the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year.
MY NAME IS LEON, her first novel was published in 2016 and shortlisted for the Costa Book Award. She has two children and lives in the West Midlands.
About this event:
Event information: This event will take place in person.
Event Duration: This event will last for 60 minutes.
Covid-19 requirements: The space is well ventilated, and will only be sold to half capacity. Attendees will be encouraged to wear a face covering whilst moving around inside the venue.
Book signing: A book stall will be available at the venue, and book signing will take place after the event.
Get involved: The speakers will take questions from the audience at the end of the event.
This event is run by Birmingham Literature Festival, a project of Writing West Midlands. Writing West Midlands is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.
