Angela Flournoy has been making waves across the United States (her homeland) with her debut novel The Turner House, which was shortlisted for the National Book Award.

Describe where you write

I write longhand in a notebook for many reasons, but one reason is so that I can write anywhere. Outside of my home office, I enjoy writing in coffee shops, restaurants, airplanes and trains.

Tell us something about you that people may not know

I am a passionate and longtime Mariah Carey fan. Lambs, is what she calls us.

What book made the greatest impact on you as a child?

C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia were books that I read over and over. The tales of magic, adventure and intrigue hooked me on storytelling.

What author living or dead would you most like to meet, and what would you like to know?

I would most like to meet Zora Neale Hurston. I would ask her about her time as an apprentice to spiritual practitioners in New Orleans and Haiti.

Who should we be reading?

You should be reading books by women writers of colour. All of them.

What are you working on now?

I am in the very early stages of a second novel, so early that I am too superstitious to talk about it in detail.

Where do stories take you?

Stories are unique in that they can give you the sensation of walking down streets in cities you’ve never visited, and they can also take you into your own memories and within your own consciousness. Stories can take you everywhere.

What are you looking forward to at Byron Writers Festival?

This will be my first visit to Australia, and one of the things I’m most excited about is talking about books with festival-goers. I have heard that Australians are enthusiastic about books (which is not always the case in the US), so I’m looking forward to the in-person book nerd moments.

–end.

Session Details

Angela Flournoy will be appearing at the 2016 Byron Writers Festival in the following sessions:

Friday 5 August

The State of the United States (3)
11:15AM – 12:15PM, SCU MARQUEE
w/ Jeffery Renard Allen, William Finnegan, P.J. O’Rourke
Chair: Ben Knight

Saturday 6 August

Bearing Witness: The Power of Story (71)
9:15AM – 10:15AM, THE SATURDAY PAPER MARQUEE
w/ Richard Fidler, Debra Oswald
Chair: Moya Sayer-Jones

Angela Flournoy in conversation with Chip Rolley (83)
3:00 – 3:45PM, BELONGIL ROOM

Sunday 7 August

ABC Local Radio with Simon Marnie – The Americans (94)
10:30 – 11:00AM, YELLOW BRICK ROAD PAVILLION
w/ William Finnegan, Cheryl Strayed

BUY TICKETS