An Evening with Elif Shafak at St James’s Church, London

Join Booker-shortlisted, bestselling author Elif Shafak as we celebrate the publication of her latest novel There are Rivers in the Sky in the wonderful St James's Church. This is the story of one lost poem, two great rivers and three remarkable lives - all connected by a single drop of water. A dazzling feat of storytelling from one of the greatest writers of our time, There are Rivers in the Sky is a rich, sweeping novel that spans centuries, continents and cultures, entwined by rivers, rains and waterdrops:

“A brilliant, unforgettable novel, which raises big ideas of ‘who owns the past’ with nuance and complexity. Elif Shafak ties together diverse time periods and places in a way that seems both natural and wonderfully unexpected.” MARY BEARD

Elif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist and storyteller. She has published 20 books, 13 of which are novels and her books have been translated into 57 languages. The Island of Missing Trees was a finalist for the Costa Award, British Book Awards, RSL Ondaatje Prize and Women’s Prize for Fiction and was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and RSL Ondaatje Prize; and was Blackwell’s Book of the Year. The Forty Rules of Love was chosen by BBC among the 100 Novels that Shaped Our World. The Architect’s Apprentice was chosen for The Queen’s Reading Room. Shafak holds a PhD in political science and she has taught at various universities in Turkey, the US and the UK, including St Anne's College, Oxford University, where she is an honorary fellow. She also holds an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Bard College. Shafak is a Fellow and a Vice President of the Royal Society of Literature and has been chosen among BBC’s 100 most inspiring and influential women. An advocate for women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights and freedom of expression, Shafak is an inspiring public speaker and twice TED Global speaker. She contributes to major publications around the world and she was awarded the medal of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2017 she was chosen by Politico as one of the twelve people “who will give you a much-needed lift of the heart”. She has judged numerous literary prizes, including The PEN Nabokov Prize and has chaired the Wellcome Prize. Shafak was awarded the Halldór Laxness International Literature Prize for her contribution to 'the renewal of the art of storytelling’. Her website can be found at www.elifshafak.com and her Substack is called "Unmapped Storylands".

Please note: book and ticket option includes a copy of There are Rivers in the Sky (RRP £20) available for collection on the night.

Host or Publisher Waterstones