The Make-Believe: Hannah Murray

Hannah Murray is coming to the Octagon Chapel on Tuesday 27 October, as part of the Norwich Book Festival. She'll be talking about The Make-Believe, her first book, which is a memoir that looks back at her time as an actor and the years that followed.

Most of us know her from the screen — she spent more than a decade working in front of the camera, with roles in E4's Skins and HBO's Game of Thrones. But The Make-Believe isn't a typical acting memoir. It's an intimate account of fame, mental illness, and her struggle to leave a cult-like organisation whose belief in magic ended up shattering her reality. She writes about being drawn into a group that promised a new kind of treatment and magic, and the destructive consequences that followed.

There's a strong local connection here, too. Between the acting, Murray studied English at Cambridge University and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, so this book is her first time stepping out from the screen and into her own writing. The evening is part of the Norwich Book Festival 2026, which runs from 24 to 30 October across the city.

It's recommended for adults aged 18 and over. Pre-signed books will be available, but there's no signing after the talk, so if you want a copy, it's best to sort it when you arrive. Tickets are £12.50, and the session runs from 7.30pm to 8.30pm at the Octagon Chapel.