Sebastian Barry for The Newer World

Sebastian Barry is coming to the Tempest Anderson Hall in Museum Gardens on Wednesday 9 September, where he'll be talking about his latest novel, The Newer World. It's part of his autumn tour to mark the book's launch, and he's the sole feature of the evening.

If you're not familiar with his work, Barry is a heavy hitter in Irish fiction. He was the Laureate for Irish Fiction from 2018 to 2021, and his novels have picked up the Costa Book of the Year twice, as well as the Independent Booksellers Award and the Walter Scott Prize. A Long Long Way and The Secret Scripture were both shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and he's won the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Prize, the Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. He's a writer who's been recognised across a good few of the big prizes over the years.

The Newer World is an immersive novel that follows Tennyson Bouguereau, a freed man who travels from Tennessee to Victorian England in search of meaning and belonging. It's a story that spans the Atlantic, and Barry will be presenting it here in York as part of his tour. The evening is built around him talking through the book, so it's a good chance to hear him discuss the story and the thinking behind it.

It's at the Tempest Anderson Hall in Museum Gardens, YO1 2FR, on Wednesday 9 September. The session runs from 9:00pm to 8:00pm.