Join us for a very special evening with bestselling author Meg Mason as we celebrate the release of Sophie, Standing There.

Join us for a very special evening with bestselling author Meg Mason as we celebrate the release of Sophie, Standing There. The talk will be chaired by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of Almost Life. The evening will consist of an author talk followed by an audience Q&A and a signing.

From the author of bestselling sensation Sorrrow and Bliss comes a hugely exciting novel in Sophie, Standing There; a funny, raw and intensely moving exploration of loneliness and finding connection in the most unlikely places, as a sweet-natured woman develops an ever-growing interest in an author whose works bring her solace and joy.

About Meg Mason

Meg Mason is the author of You Be Mother and Sorrow and Bliss, which became an international bestseller after it was published in 2021. Winner of the British Book Industry Book of the Year, and shortlisted for the Women’s Prize, it has since been translated into twenty-five languages. Her first career was in journalism, beginning at The Times of London, and later writing for Vogue, Elle, GQ, and humour for the New Yorker’s Daily Shouts. Born in New Zealand, she lives in Sydney with her husband and two daughters.

Early praise for Sophie, Standing There

"So smart, so funny, so moving – Mason has done it again – this time using behind the scenes of a literary festival to reveal the complexity of loneliness and how one woman attempts to dig herself out." I absolutely loved it - Bonnie Garmus, author of LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY

"Heartwarming, tender and so funny, Sophie, Standing There is a wonderful, bittersweet story of what it means to be truly, achingly lonely. I loved it" - Gillian Anderson

"Sophie, Standing There is a moving examination of what it means to be alone in the world, and what it means to find connection. It is, by turns, heartbreaking, hilarious and deeply hopeful. Meg Mason is a dazzling talent." - Ann Patchett, author of TOM LAKE and THE DUTCH HOUSE

About Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Kiran Millwood Hargrave (b. 1990) is an award-winning poet, playwright, and novelist. The Mercies was her first novel for adults, and was an instant Sunday Times bestseller. It won a Betty Trask Award, was longlisted for the Jhalak Prize and was named amongst the NYT 100 Most Notable Books of 2020. Her bestselling works for children include The Girl of Ink & Stars and she has won or been short- and long-listed for numerous awards including the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the British Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year, Costa Children’s Book Award, the Blue Peter Best Story Award and, twice, the CILIP Carnegie Medal. Kiran lives in Oxford with her husband, the artist Tom de Freston, and their rescue cats, Luna and Marly.

Description supplied by the event organiser.