Lazarus is Dead is officially out from 18 August, so I’ll add reviews as they come in, if they’re good. The literary blogs can be ahead of the papers (in more ways than one) and so far the astuteness of these comments has made me happy for hours at a time:
‘Beard tells about the decline and rise and decline of Lazarus with wit and charm. I was blown away by Beard’s delivery and creativity. I haven’t read a book quite like it in a long time. So good it’s almost off the scale for me. Brave, brilliant and utterly readable. Highly recommended.’ Louise Laurie, The Bookbag
‘Reading this novel is exhilarating for many reasons. As Beard himself says, ‘A point of stagnation has been reached in scholarly and theological studies. A new approach is needed’ and this book with its melding of fiction and non-fiction, critical analysis and detective work, consolidation and controversy, is a potent combination that breathes life not only into the ‘imaginative representations’ of historical events but also into the possibilities of what we think a novel might be able to achieve.’ William Rycroft, Just William’s Luck
There are also some events planned around the publication:
Sunday 21 August Edinburgh International Book Festival, 7pm, RBS Corner Theatre £7 with John Niven
Friday 26 August Greenbelt Festival 11, 8.30 pm The Hub
Sunday 25 September Wigtown Book Festival 6pm, County Buildings £7 with Owen Sheers
Thursday 20 October Bristol Festival of Literature (venue and price tba)
With the National Academy of Writing I shall be giving mini NAW Masterclasses and workshops at:
Saturday 1st October Henley Literary festival (free)
Tuesday 11th October Cheltenham Literary Festival
Thursday 20 October Bristol Festival of Literature (free)
