Description
Some characters linger in the shadows of the stories that made them famous. Ophelia, Catherine Earnshaw and Miss Havisham are iconic, but in their original texts, their voices were filtered through the expectations, morality and constraints of their eras. Today, a new generation of writers is reclaiming them.
Join authors Kat Dunn, Essie Fox, and Elle Machray as they reimagine these women from Hamlet, Wuthering Heights and Great Expectations. Through bold feminist and queer perspectives, they revisit characters who were denied complexity, agency or the chance to tell their own story.
Our panel will explore why these figures still captivate us, what the canon left unsaid and how contemporary retellings allow the silenced and misunderstood to speak anew.
About the Authors
Elle Machray
Elle Machray grew up in Birmingham to Welsh–Caribbean and Scottish parents. After graduating from the HarperCollins Author Academy in spring 2021, their debut novel Remember, Remember was longlisted for the Mslexia Novel Prize, judged by Hilary Mantel.
Kat Dunn
Kat Dunn grew up in London and has lived in Japan, Australia and France. She has a BA in Japanese from SOAS and an MA in English from Warwick. She’s written about mental health for Mind and The Guardian and worked as a translator for Japanese television. Kat Dunn’s YA fiction has been published by Head of Zeus and Andersen Press, including Bitterthorn, which was shortlisted for the Nero Book Awards and the Polari Prize and nominated for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing. Hungerstone was her hugely acclaimed adult fiction debut.
Join Our Mailing List
By submitting this form you agree to our Privacy Policy and to receive marketing emails, including e-newsletters and event updates from Bradford Literature Festival.