ONE of the UK’s most decorated novelists is returning to Hawarden to deliver this year’s annual Gladstone Lecture.

Norwich-based writer Sarah Perry’s second novel, The Essex Serpent, has proved a huge hit with UK readers since its publication in May 2016.

Perry’s Gothic tale of a 19th century village being terrorised by a mythical beast has racked up an impressive array of accolades, including winning Waterstones Book of the Year and British Book Awards’ Book of the Year.

The novel, which has since been published in the US to rave reviews, was also shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2017, and longlisted for the Bailey’s Prize 2017, the International Dylan Thomas Prize 2017, the Wellcome Book Prize 2017 and the New Angle Prize for Literature

Born in Essex in 1979, Perry has a PhD in creative writing from Royal Holloway.

Perry was the writer-in-residence at Gladstone’s Library in 2013.

Perry’s lecture, which takes place at 6pm on Wednesday, November 1, will explore the idea of friendship and how it informs and shapes literature. 

Tickets for this event are priced at £15. They are extremely limited and will sell out.

To book, call 01244 532350 or email  enquiries@gladlib.org.