David Mitchell

David Mitchell is a writer of boundless imagination, futuristic intelligence and extraordinary ambition. He has been called “one of the most brilliantly inventive writers of this, or any country” by The Independent, and is beloved by millions of readers around the world for his spectacular, visionary novels including Cloud Atlas, The Bone Clocks and number9dream. Twice shortlisted for the Booker Prize, David is known for his intricate world-building and stylistic versatility. The Spectator wrote that “his novels have a gleefully kleptomaniac air, moving from the most tawdry thrills to thunderous, visionary spectacle; they are unlike anything else, and you emerge from them dazed, amazed, unsure of the exact nature of the overwhelming experience.”

David’s first novel in five years tells the story of Utopia Avenue – the most curious British band you've never heard of. He charts the band's brief, blazing journey from Soho clubs and draughty ballrooms to the promised land of America, just when the Summer of Love was receding into something much darker – a multi-faceted tale of dreams, drugs, love, sexuality, madness and grief; of stardom's wobbly ladder and fame's Faustian pact; and of the collision between youthful idealism and jaded reality as the Sixties drew to a close.

Join David in conversation with Michael Williams as he discusses his enthralling new novel, which celebrates the power of music to connect across divides, define an era and thrill the soul.

This online event is free to access below and on Facebook and YouTube. Click 'Going' in the Facebook event for updates.

David Mitchell (Ireland)

David Mitchell is the author of the novels Ghostwritten, number9dream, Cloud Atlas, Black Swan Green, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, The Bone Clocks and Slade House. He has been shortlisted twice for the Booker Prize, won the John Llewellyn Rhys, Geoffrey Faber Memorial and South Bank Show Literature Prizes among others, and been named a Granta Best Young British Novelist. In 2018, he won the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence, given in recognition of a writer's entire body of work.

In addition, David Mitchell together with KA Yoshida has translated from Japanese two books by Naoki Higashida – The Reason I Jump: One Boy's Voice from the Silence of Autism and Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight: A Young Man's Voice from the Silence of Autism.

Michael Williams (Australian)

Michael Williams is a regular host of literary conversations and events. A writer, editor and broadcaster, he was one of two founding staff members of the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne, and was its Director until earlier this year. He is also host of Guardian Australia's monthly book club.