Sophie Elmhirst in conversation with Imogen West-Knights - Traf Sq

Join us as we welcome Sophie Elmhirst, in conversation with Imogen West-Knights, to celebrate the publication of Maurice and Maralyn, A true story so jaw-dropping you won't believe it isn't fiction.

Bored of 1970's suburban life, Maralyn has an idea: sell the house, build a boat, leave England - and its oil crisis, industrial strikes and inflation - forever. Its hard work turning dreams into reality, but they set sail for New Zealand. Then, halfway there, their beloved boat is struck by a whale. It sinks within an hour, and the pair are cast adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Sophie Elmhirst is a journalist. She writes regularly for the Guardian Long Read and the Economist's 1843 magazine, among others. In 2020 she won the British Press Award for Feature Writer of the Year, and a Foreign Press Award for Finance and Economics Story of the Year. Maurice and Maralyn is her first book.

Imogen West-Knights is a writer and journalist based in London as well as one half of the infamous Bougie London Literary Woman Twitter account. She has been published in the Guardian, FT, TLS, Vice, and the New Statesman, among others.

Her debut novel, Deep Down, was published by Little, Brown in 2023.