Starting at 40: Inside the Life of a Career Writer – Zoom, 20 May
Claire Fuller is the bestselling author of five novels, including Unsettled Ground (winner of the Costa Novel Award), Our Endless Numbered Days (winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize), and Swimming Lessons (shortlisted for the RSL Encore Award).
And yet, she only began writing her first novel at the age of forty.
As she launches her sixth novel, Hunger and Thirst, Claire will look back on her journey from the very beginning, offering behind-the-scenes insight into what it takes to build an enduring career as a writer.
The talk and Q&A will be followed by live feedback on first lines. Writers are invited to submit their opening 4–5 sentences (maximum 80 words), and up to 20 entries will be selected at random for discussion on the night. You may include a brief introductory line outlining your novel’s title, genre, and premise. Submission details will be shared in your booking confirmation email.
If you would like to purchase a recording, buy a ticket and email us at events@bluepencilagency.com.
HUNGER AND THIRST
Claire Fuller
Publication Date: 7 May 2026 | Fig Tree hardback
1987: Sixteen-year-old Ursula meets wild-child, Sue. As Sue’s behaviour and demands become more extreme, Ursula accepts to carry out a terrible dare that will haunt her for decades.
Thirty-six years later, Ursula is a renowned sculptor living under a pseudonym in London when her identity is exposed by true-crime documentary-maker who is digging into an unsolved disappearance. But it is not only the filmmaker who has discovered Ursula’s whereabouts, and as her past catches up with her present, Ursula must work out whether the monsters are within her or without.
May 20, 2026
Live Zoom session, 7.00-9.00 pm BST
Assistance to writers on low incomes and/or from communities under represented in publishing
We are offering a free place on each of our online tutorials and Q & A sessions for UK based writers on low incomes and/or from under represented communities in publishing. Writers may apply for a free place on one of the sessions by contacting BPA with a short bio and a summary of their writing career to date. Please click here to Contact BPA with your application and in the case of writers on low incomes, proof of financial eligibility such as: Jobseeker’s Allowance; Disability Benefit; Income Support; Working Tax Credit; Child Tax Credit; Proof of being a full-time student; Housing benefit; Proof of being a full-time carer. All details will be kept confidential. Decisions on who receives the free places rest with the BPA team not the tutors.
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