EDGE Hill University will welcome a debut novelist back to campus for a reading of her book exploring survivalism and the legacy of Chernobyl.

Dr Philippa Holloway’s first novel The Half-Life of Snails is set across a narrative split between North Wales and Ukraine during a time of civil unrest.

The free reading and Q&A will take place at Edge Hill University on Wednesday 11 May from 4.30pm to 6pm.

Professor Jo Crotty, director of Institute for Social Responsibility at Edge Hill University and an expert in the former Soviet Union, will host the Q&A and draw on her experiences of travelling to Chernobyl and Kyshtym – the site of a 1957 nuclear accident.

She said: "ISR is delighted to welcome Dr Philippa Holloway to celebrate the release of her debut novel, The Half-Life of Snails.

"This event will explore the themes of the book, including nuclear power and communities, the legacy of disaster, borderlands and the use of psychogeography as research for fiction writing, and a guest appearance by Alex Lockwood, author of The Chernobyl Privileges."

A former Graduate Teaching Assistant at Edge Hill, Dr Holloway is an internationally published short fiction writer and academic, and a Senior Lecturer in English and Creative Writing at Staffordshire University. Her debut novel is drawn from extensive research in Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone and North Wales.

The Q&A will be held with Edge Hill academics:

  • Professor Jo Crotty, Director of Institute for Social Responsibility at Edge Hill University
  • Dr Jen Woodward, Senior Lecture in Film Studies at Edge Hill University
  • Professor Helen Newall, professor of Theatre Praxis at Edge Hill University

The event is free but people are asked to register their place in advance.

ISR aims to make a positive impact on societal issues through cross-disciplinary research and knowledge exchange activities. It also regularly holds events, seminars, workshops and lectures so check for updates or join the mailing list.