Kazuo Ishiguro in conversation with Kate Mosse for World Book Night
Channel: British Library
Date: 2021-04-26

Kazuo Ishiguro is one of the world’s most treasured and celebrated contemporary fiction authors, whose award-winning novels include Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day. He appears in conversation with no. 1 bestselling author Kate Mosse to discuss Klara and the Sun, his first book since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, in this special event presented by The Reading Agency and the British Library. The event also marks the 10th anniversary of World Book Night, The Reading Agency’s national celebration of books and reading.

Klara and the Sun is an intensely moving and beautiful exploration of human connection and creativity in the face of loneliness and advanced technologies. Ishiguro looks at our changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

He talks to Kate Mosse about the inspiration for the novel, and the power of books and reading to bring people together and change lives.

Kazuo Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1954 and moved to Britain at the age of five. His eight works of fiction have earned him many awards and honours around the world, including the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Booker Prize. His work has been translated into over 50 languages. Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day were made into acclaimed films, with the latter also included on World Book Night list in 2012. His latest novel, Klara and the Sun, was published on 2 March 2021 by Faber and Faber. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.

Kate Mosse is an award-winning novelist, playwright and non-fiction writer, the author of eight novels and short story collections, including the multimillion-selling Languedoc Trilogy – Labyrinth, Sepulchre and Citadel – and number one bestselling Gothic fiction The Winter Ghosts and The Taxidermist’s Daughter. Her books have been translated into 37 languages and published in more than 40 countries. The Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, she is also the Deputy Chair of the National Theatre in London. Kate divides her time between Chichester in West Sussex and Carcassonne in south-west France.

World Book Night is run by The Reading Agency and celebrated each year on 23 April, the UNESCO International Day of the Book. World Book Night brings people from all backgrounds together for one reason – to inspire others to read more. Since 2011, organisations and individuals have held events up and down the country to celebrate the difference that reading makes to their lives. Organisations can volunteer to hand out books from our annual list to people who don’t read for pleasure or own books. 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of World Book Night and is in partnership with Specsavers. Find out more at www.worldbooknight.org

The Reading Agency is a national charity that tackles life's big challenges through the proven power of reading, and over 2019/20 it reached 1.8 million people. The Reading Agency works closely with partners including libraries, publishers, prisons, schools, hospitals and care homes to develop and deliver programmes for people of all ages and backgrounds. Its vision is for a world where everyone is reading their way to a better life and no one is left behind. The Reading Agency is funded by Arts Council England. Find out more at www.readingagency.org.uk