Top North East author to give talk in Sunderland

Jessica will be discussing her debut novel The Summer She Vanished at Houghton Library on Thursday 26 September.

The event is part of Northern Bookshelf Live, a programme connecting the best Northern writers with libraries and readers across the North of England.

Cllr Beth Jones, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Tourism at Sunderland City Council, said: "I'm delighted that another Northern Bookshelf Live event is coming to Sunderland, following the three we have already had this year.

"The events give people the chance to hear from fantastic authors in their own communities and hear talks that they may otherwise be unable to attend.

"Libraries are about so much more than books, they're a place for people to meet, learn and get creative and I think our programmes highlights that."

A glass artist by trade, Jessica has been selling glass online and through galleries since 2009, when she also began writing.

Her writing is inspired by a wide variety of interests but is fuelled by her love for true crime podcasts, which she listens to while cutting glass and loading kilns.

The talk follows a packed programme of events for young people, which took place across the city's libraries this summer.

The programme included age-appropriate activities for those aged under one right through to 16-year-olds, at the libraries at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, and the Creative Smart City Hubs at Houghton and Washington.

Sunderland's library offer will be further enhanced next year when the multi-million pound Culture House opens at Riverside Sunderland, which will include a city centre library.

The multi-purpose cultural venue will be packed with interactive, educating features and a year-round programme of activities.

In conversation with Jessica Irena Smith will be taking place in the newly refurbished Creative Smart City Hub @ Houghton Library on Thursday 26 September from 6.30-7.30pm.

Tickets for the event are priced at £3 (+ booking fee) and can be bought at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/in-conversation-with-jessica-irena-smith-the-summer-she-vanished-tickets-965894234657