© Kerry Andrew
© Kerry Andrew
Kerry Andrew is an author, composer and performer. They are the author of three literary novels, Swansong, SKIN and We Are Together Because, and have been twice shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award. With a PhD in composition from the University of York and four British Composer Awards, Kerry specialises in experimental vocal and choral music, music-theatre and community music, creates alt-folk as You Are Wolf and co-founded the award-winning Juice Vocal Ensemble. Kerry’s work is performed regularly on BBC Radio 3 and Where the Marsh Plants Grow, a choral work, was commissioned by and first played at the Festival in 2012.
The conversation with Kerry will focus on their most recent novel, We Are Together Because, published earlier this year. At its launch, Kerry described it as “a cross between Bonjour Tristesse, The Cement Garden and (the film) A Quiet Place”. It’s an engrossing and wrongfooting read, starting as a seemingly conventional growing-up saga (four siblings brought together for the first time in a South of France villa) which very quickly becomes about our own survival, asking us what is truly important in life, and how far we’ve strayed from our place in a more fluid, vibrant, natural world.
“Andrew makes fine writing look effortless. This rich, mysterious novel glows with intelligence, poetry and heart. I loved it.” Sarah Waters
“As a musician Andrew is blessed not only with an innate sense of rhythm that underpins their prose, but also a highly perceptive ear for sound. Thankfully they also have a gift for expressing it too: rarely has a novel sounded as good as this…..[and] there is hope here among the doom, goodness underpinning the flaws of four young people doing their best, that means if the end of the world does come, in whatever manifestation, Kerry Andrew’s book would be a fitting testament to who we were. Stick it on a probe and launch it into space.” Charlie Connelly, The New European
Sat 12 Oct 2024 3.00pm
Little Missenden Village Hall
£12 unreserved
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