AUTHOR Deborah Delano has been invited to share her literary works at a prestigious festival in West Yorkshire.
The Head of Sociology at Haslingden High School lives in Hebden Bridge and will be holding a reading at Ilkley’s Playhouse on Wednesday October 12 as part of the two-week Ilkley Literature Festival.
She said: “I will be reading extracts from my memoirs ‘The Things We Do’, my debut novel ‘The Saddest Sound’ and my forthcoming novel ‘The Portrait of Adie Denton’.
“I have called the talk Storytelling in the Blood.”
The extracts from her latest book will present a challenge for the teacher because she will have to recite a poem in French and deliver the text in American, posh British and working class accents.
She said: “I will have to do a fair bit of practice. Being asked to deliver the talk legitimises all the time spent in front of a lap top on your own and shows that others have also seen the writer in me.
“After I have read the extracts, I will then be holding a question and answer session and a discussion on a variety of topics.”
She is passionate about ensuring the oral histories of the working classes are documented.
Ms Delano said: “I write down my stories because I have the privilege of an education that my foremothers lacked.
“I am hoping to inspire others to give writing a go.”
‘The Saddest Sound’ is based on the victims’ of serial killer The Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe and by complete contrast ‘The Portrait of Adie Denton’ is a love story set in 1920s Paris and London.
Ms Delano’s books are published by independent Lepus Books.