Free Speech and the Politics of Literature
Aki Schilz, Henry Porter and Sabrina Mahfouz
with Dónall Mac Cathmhaoill
Friday 11 April 2025, 6.00 - 7.00pm.
Waterstones, Unit 72, Midsummer Place
Central Milton Keynes, MK9 3GA
In-person tickets: £10/£7
Livestream (Zoom): £PayWhatYouCan
We live in paradoxical times. The same people complaining that free speech is under attack are also calling for the banning of books in schools and universities. Populist governments around the world are providing platforms for extremist ideas under the banner of free speech while at the same time silencing the voices of marginalised communities.
Literature has always been on the front line in debates about free speech. This event brings together three writers, each with their own distinct experience and expertise on the issue of freedom of expression, to help make sense of these paradoxical times in which we live, and to argue for how and why literature should take a leading role in the debate about what free speech actually means for society.
About Aki Schilz
Aki Schilz is the Director of The Literary Consultancy (TLC), the UK’s longest-running consultancy for writers. Through TLC, Aki works with corporate publishers to run training sessions focused on how to establish more ethical editorial frameworks. She is a judge for various literary prizes including the Bridport First Novel Award and the Creative Future Writing Awards. Aki has featured in the Bookseller 150, a list of the most influential figures in UK publishing, twice: in 2020 and 2021.
She is the Founder of the #BookJobTransparency campaign, and has been recognised by the Kim Scott Walwyn and h100 awards for her work to improve representation and accessibility in the literature sector. In 2018, Aki set up the Rebecca Swift Foundation, a charity that advances the craft, creativity and wellbeing of women poets. She is the current Vice Chair of English PEN.
More about Aki:
About Henry Porter
Henry Porter was a regular columnist for the Observer and now writes about European power and politics for The Hive website in the US. He has written several bestselling thrillers, including Brandenburg, which won the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, A Spy’s Life and Empire State, which were both nominated for the same award. He is also the author of the Paul Samson spy thrillers: Firefly, which won the 2019 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, and White Hot Silence. His latest novel, The Enigma Girl, is a thriller set in Milton Keynes. Henry Porter is frequently described as the heir to John le Carré. He lives in London.
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About Sabrina Mahfouz
Sabrina Mahfouz is a British Egyptian writer. Her theatre shows include A History of Water in the Middle East (Royal Court), With a Little Bit of Luck (Paines Plough/BBC) and Metamorphoses (The Globe). She writes and produces TV, most recently on Full Circle (HBO), Beef (Netflix), The Golf War (Netflix) and #1 Happy Family USA (Amazon). She has written non-fiction with her debut book These Bodies of Water: Notes on the British Empire, the Middle East and Where We Meet (Tinder Press) and has edited a number of anthologies. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
About Dónall Mac Cathmhaoill
Dónall Mac Cathmhaoill is Lecturer in Creative Writing at the Open University. He has worked as a writer, director, designer, and producer in theatre for almost thirty years, including collaborations with many of the leading northern Irish companies. He was a director at the main independent producer, Tinderbox Theatre Company, and served on the boards of both Aisling Ghear and Sole Purpose theatre companies. Previously he was a producer and Head of Education at Soho Theatre in London.
More about Dónall: