Natasha Brown is a British Novelist who was named as one of Granta’s Best of Young Novelists in 2023 and was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2025. In this very special event, she will be in conversation with Shantel Edwards, from Writing West Midlands, discussing her novels Assembly and Universality, her writing process, influences, and more! 

Assembly:

Come of age in the credit crunch. Be civil in a hostile environment. Step out into a world of Go Home vans. Go to Oxbridge, get an education, start a career. Do all the right things. Buy a flat. Buy art. Buy a sort of happiness. But above all, keep your head down. Keep quiet. And keep going.

The narrator of  Assembly is a Black British woman. She is preparing to attend a lavish garden party at her boyfriend’s family estate, set deep in the English countryside. At the same time, she is considering the carefully assembled pieces of herself. As the minutes tick down and the future beckons, she can’t escape the question: is it time to take it all apart?

‘I’m full of the hope, on reading it, that this is the kind of book that doesn’t just mark the moment things change, but also makes that change possible’ Ali Smith 

 ‘Exquisite, daring, utterly captivating. A stunning new writer’ Bernardine Evaristo
 

Universality: 

On an abandoned Yorkshire farm, a group of hippie – anarchists have taken up residence to build a new society. When their leader is brutally bludgeoned with a solid gold bar, an ambitious young journalist sets out to uncover the truth behind the attack. The longread exposé she writes goes viral – but is there more to the story than meets the eye? Universality unravels the messy aftermath of that exposé through the perspective of each of the mystery’s key players: a self – pitying banker, a columnist with secrets, a cult leader with dreams, and a fugitive with nothing left to lose… 

‘A brilliant, unusual social x -ray of modern Britain.’ Andrew O’Hagan 

‘Confirms Natasha Brown as a major talent.’ Observer 

Natasha Brown is a British novelist. Her debut novel Assembly was shortlisted for awards including the Folio Prize, the Goldsmiths Prize and the Orwell Prize for Fiction. Natasha was named one of Granta ’s Best of Young British Novelists in 2023 and one of the Observer’ s Best Debut Novelists in 2021. Her second novel Universality was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2025. 

Shantel Edwards works for Writing West Midlands, programming the Birmingham Literature Festival which takes place in October each year. She is a proud Brummie and is passionate about platforming voices, and stories, from the region.  

This event will be BSL interpreted.

This event is part of The Heath Bookshop Literature & Music Festival and is supported by National Lottery Grants Funding through Arts Council England.