During this 90-minute Q&A, Jennie will talk about the inspiration behind her latest novel The Barbecue at No. 9 and her major bestselling debut The List of Suspicious Things, her writing process and the things she learnt during her time studying with Curtis Brown Creative.
Jennie writes beautifully about friendship, community and family – and skilfully weaves in secrecy and lies. This event will offer invaluable insights into bringing these elements of characterisation and storytelling to life on the page.
The Barbecue at No. 9 takes place during a neighbourhood barbecue held by the Gordon family at Number 9 Delmont Close to celebrate the Live Aid concert in 1985. House-proud host Lydia Gordon wants it to be perfect, but as the guests flood into number nine, so do all of the secrets that have been kept in the close. And if each of their neighbours is guilty of hiding something, so are the Gordons at number nine.
All ticket-holders will be invited to submit a question for Jennie ahead of time. The most interesting and frequently asked questions will be curated and put forward to Jennie by CBC host Lyndsey Ng. This event will be ‘webinar style’ with Jennie and Lyndsey appearing live on-screen, attendees will not appear on the screen however they will be able to post comments in a chat box.
Jennie Godfrey was raised in West Yorkshire in a mill-working family and her Sunday Times #1 bestselling debut novel, The List of Suspicious Things, was inspired by her childhood there in the 1970s. In 2020, Jennie gave up her corporate career to build a life around books. She is now a writer and part-time bookseller who lives, and writes, in the Somerset countryside. Her second novel The Barbecue at No.9 is due to be published February 2026. Jennie studied on several of CBC's online courses including the three-month Writing Your Novel course. Photo by Esme-Mai.
Lyndsey was previously Senior Publicity Manager at Hodder & Stoughton. Since then, she has worked as Events and Media Manager for Village Books in Dulwich, at the Social Enterprise Leaders Plus, and continues to work as a freelance events consultant. She completed an MA In Publishing for the University of the Arts London.
Purchase your ticket for this event by clicking the ‘Enrol Now’ button.
After purchase you will be sent an email confirmation – then we will send you a link to join the Zoom event at least a week before the interview takes place. A recording of the event will be made available to ticket holders after the event.
Please note, current students of our Complete Your Manuscript – One-to-One Programme get free passes to live online events. If this applies to you please email students@curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to sign up.