Books

Intellectual speed dating at Wimbledon Book Festival

Ben Hutchinson, Professor of European Literature in the Department of Modern Languages, is helping run an Intellectual Speed Dating event as part of this year’s Wimbledon Bookfest (3-13 October 2019).

The event celebrates the publication of the 600th in the ‘Very Short Introduction’ series, published by Oxford University Press.

The Very Short Introductions are a fabulous way to discover a new subject: high-level but digestible overviews written by experts in their field. The audience will be split into small groups who will move around the event, enjoying ten minutes with each author for a snappy introduction to their topic, plus time for questions. When the bell rings, you must move on! It’s speed dating – for ideas.

Ben, author of A Very Short Introduction to Comparative Literature, said: ‘Literary festivals represent an important opportunity for discussing questions of literature with the general public. ‘Intellectual speed dating’ is an ideal format for the Very Short Introduction series, emphasising as it does the virtues of brevity, concision, and wit. Less is more on first dates!’