UCP Lecturer to Speak at International UNESCO Cities of Literature Conference

Dr Andrew McDonnell, course leader for the BA Hons English Literature & Creative Writing degree at University Centre Peterborough, has been selected to deliver a paper at the UNESCO Cities of Literature International Conference: Literature, City, Nature in Lithuania this month.

The event takes place on 24th October at the National Art Gallery in Vilnius, and brings together writers and academics from all over the world. Andrew will be sharing how his daily commute from Norwich to Peterborough, travelling across the Brecks and the Fenland, inspires his creative work. His talk will explore the relationship between city life and nature, and how those landscapes shape stories.

He’ll also be introducing a new module he’s developing for the English Literature & Creative Writing course. It looks at the literature of the Fens from the Medieval period up to the present day, with novels like Waterland by Graham Swift and Fen by Daisy Johnson showing how the landscape has constantly changed and evolved.

This isn’t Andrew’s first time at a UNESCO Cities of Literature event, last year he took part in a two-day symposium held at Edinburgh Napier and Edinburgh University. It highlights the growing interest in how writing is connected to place and how UNESCO Cities of Literature such as Norwich (his home city) play a big role in those conversations.

Speaking about the opportunity, Andrew said “I’ve been teaching at University Centre Peterborough for almost ten years, and I love both my home city of Norwich and my work city of Peterborough. To go and talk about this journey I make by train and how it influences my writing is a fantastic opportunity, and I cannot wait to share this rich literary corner of East Anglia with the other delegates.”