From the haunting East Anglian Fens to the enigmatic Orford Ness, the flatlands teem with hidden truths and lingering memories, etched into their stark beauty.
Join Danielle Giles and Noreen Masud for a shared reflection on the natural world and our deep connection to it.
Danielle’s hypnotic historical novel, ‘Mere’, weaves a gripping tale of fear and survival, power and position, and a love that flourishes in the darkest of places. Set deep in the Norfolk Fens in 990 AD, this atmospheric story unfolds as a medieval mystery takes shape. When a young boy goes missing on the marsh, the secrets of a crumbling convent are brought to light.
Raw and radical, strange and beguiling, Noreen’s memoir ‘A Flat Place’ is a love letter to Britain’s breathtaking flatlands, from Orford Ness to Orkney, and a reckoning with the painful, hidden histories they contain. For as much as the landscapes provide solace for suffering, they are also uneasy places for a Scottish-Pakistani woman, representing both an inheritance and a dispossession. ‘A Flat Place’ was shortlisted for The Jhalak Prize 2024, The Ondaatje Prize 2024, and the Books Are My Bag Readers Award 2024.
Part of City of Literature weekend 2025
City of Literature is a Norfolk & Norwich Festival and National Centre for Writing presentation, programmed by the National Centre for Writing.
