Join us for the Harriet Martineau Lecture, delivered this year by multi-award-winning novelist, Val McDermid.
The Harriet Martineau Lecture celebrates the legacy of a remarkable, world-changing woman by inviting globally-renowned radical speakers to respond to her life and work. This year’s lecture will be delivered by one of the UK’s most accomplished and respected novelists, Val McDermid.
The first Harriet Martineau Lecture was delivered by Ali Smith in May 2013 and featured a call to draw Harriet Martineau’s face onto £5 notes in protest at the decision to remove Elizabeth Fry from the same note. Since then the likes of Kate Mosse, Masha Gessen, Linton Kwesi-Johnson, Sarah Perry, Ellah P. Wakatama, Kit de Waal and Charlotte Higgins have given the lecture, variously exploring Martineau’s internationalism, inspiration for feminism, and role in the abolition of slavery.
Supported by The Martineau Society
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.
