Have you ever felt like an outsider looking in at your own life?
Join Marie-Helene Bertino as she presents Beautyland, named best book of 2024 and a must-read by the New York Times. Told through the eyes of an extraterrestrial observer, this is a shyly joyful novel about real life on our planet, the challenge of knowing ourselves, and the miracle of finding our people in this vast universe.
Born at the moment when Voyager 1 is launched into space, Adina is a baby of unusual perception. Tiny and jaundiced, she reaches for warmth and light. As a child, she recognises she is different, not least because of her strange knowledge of a faraway planet. When a fax machine arrives at home, her suspicions are confirmed: it allows her to communicate with her extraterrestrial relatives, who have sent her to report on the oddities of Earthlings.
In our increasingly disconnected digital age, this discussion will offer a profound meditation on belonging and what it means to find your people. Marie-Helene has created a rare literary achievement that bridges the gap between literary fiction and science fiction, delivering what critics are calling ‘a landmark work of literary science-fiction.’
Currently the Ritvo-Slifka Writer-in-Residence at Yale University, Marie-Helene is the author of previous acclaimed works 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas and Parakeet. She will be in conversation with Daisy Johnson, Women's Prize-shortlisted author of Everything Under and Sisters.
Together they will discuss Marie-Helene's inspiration for this unique character study. Through Adina's alien eyes, in this evening see our own world anew: its beauty, its cruelty, and the universal longing for connection that transcends even the stars.
"Beautyland is a miracle. I'll be rereading it forever" Kaveh Akbar, author of Calling a Wolf a Wolf and Martyr!

The ‘stream and book’ package includes a unique ticket for the stream, and a copy of Beautyland (RRP £9.99) deliverable to any UK or international address.
The event will initially be broadcast on 4 June at 6.30pm UK time. It will be available to view up to two weeks after the event has ended and can be accessed Worldwide. If you live in a time zone that does not suit the initial broadcast time you can watch it at any point after the initial showing for two weeks.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected].