To celebrate the deposit of Lee Child’s Archive at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and twenty-five years since the publication of the first Jack Reacher novel, we are hosting two landmark events to explore Child’s legacy and the evolution of the crime thriller.

The first is an afternoon symposium hosted by the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing and by the British Archive for Contemporary Writing (BACW), this symposium celebrates the official opening of the archive of Child’s papers held at UEA. It also marks the 25th anniversary of the publication of Killing Floor (1997), which introduced the inimitable Jack Reacher, whose fight for justice, on behalf of the vulnerable and oppressed, has become a series hallmark. Reacher is a modern reworking of the mythic hero, a perpetual loner and outlaw. This UEA symposium is the first event to invite scholarly consideration of Child’s writing.

The second is a conversation with Lee Child followed by a drinks reception and book signing.

Global bestselling crime thriller writer and former Booker Prize judge, Lee Child, will be joined by novelist, biographer and critic Margaret Drabble, and fiction and non-fiction writer and tutor Richard Beard in a very rare public event. They will discuss literary legacies, and what it means to be popular, read and durable. Their books alone have broken numerous boundaries and records around the world. Their opinions are highly sought. Please join these three extraordinary writers, who are also consummate educators and critics, in what promises to be a candid evening in exploration of fine writing.

Lee Child was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger in 2013.

For more information and to book tickets for these events visit the UEA website.