ReadFest 2026: Exploring Grief Through Memoir with Claire Steele
Exploring grief through memoir with Claire Steele and Jill Glenn of Constellations Press, encouraging open talk on identity and creative way
This session will take the form of a Q&A / conversation regarding the value of memoir writing for exploring personal loss and retaining a sense of identity in the context of bereavement. The discussion will include everything from the experience of memoir writing to what a publisher might be looking for.
There will be readings from the book and questions invited from the audience, and the objective is to encourage frank discussions about identity and to explore strategies for dealing with difficult experiences via the reading and writing of creative non-fiction.
Claire Steele’s memoir, The Art of the Matter, proposes some answers to the question ‘Who am I without you?’ via an assemblage of memoir fragments about her late father, a painter, written as if she were still in conversation with him. The book offers searching reflections on loss, landscape and the power of art to heal.
Click here to purchase The Art of the Matter
If you have any accessibility requirements, please directly get in touch with us at pentoprint@lbbd.gov.uk
Booking is essential and you will be asked to present your booking confirmation upon arrival.
Pen to Print and our partners reserve the right to remove participants who are disruptive to a session.
NB: May feature content that some people may find upsetting, uses language or depicts scenes reflecting attitudes that are no longer seen as acceptable.
Pen to Print shall not be liable to attendees for any injury, loss or damage of or to personal equipment belonging to the attendees or any indirect or consequential loss or damage whatsoever arising out of the attendance of the event
Pen to Print reserves the right to cancel, delay or postpone the event for any reason, including adverse weather conditions, an emergency situation or unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances out of its reasonable control. In such cases, the event organiser will endeavour to inform participants as quickly as is possible.
Barking and Dagenham Libraries and Pen to Print are proud to present the fifteenth annual literary festival, running from Saturday 12 September to Saturday 19 September.
This year’s festival offers a vibrant mix of in‑person, online and hybrid events, celebrating the power of storytelling and the joy of reading, as part of our contribution to the National Year of Reading.
This festival is proudly supported by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and Arts Council England, funded by the UK Government.
The National Year of Reading 2026 is a UK-wide campaign designed to inspire people to make reading a regular part of their lives.
We all understand the benefits of reading and how it expands our minds, builds confidence and fuels creativity, yet fewer people are doing it. With growing distractions and limited time, reading for pleasure is declining across many groups.
This national campaign aims to change this by reconnecting reading with everyday culture. It is not about guilt or obligation, it is about showing that stories, ideas and imagination have a place in everyone’s daily life. Click here to find out more!
