BEN FERGUSSON
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    • An Honest Man
    • The Other Hoffmann Sister
    • The Spring of Kasper Meier
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An Honest Man: Out Now

10/7/2019

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My 3rd novel An Honest Man is out today!

It’s about Ralf a British-German teenager who falls in love with a bookseller as his world comes crashing down in the face of espionage and family betrayal in the summer of 1989 in Berlin.

It’s the final book in my trilogy of books about the lives of Berliners in one apartment block in West Berlin over the 20th century. And it feels very moving to be finishing this writing journey almost exactly 10 years after I wrote the opening lines of The Spring of Kasper Meier.
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Event: Brexit at the Literaturhaus Berlin

25/3/2019

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At the end of March, I will be reading as part of "Brexit: And Now What?" at the Literaturhaus in Berlin:

Brexit »And Now What?«
7.30 pm – midnight
Tickets: 7 € / 4 €
An event in English

Who, if not contemporary writers, are better qualified to reflect on the absurd, the utopian and the dystopian implications of Brexit? Who better to riff on the intentionally and unintentionally amusing, the realer than real and the weirdly surreal? In the run-up to midnight, when Britain is set to officially leave the EU, join us at the Literaturhaus Berlin to grieve, commiserate and attempt —  with a pinch of black British humour cut with courage and cynicism — to find comfort and new beginnings in literature, music and art. Throughout the night, an exciting lineup of writers will respond to Brexit and tackle the question “And Now What?”, with featured authors including Priya Basil, Patricia Duncker, Ben Fergusson, Alec Finlay, Jo Frank, Lucy Jones, Scott Martingell, Kate McNaughton, Jacinta Nandi, Alistair Noon, Musa Okwonga and Paul Scraton. Take part in a fully immersive evening that celebrates the imperviousness of British literature and culture to borders and customs administration. Anglophiles of all nationalities are in for a night of readings, music from the band BBXO and discussion, as well as typewritten, specially commissioned texts from Yael Inokai, Daniela Dröscher, Christian Dittloff und Paula Fürstenberg, members of the writers’ collective Literatur für das, was passiert, and work from the Berlin-based artist and filmmaker Clemens Wilhelm. Fueled by British refreshments, there’s no reason not to keep calm and carry on till midnight.
https://www.literaturhaus-berlin.de/programm/brexit-wake-and-now-what


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Weekend Workshop: Novel Writing

25/3/2019

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​Write Your Book: Planning, Starting and Sustaining Your First Manuscript

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In May I will be running a day-long workshop for The Reader Berlin on novel writing:

This day-long seminar is aimed at anyone who is writing – or has ever thought about writing – a novel. What are the shortcuts, tips and tricks to get you started and keep you going?

Whether you’re struggling to generate ideas, unsure of where to begin or confused about whether your expanding short story may actually be a book, this seminar will offer clarity, inspiration and practical insights into starting, sustaining and structuring your first novel.
In this seminar, we will talk about how great novels start and what the first line, page and chapter of a good novel need to contain. We will then look at strategies for dealing with the difficulties of turning a first chapter into a sustainable narrative. We will begin by looking at how successful second chapters work, and go on to explore different ways of developing character profiles and plots. We will also look closely at the opportunities and limits that different narrative voices offer us, trying our hand at writing different approaches and exploring what effect this has on our stories.
Throughout the seminar, there will be plenty of opportunities to draft, develop and discuss your own ideas, using practical tools to help think through characterisation, structure, plot and style. Ideal for anyone who has ever wanted to write a novel, this workshop is an essential guide to completing your first (or second) manuscript, all in a friendly and supportive environment.
The seminar will end with a Q&A, during which you can ask all about the process of writing and publishing a novel. Ben will also take a look at the publication process, and discuss what agents and publishers will be looking for once you have a finished draft and are ready to pitch.
To sign up, send an email to hello@thereaderberlin.com

  • Tutor: Ben Fergusson
  • Start date: 11 May 2019
  • End date: 11 May 2019
  • Time: 10:30-16:30 (one-hour lunch break)
  • Where: Lettrétage
  • Maximum Participants: 15
  • Cost: 75€ (including MwSt)

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Event: Book Club at Odradek

7/2/2019

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From February onwards I will be co-hosting an English-language book club with Mieke Woelky at Odradek Buch/Books in Schöneberg in Berlin. The first book we'll be reading together is Moshin Hamid's Exit West. Come along for the wine and literary chat. And pop in to Odradek if you need a copy of the book.

For more information about the event, please visit:
https://www.facebook.com/events/473510713469102/
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Event: Reading with Kate McNaughton, Berlin

21/5/2018

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Ben will be reading and chatting with writer Kate McNaughton and translator Lucy Jones at Ausland in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, on 21 June.

auslandSPRACHEN
Lychenerstraße 60, 10437 Berlin
21. June 2018 – 8:30 pm
Open from 8:00 pm
(Start 8:30 pm)
Admission: 5 EUR

Kate McNaughton was born and raised in Paris and now lives in Berlin. She read English and European Literature at Cambridge and filmmaking at the European Film College in Denmark. As well as a writer, she is also a documentary filmmaker and translator.
 
Lucy Jones was born in England and has lived in Berlin since 1998 where she co-runs Transfiction, a translators’ collective. She has translated novels by Annemarie Schwarzenbach, Ronald Schernikau and Brigitte Reimann, among others. She also writes book reviews for German literature in English at CULTurMAG and Word Without Borders and presents The Fiction Canteen reading series for Berlin writers, poets and translators. https://fictioncanteen.blog/
 
The event will be simultaneously translated.
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PaperBack: The Other Hoffmann Sister

11/1/2018

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My second novel The Other Hoffmann Sister is published in paperback today.
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The novel opens in 1902 as Ingrid Hoffmann's family move her and her sister Margarete to German Southwest Africa. In the face of casual racism, tensions with local tribes and the family's strange relationship with the aristocratic von Ketzes, Ingrid worries increasingly for her sister's declining mental health, until a shocking murder forces the family back to Germany. There, Margarete's health improves and she becomes engaged to Emil, the new Baron von Ketz. But on her wedding day on the eve of the First World War, Margarete disappears. After the war, in the midst of revolution, Ingrid returns to the von Ketzes' crumbling estate determined to find out what really happened to her sister.

You can order The Other Hoffmann Sister in paperback now from your local bookstore, or online from Foyle's, Waterstones, Amazon, WHSmith and many other retailers.

"An engrossing exploration of the ways that secrecy, racism and snobbery take their toll on its finely realised characters." (The Sunday Times​)

"A richly accomplished work with a fascinating central character." (The Independent)


"A fascinating look at racism and snobbery. Broken postwar Germany is superbly drawn and events in Africa are eye-openingly horrific." (The Times)
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Beth Underwood Wins the HWA Debut Crown

13/11/2017

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On 7 November 2017, Beth Underwood was announced as the winner of the HWA Debut Crown. I was delighted to be one of the judges, alongside chair Emma Darwin and fellow judges Ayo Onatade, Susan Heads and Sunny Singh. Underwood's "terrifying and utterly convincing" The Witch Finder's Sister was selected as the best historical fiction debut of the previous year. The rest of the incredibly strong shortlist was made up of Emily Bitto's, The Strays, Sarah Day's, Mussolini's Island, Martin Holmén's, Clinch, Abir Mukherjee's, A Rising Man, and finally James Terry's, The Solitary Woman of Shakespeare.

You can read more about the debut crown here hwacrowns.co.uk/hwa-debut-crown/
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Event: Monday Salon with The Reader Berlin

2/11/2017

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On Monday 20th November, I will be joining Victoria Gosling in The Reader salon. As well as reading from The Other Hoffman Sister, I will be in conversation with Victoria. I'm also teaching an Advanced Fiction Weekend Workshop for The Reader on the 18th and 19th.
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Monday 20th November – 7pm to 9pm
Cellar bar and library
Circus Hostel
Weinbergsweg 1A,
10119 Berlin

Visit www.theberlinreader.com for more information.

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Weekend Workshop: Advanced Fiction

2/11/2017

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On 18 and 19 November Ben will be running a weekend seminar with The Reader Berlin on Advanced Fiction. Covering both long- and short-fiction, the session will focus on discussions, practical exercises and prompts to help you hone your sentences, develop character and iron out the bumps in your writing. The seminar will cover tricky skills from using research, building character, maintaining tension and pulling off endings, as well as different approaches to ruthlessly editing your texts.

All writers are welcome. You’ll get the most out of this seminar, though, if you’ve already attended at least one creative writing workshop or course or have already attempted some fiction, whether in novel or short-story form.

For more information, and to book, visit www.thereaderberlin.com
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Shortlist Revealed for HWA Debut Crown

11/7/2017

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I was on the jury for the HWA Debut Crown 2017 and the Historical Writers Association have just published the shortlist of incredible authors in the running for this year's prize.

Emma Darwin, Chair for the HWA Debut Crown Crown, said: "The shortlist for the HWA Debut Crown shows just how exciting the new voices are in historical fiction. From judicial murder in the Essex marshes, to Bohemia in 1930s Melbourne, here is a range of passion, historical imagination and sheer storytelling skill which bodes well not just for these hugely talented writers, but the future of the genre as a whole."

You can read more about the wonderful books shortlisted for the HWA Debut Crown here: hwacrowns.co.uk/2017-shortlists.
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    Ben fergusson

    is an award-winning novelist, editor and translator, living between London and Berlin. He currently teaches at the University of Potsdam.

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  • About
  • Novels
    • An Honest Man
    • The Other Hoffmann Sister
    • The Spring of Kasper Meier
  • Translating & Editing
  • News