On the Edge: A Book Talk with Nicola Garrard

How does fiction build empathy and understanding? Nicola Garrard has some ideas.

We are thrilled to welcome Nicola Garrard to our corner of Devon to talk about her wonderful Young Adult book, On the Edge. Nominated for the Carnegie Medal for Writing 2026, Nicola has created a work of fiction that builds empathy with the lives of her working-class characters. We will dig into her writing, her life as an educator and the role books can play in deepening our connections.

Special guest Steve Knightley, folk music legend, will be at the event to sing a couple of his songs. Nicola's dad took her to a Show of Hands gig when she was 14. The music shaped her belief in the power of protest writing and social commentary to build empathy. She went on to teach refugees in London and volunteer in Calais. The teenage Nicola - a kid from Devon who’d never met anyone from anyone further away than Ashburton’s exchange town in Brittany - was shaped by Steve’s powerful words and music.

Nicola will hang out after the talk to mingle and sign copies of her book.

This is a free, ticketed event for teens & adults. Please save your seat through this link. You can also reserve a copy of the book during your registration. See you there for what is certain to be a thought-provoking chat.

About the Book

What if the life you were promised was taken from you? What would you do to get it back? Rhys lives in a coastal town in South Devon, where seasonal work dries up as winter storms hit, housing is hard to come by and livelihoods are threatened by distant bureaucrats. Life is much harder for Rhys and his two younger brothers than tourists can possibly know. It is only when surfing that Rhys finds solace in the beauty around him: the crashing waves, towering cliffs and sandy beaches.

But when that solace is taken, his tinder-dry rage is soon ignited. Determined to defend his family from a life blighted by social neglect and poverty, Rhys is drawn to Dodo, a radical political activist inspired by the Welsh protest group, Meibion Glyndwr. Before long, Rhys' actions spiral out of control, with dire consequences for himself and those he loves.

Set in a coastal town and drawing on the author's own rural childhood, this YA / crossover novel explores how young people's futures are built – and defended – on shifting and uneven ground, where tides of tourism, gentrification and second-home ownership erode the traditional ways of life and financial stability of locals. Beautifully drawn characters, lyrical depictions of the natural landscape, brotherly love, family loyalty – and surfing. A powerful and thought-provoking summer read.