Brunel Writers Talking Series: Sophie Elmhirst

About this event:

Brunel University of London is a very proud sponsor of the Nero Book Awards. As such, we are delighted to welcome Sophie Elmhirst, winner of Nero Book Awards Non-Fiction Prize and Gold Award, to the Brunel Writers Talking series. Sophie will be interviewed about her book, Maurice and Maralyn: An Extraordinary True Story of Shipwreck, Survival and Love by Hannah Lowe, Professor in Creative Writing at Brunel.

You can see the other author events in Brunel’s Writers Talking Series here

About Sophie Elmhirst:

Sophie Elmhirst has enjoyed an accomplished career as an award-winning journalist, including contributing regularly to The Guardian’s Long Read. She won the British Press Award in 2020 for Feature Writer of the Year and in 2024 and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Journalism.

About Sophie’s Book:

Maurice and Maralyn: An Extraordinary True Story of Shipwreck, Survival and Love is a narrative non-fiction book that charts the true story of a couple in the 1970s who, bored of suburban life, decide to sell their house, build a boat and set sail for New Zealand. Halfway around the world, their boat is struck by a whale, and they are cast adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for 118 days. It is a story of how we survive – both at sea and in life.

You can see the other author events in Brunel’s Writers Talking Series here