UEA's Self-portrait of influential Max

A MAJOR international conference celebrating the life and work of cult author WG Sebald, pictured below, and starring novelist Will Self is to be held at the University of East Anglia.

Delegates from across the world will assemble at the Norwich campus from September 5 to 7.

They will take part in a walking tour of Suffolk landmarks that appear in Sebald's books, including Somerleyton Hall and Lowestoft pier.

Aside from Will Self, whose work was strongly influenced by the late writer, other keynote speakers inclue Anthea Bell, who translated much of Sebald's work from the original German, literary critic and writer Dame Gillian Beer and psychologist and essayist Adam Phillips.

Born in Germany, WG “Max” Sebald taught at UEA from 1970 and lived just south-east of the city at Poringland until his death in a car accident in 2001. He was 57.

Works such as The Rings of Saturn, Austerlitz, The Emigrants and On the Natural History of Destruction were termed “prose-fiction” by the author because of their deliberate blurring of fact and fiction.

Twenty years ago he also founded the UEA-based British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT), which still honours his vision by promoting new work in new languages. BCLT director Amanda Hopkinson said: “Not only was Max one of our most brilliantly original writers: he was also an inspiring teacher who instilled in generations of UEA students the value of reading across cultures and traditions.

“Max would have hated the idea of a memorial, but we are thrilled to celebrate his life and work with this conference, which promises rich and creative responses to his work from writers across the globe.”

Some places are still available for WG Sebald: An International and Interdisciplinary Conference. The cost of attending the whole conference is £180, or £80 for postgraduate students.

For further information or to register, call 01603 507728 or visit www.uea.ac.uk/lit