Yiyun Li: Language After Loss

Internationally acclaimed author Yiyun Li joins us for an extraordinary live-streamed event to discuss her luminous new memoir, Things in Nature Merely Grow, a work of rare courage and beauty, written in the wake of the deaths of both her teenage sons.

Tender yet unflinching, it weaves grief, geometry, music and motherhood into a profound meditation on endurance and the fragile, transformative power of words. The book has already been longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2025, marking it out as one of the most significant works of the year.

Li is the author of eleven books, including the PEN/Hemingway Award-winning A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, the Guardian First Book Award-winning The Vagrants, and the PEN/Faulkner Award-winning Where Reasons End. Her work has been translated into more than twenty languages, she is a recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant, and she currently teaches creative writing at Princeton University.

This rare conversation offers the chance to hear from one of the most celebrated literary voices of our time as she reflects on survival, meaning and the act of writing itself.

This event will be chaired by Kat Lister. Kat is the author of The Elements: A Widowhood (2021) and her second book, Fragile Bodies, will be published in 2027. She regularly writes essays, arts features and profiles for an array of publications including the Guardian, Observer, the i paper, The Independent and The Quietus. Kat chairs with sharpness, compassion and a deeply human touch.

FIND OUT MORE

Folkestone Book Festival is our annual celebration of books, bold ideas and the power of storytelling – by the sea. Curated by award-winning author and journalist Sophie Haydock (The Flames, Madame Matisse), this year’s programme features more than 50 events over 11 days, bringing together world-class writers, radical thinkers and unforgettable conversations – all inspired by Folkestone’s spirit of enabling creativity and transformative change.

We want the festival to be for everyone. That’s why we’ve introduced a £5 ticket – a no-questions-asked option for anyone who might be struggling to afford events.

And if you’re planning to come to more than a handful of events, don’t miss our great-value Festival Pass, which gives you access to all events (excluding classes, which need to be booked separately) for just £140.

There’s so much to discover – from headline talks to intimate workshops, big ideas to local voices. Check out the full programme, including our much-loved Local Talent Showcase and a new series of Creative Writing Workshops designed to spark your imagination.

We delighted that our onsite bookseller this year is Waterstones Folkestone.

We thank our major sponsor Saga and supporting sponsors Eurotunnel, Holiday Extras and Friends of the Folkestone Book Festival along with our Education Partner, Canterbury Christ Church University for making this year's festival possible. Creative Folkestone is also supported by Arts Council England, Folkestone and Hythe District Council and The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust.