Esther Freud, Helena McEwen & Alison Gangel with Jenny Brown

This made for a fascinating evening looking at the different ways of writing using personal history.  Like many writers, Esther Freud and Helena McEwen have creative lives beyond the pages of their books, this is reflected in both their new novels (Lucky Break and Invisible River) set in the worlds of drama and art school respectively.  Alison Gangel is the author of a powerful memoir of her Glasgow childhood, The Sun Hasn't Fallen from the Sky, where music talent provided her means of escape.