Kate Atkinson’s readers may love Jackson Brodie, the wartime novels or the surprises of her earliest fiction. Her books offer mysteries and histories, but also an interest in how a life can be told. A festival conversation gives those readers time with the novelist behind very different fictional worlds.
Atkinson writes literary fiction and crime novels. Her debut, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, won the Whitbread Book of the Year award, the prize later known as the Costa. The award-winning beginning led into a body of work that includes recurring detective fiction, historical novels and formal invention.
Life After Life and its companion A God in Ruins both won the Costa Novel Award. Her Second World War fiction sits alongside the Jackson Brodie books; the two strands let readers follow a historical world or return to a familiar detective. Both have reached television: the former became a television series, and the Brodie novels were the basis for the BBC’s Case Histories.
Doubleday published Our Noble Selves in September 2026. The novel is set in the period leading into 1951. A reader interested in that post-war moment can begin with the new book, while someone drawn by an earlier character can come to the conversation with another connection to her work.
Where to start with their books
Behind the Scenes at the Museum
The debut is a way to meet Atkinson before following either the later detective books or her wartime fiction. Her own site includes an author’s note and reading-group material; keep the note for afterwards if you prefer not to encounter spoilers while discovering the novel for yourself.
Life After Life
Ursula Todd lives through the events of the twentieth century more than once. Start here if the possibility of beginning again draws you in: it lets you follow a life through changing versions, and gives you the form of the novel itself to think about before hearing its author.
Case Histories
This is the introduction to Jackson Brodie. Choose it if you would like to begin the recurring detective strand at its first book and get to know the character before following later novels; it also gives viewers of the television adaptation a reading route back to the series.
Festival appearances
For tickets, use the host festival’s official box office. Confirm the date, venue and access details before paying.
These autumn sessions gave readers the chance to hear her after the new publication. If you first encountered her through detective fiction or wartime stories, the festival visit offered time with a novelist whose writing extends across those interests. The full programme links are in the table.
Where to see them next
No 2027 appearances announced yet. Check the festival guides for programme dates.
Plan your trip
If a novel has left you turning over an ending, make a short note of the question you would like to ask. Keep it to yourself until the right moment: another reader travelling with you may still be halfway through the story.
You might make the festival a shared outing with someone who came to Atkinson through a different book. Compare favourites over a meal afterwards, when you have time to talk. The guides below cover the places to stay and the practical shape of a day in each town.
The 2026 programmes featured Kate Atkinson at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Ilkley Literature Festival; follow those guides for event information and practical visit details.
Can I attend if I only know Jackson Brodie?
Yes. You can bring your enjoyment of those books to a conversation with their author. If the session concerns another novel, reading its publisher introduction can help you choose whether that subject appeals before booking.
Where should a new Kate Atkinson reader start?
The choices below offer a debut, a formally inventive historical novel and the beginning of the detective series. Choose the kind of reading you want now; the books do not all belong to one continuous story.
How do I buy tickets to see her?
Use the festival links on Kate Atkinson’s profile for the event’s own ticket and audience guidance.
