BIAF25 presents Geoff Dyer & Joe Dunthorne
In conversation
Two of the UK’s most original literary voices discuss their acclaimed new memoirs, Homework and Children of Radium, in conversation with critic John Self.
In Homework, Geoff Dyer turns his razor-sharp eye to his own story as the only child of a sheet-metal worker and a school dinner lady in post-war England — from the tribulations of teenage romance to the encounters with books that would transform his life. Tracing the class codes of a divided education system, Homework is a subtle examination of a generation and a culture from the awardwinning author of Yoga for People Who Can’t Be Bothered to Do It and The Last Days of Roger Federer.
Joe Dunthorne’s Children of Radium investigates the remarkable life of his great grandfather, an eccentric Jewish chemist who invented a radioactive toothpaste and possessed a troublingly encyclopedic knowledge of poison gases. Children of Radium is a searching meditation on individual and collective inheritance from the acclaimed author of the cult classic novel Submarine.
This event is presented by the Belfast International Arts Festival. The 63rd edition of the Festival runs from 14 October – 9 November 2025! Their programme encompasses a brand-new season of world-class theatre, dance, music, visual arts, literature and film, with performances from the very best international artists and homegrown talent.
