Siri Hustvedt: Life After Paul Auster

What remains after the person you love most is gone? Joining us live from New York, internationally acclaimed novelist, essayist and thinker Siri Hustvedt discusses Ghost Stories, her intimate memoir written in the aftermath of the death of her husband, the celebrated writer Paul Auster, in 2024. Reflecting on more than four decades of shared life, literature, creativity and loss, Hustvedt explores grief not as an ending but as a strange, haunting continuation of love. One of the most important literary voices of her generation, and author of What I Loved and The Summer Without Men, Hustvedt brings her trademark intelligence, emotional precision and philosophical depth to a book that has captivated readers around the world. A rare conversation about memory, mourning and the stories that stay long after death. This event will be chaired by Ann Morgan, a Folkestone-based author and speaker who once set herself the seemingly impossible challenge of reading a book from every country in the world in just one year. Please note Siri Hustvedt will be joining us online, with Ann in the auditorium. Folkestone Book Festival is our annual celebration of stories, ideas and conversation by the sea. Curated by novelist Sophie Haydock (The Flames, Madame Matisse), this year’s festival brings together more than 60 events across two weeks, welcoming world-class writers, thinkers and storytellers to Folkestone. We believe great conversations should be for everyone, which is why every event includes a £5 Cost of Living Ticket, available with no questions asked. Folkestone Book Festival is proudly supported by Eurotunnel, Canterbury Christ Church University, Holiday Extras, and the Friends of Folkestone Book Festival. Creative Folkestone is supported by Arts Council England, Folkestone & Hythe District Council and Saga. Founding Funder The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust.