Part of Islay Book Festival 2019.

Nine years in the making, Barnhill has been a labour of love for poet and screenwriter Norman Bissell, who brings to life Orwell’s desperate struggle to finish his dystopian masterpiece, 1984. Reading extracts from his keenly-awaited new novel, which takes its name from the Hebridean hideaway where it all came together, Norman will discuss Orwell’s final years in London, Paris and Jura and the sacrifices he made – most tragically in terms of his health – as he created the world of Winston Smith and Julia, Big Brother and the Thought Police.

Sponsored by the Scottish Book Trust.

Tickets are £5 / £3.50 concessions / free to Jura Lunch Club members, and are available from the festival events page here.