Join us for a fantastic evening with critically-acclaimed writer and journalist Roisin Kiberd to discuss her second book, The Most Normal Woman, a collection of autobiographical essays about womanhood and appearances. In conversation with Dr Joan Passey, Gothicist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol, this will be an incredibly rich and thought-provoking evening.

Date:
Thursday 11th of November

Venue:
Bookmarked, 47 Henleaze Road, BS9 4JU

Time:
Doors at 18:30. Discussion at 19:00. Finish approx 20:00.

Tickets:
£6 ticket only
£14.00 ticket with The Most Normal Woman (paperback)

You don't need to bring your ticket with you, we will have a list of names on the door. Books will be available to buy on the night. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Most Normal Woman: Essays on Appearance

In this dynamic new collection of essays, critically acclaimed author Roisin Kiberd dissects the business of attaining perfection – or even normality – through consumption and body modification.

Linking her personal experiences with Botox and eating disorders to broader phenomena, the author explores subcultures including the underground drag scene and competitive dog shows to better understand how differing groups define and judge excellence.

From Westport to Paris, Dublin to Berlin, Versailles to the Ringsend Recycling Centre, Kiberd takes us on a journey of obsession with an unanticipated answer to the question: am I normal yet?

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Roisin Kiberd has written for the New York Times, the Guardian, the Dublin Review, the Stinging Fly, Winter Papers and others, and her first book, The Disconnect: A Personal Journey Through the Internet, was published by Serpent’s Tail in 2021. Her second, The Most Normal Woman: Essays on Appearances, was published by Tramp Press in 2026. She was the non-fiction editor of The Stinging Fly, and currently teaches creative writing at the University of Galway. 

Dr Joan Passey is an academic, writer, and broadcaster. She is a Lecturer in English at the University of Bristol and a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker. She regularly appears on BBC radio and has edited anthologies for the British Library. She researches the representation of seas and coasts in literature and culture and is an expert on nineteenth-century Cornwall.