Very best contemporary fiction

The event is part of the One Book Project, an initiative run by the Booker Prize Foundation. It is the eighth year Newcastle University has been involved. The scheme encourages students at universities across the UK to engage with the very best contemporary literary fiction.

Regardless of their chosen field of study, students at universities taking part in the One Book Project are given a winning or shortlisted Man Booker Prize novel to read and discuss, followed by a visit from the author to the institution to talk about the book.

This year, the book selected is Hamid’s Exit West. It is a love story set against the backdrop of the refugee crisis. The New York Times Book Review, Time Magazine and former US President Barack Obama, named Exit West one of the best books of 2017.

Defined a decade

Professor Sinéad Morrissey, Director of the Newcastle University Centre for Literary Arts, said: “We are delighted to welcome Mohsin Hamid to Newcastle and students from across the University are already very excited about the book and his visit. Exit West is brilliant, artful, topical and important – a rare and winning combination."

Mohsin is probably most well-known for his best-selling 2007 novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which was described by The Guardian as a book that defined a decade. It was made into a feature film starring Riz Ahmed and Kate Hudson.

In the run up to Hamid’s talk, 3000 copies of Exit West have been given away around campus to students from all disciplinesacross the institution.

Mohsin will be in conversation with Newcastle University’s Dr Neelam Srivastava, at 6pm on 29 October in the Kings Hall. The event is free but ticketed, so register in advance to avoid disappointment.