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A Talk by Maria Roberts (November 2013)
The AUS Department of English and the Sharjah International Book Fair present a talk by Maria Roberts
When Maria Roberts' memoir was picked up by Penguin in 2007 for more than $110,000, it was a stroke of good fortune that came just in time. Life had taken a turn for the worst. Alone with her son in a small house in Manchester, UK, with no savings and a tiny income, Roberts was facing a hard winter. Then she sent a chance email to an agent encouraging him to read her award-winning blog. Two weeks later a bidding war between London's top publishing houses had begun and Maria Roberts' life was about to change.
Single Mother on the Verge, based on the blog of the same name, became a top-20 bestseller in the UK. The memoir charts Roberts' journey as she raises her son, tries to figure out her relationship with eco-warrior boyfriend Rhodri, and battles her anxieties about the reappearance of Damien, her son's abusive father.
The book achieved international press, was deemed "hilarious and moving" by The Mirror and was acclaimed by Marie Claire as "a unique book with a charming cast of characters." Since then, Maria has written for publications including The Sunday Times, Marie Claire and The Mail on Sunday and has spoken on women and family issues for BBC Radio 4 and BBC1. She is now editor of executive performing arts magazine International Arts Manager. Roberts' plays have been staged at various venues including at Edinburgh Fringe, where she was nominated for an Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, Theatre Royal Bath, and 24:7 Theatre Festival. Her sitcom, Crowded House, based on real life experiences of a single parent house-share in London, is in development. She is currently working on a novel, I, Katy Sullivan.
For more information, please contact [email protected].