Time masterclass: 13:15-14:30
Language Masterclass: English
Masterclass
In the masterclass, author David Mitchell will engage in conversation with two writers, each with a unique voice shaped by different backgrounds. Together, they explore the questions, doubts, and expectations that drive their work and characters, and how each of them navigates these in their own way. These are subjects that are also part of David’s own writing life. The result is an open exchange about inspiration, the craft of writing, and the challenges of storytelling.
Fellow writers
David Mitchell (UK) will lead the masterclass for two novelists, Angel Patricks Amegbe and Mia You. Angel is a Nigerian-Belgian writer and visual storyteller based in Belgium. She writes about identity, trauma, and mental health. Her work includes the coming-of-age novel The Days of Silence (2021) and the deeply personal novel No Pink in a Rainbow (2024), as well as the poetry collection Sundance, which openly explores themes such as femininity and self-discovery. Mia You, born in South Korea and now based in Utrecht, is a poet, essayist, and lecturer in creative writing at Utrecht University. She writes about language, identity, and migration. Her work includes the poetry collections The Festival (2025) and Rouse the Ruse and the Rush (2023), exploring how poetry can open new ways of seeing and speaking.
David Mitchell
David Stephen Mitchell (1969) is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written nine novels, including number9dream (2001) and Cloud Atlas (2004), both shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In addition to novels, he has written articles for various newspapers, notably The Guardian, and has translated books on autism from Japanese to English.
Cloud Atlas was adapted into an international feature film in 2012. Additionally, a segment of his novel number9dream was adapted into the short film The Voorman Problem (2011), which received a BAFTA nomination. In 2013, Mitchell became a member of the Council of the Royal Society of Literature, recognizing his contributions to literature. In recent years, he has also written opera libretti, including Wake, with music by Klaas de Vries, based on the Enschede fireworks disaster, and Sunken Garden, created in collaboration with Dutch composer Michel van der Aa.
“Mitchell is, clearly, a genius. He writes as though at the helm of some perpetual dream machine.” — The New York Times Book Review
Information
More information on David Mitchell
More information on Angel Patricks Amegbe
More information on Mia You
Photography portrait David Mitchell: © Ulf Andersen/Getty Images
