The novel is pronounced not dead! Two accomplished authors, both with several novels and a variety of other published writing to their names, chose the novel as the pinnacle of all art forms.
Before the event the two authors had had only nodding acquaintance at parties. On the day they discussed the novel and writing as well their respective oeuvres as though they had always been on the same page. As for their most recently published novels, both are set in small seaside towns and paint the picture of "ordinary" community life to highlight "extraordinary" events and both stem from news stories involving the police.
On one identifiable subject they differ: Hensher, with sufficient funds, would hire researchers; Doughty loves research and volunteered to be Hensher's lackey if he's paying!
The commitment of each to writing, the respect they have for one another's work and their broadly similar approach made for an intelligent, engaging and lively discussion. Hensher revealed that he has quite a sense of humour - he will invent a dog as a ploy to create human connections, never a cat, which would simply sit on a table. Hensher and Doughty gave hope to any budding writer.
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