'He never lets his ire overwhelm his empathy, though, and has an auteur’s eye for a perfectly-timed hard cut. It’s funny but it’s not funny, and in that uncomfortable space Hill captures something essential about humanity.' Will Ashon

Contrary to what you may have heard, satire is not dead. Tom Lehrer may have declared it obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but the satirists have had the last laugh (albeit often up their sleeves).

It is often said that satire, as a form, should ‘comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable’, and Charlie Hill will help you to explore its many contradictions. Satirical writing continues to both amuse and enflame - but how do you get the balance right in a world where reality and parody seem increasingly to wear each other's wardrobes?

In this event, you'll work through a series of prompts that explore different historic approaches, and that invite you to reflect on which is most effective in today's world. You'll look at the relationship between satire and morals, and explore the unavoidable tension in satire's desire to both entertain and critique.

About Charlie Hill

Charlie Hill is a critically-acclaimed author of novels, memoir and short stories. His writing has been described by the Observer as ‘funny and linguistically dexterous,' by the FT as ‘sharp, funny and shrewd’ and by The Times as ‘wonderfully observed',

Commenting on his first collection of short stories, novelist and critic Joanna Kavenna said ‘if Kafka had come from Birmingham and written about climate change, feminism, war, food, parenting and space travel, then the result might well have resembled The State of Us''. According to Carys Bray, his second ‘makes the ordinary extraordinary'.