Many novels revolve around a 'rite of passage' for their main characters but mastering the sensitive issues of emerging adulthood is a rare skill. Authors Joan London and Derek Johns have both grasped this challenge boldly and bravely. Of Johns' post-war growing up story Wintering, Jonathan Coe wrote, "A beautiful, quietly shocking story about childhood, about family, about errant fathers and the casualties they leave behind... told with the relaxed economy of the real writer..." Joan London's Orange Prize shortlisted Gilgamesh, which tells of a quest for family roots that journeys from Australia to Armenia, was described by Maureen Freely: "Captures the romance of wanderlust like no other novel I have read". Join these two writers in conversation with Kate Duignan as they share their perceptions of family and coming of age.
Derek Johns image: Sarah Castleton
