“I think of myself as a storyteller rather than a novelist or a writer of literary fiction, belonging among the tellers of folktales, fairytales, ballads and myths.” — Philip Pullman

Philip Pullman is one of the defining voices of contemporary fiction. His writing is celebrated for its blend of storytelling, imagination and philosophical inquiry.

Readers were first introduced to his central character Lyra Belacqua in Northern Lights in 1995, the opening novel of the His Dark Materials trilogy. Its fantasy world of animal-shaped daemons, the shadowy Magisterium and armoured bears seized hold of readers of all ages and never let go.

Three decades later, The Rose Field, the final novel in his Book of Dust trilogy, brings Lyra’s story to a close. Described by Pullman himself as “partly a thriller and partly a bildungsroman: a story of psychological, moral and emotional growth”, it marks the completion of an extraordinary imaginative achievement.

On Thursday July 16, Pullman comes to The Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, a city at the heart of both His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust, to reflect on the final chapter of Lyra’s journey. 

Join us for an evening with one of Britain’s most celebrated storytellers, as he explores the rich world of his novels, the creation of one of contemporary fiction’s most enduring characters, and the ideas that have shaped a lifetime of writing. The evening will include an audience Q&A.