London, Ep. 41

June 7, 2014 — No wonder we love the Stoke Newington Literary Festival so much. On a brilliant Saturday night in east London, LDM returned to Stokey for a Picador-sponsored bonanza that saw the immaculate Jessie Burton outduel co-finalist J.B. Morrison in a Literary Charades finale that won her the LDM London, Ep. 41 crown. 

But before the finale was even a consideration, the night kicked off with Joanne Harris (author of Chocolat and Peaches for Monsieur Le Curé) who blew minds when she read from her new novel The Gospel of Loki — an excerpt from a mischievous trickster. She was followed by J.B. Morrison, musician and author who wowed with a stirring excerpt from his latest book, The Extraordinary Life of Frank Derrick Age 81. 

The mic was then handed over to the night's trio of all-star judges: Viv Groskop, writer, broadcaster, Red Magazine's Literary Editor, author of I Laughed I Cried; Michael Hogan, writer and editor at The Guardian and The Telegraph; and Rhodri Marsden, writer (The Independent) and musician (Scritti Politti, Dream Themes, Prescott). The trio hilarified and won hearts with their smart commentary, before making the night's first impossible decision, advancing Morrison as the night's first finalist. 

Then it was time for Round 2, in which writer/actor Jessie Burton reeled off a brilliant excerpt from her must-read novel The Miniaturist. Finally, it was Matt Cain, columnist for Attitude Magazing, former Culture Editor, C4 News, who crushed it when reading from his new novel Shot Through the Heart. 

Again the judges were center stage, and again levity and calamity was the name of the moment, before the three convened and, faced with a very tough decision, decided it would be Burton who would advance as the night's second finalist. 

Then up stepped LDM Exec Producer Suzanne Azzopardi who announced the night's finale: Literary Charades, in which teams of "players" acted out the titles of famous novels, while the finalists — Burton and Morrison — looked on. In a nip-tuck battle that went to sudden death overtime, it was Burton who shouted out the final answer first, winning her the LDM London, Ep. 41 medal, and literary immortality to go with it. 

Follow us on Twitter: @litdeathmatch

LDM London Official Sponsor