Norwich, Ep. 2

May 14, 2014 — To celebrate all that is amazing about UNESCO's Cities of Lit, Literary Death Match returned to Norwich for the Norwich & Norfolk Festival, for a night wealthy with whimsy. In the end it was Isley Lynn who beat out D.W. Wilson in a One Star Wonder finale by a score of 47 to 31, winning Lynn the LDM Norwich, Ep. 2 crown. 

But before the finale was even a consideration, the genius night kicked off with Isley Lynn, writer, performance poet, and voice of wonder who opened with a poem about her displeasure with her body, followed by a letter to her grandmother after her stroke. Amazing both. Next up was Philip Langeskov, writer, reader, milk drinker and author of Barcelona, who read "the second most upbeat story [he'd] ever written" that had the audience on the edge of their seats. 

Then the mic was handed over to the night's trio of all-star judges: Viv Groskop, broadcaster, journalist, author of I Laughed I Cried, stand-up, hater of avocados; Luke Wright, poet, broadcaster, literary artist. New album 'Essex Lion' out now; and A.L. Kennedy, writer, performer, journalist, comedian. Author of 'On Writing'. The trio lauded Lynn's every syllable along with her hair, then praised Langeskov for his prose and his beard and much more. Then, after a painful deliberation, the judges announced it would be Lynn who would advance as the night's first finalist. 

After a booze-filled intermission, Round 2 began with the fantastic Emma Jane Unsworth, who read from the first chapter of her debut novel Animals — all about S&M. Then it was on to D.W. Wilson, BBC National Short Story award winner, former electrician, and author of Once You Break a Knuckle. Wilson surprised with a piece fresh for the event, about a weekend at Philip Langeskov's great aunt's cottage that had the crowd in titters. 

Again the judges were center stage, and after kudos galore for Unsworth's startling work, it was Wilson's surprising verbal pyrotechnics that won them over, as they announced he would be the night's second finalist. 

Then up stepped LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga and LDM Exec Producer Suzanne Azzopardi, who announced the night's finale: Lone Star Lit, in which he read off 1-star Amazon book reviews written about classic books. The finalists, teamed with volunteers from the crowd, relied on their teammates early as Lynn rocketed to a 26-0 lead. But Team Wilson fired back and with a tie game on the line, Team Lynn wasn't to be denied, shouting the final answer to secure a 47-31 victory, winning Lynn the LDM Norwich, Ep. 2 medal and literary immortality to go with it.

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