EWH: Writing and the Power of Language: In conversation with Camilla Balshaw, Emily Addeni-Holman and Boakye D. Alpha

Join us for an evening with the National Centre for Writing’s Escalator Writers Emily Abdeni-Holman and Boakye D. Alpha, in conversation with award-winning author Camilla Balshaw about writing and the power of language, with discussion rooted in cultural histories, oppression and identity. Free. Book your tickets here. See the full Essex Writers Programme here. The panel: Camilla Balshaw is an award-winning author. She has been published in numerous journals, and her essays have featured in the Guardian, Therapy Today and the Observer. Camilla’s debut memoir, Named: A Story of Names and Reclaiming Who We Are (2025), has been described by Diana Evans as a ‘valuable meditation on the origins of what we call ourselves, packed full of rich storytelling’ and by Bonnie Burke-Patel as an ‘utterly fascinating, insightful and meaningful memoir.’ In 2025, Named won the best Memoir & Biography category in the East Anglian Book Awards. Named is a fascinating exploration of names, global naming conventions and identity politics woven into a moving, personal narrative about the finding of family and self. At the intersection of memoir and social and cultural history it is a truly fascinating book about the seemingly ordinary and every day. Emily Abdeni-Holman was raised in England and Lebanon, and is particularly interested in crossing-points, of identities, languages, and places.