Amis routinely makes public presentations, many of which inspire noteworthy reactions or debate. The frequency of these appearances has increased since Amis was hired as professor of creative writing at the University of Manchester.
This page will archive the most widely publicized appearances. As a general rule, it will list all major live appearances that are open to the public. If people can attend the event, with or without tickets, then it will appear here.
Television or radio appearances, by contrast, will appear instead on the Commentary or Interviews pages, whichever is most appropriate. This applies to all televised or broadcast appearances on the BBC, Charlie Rose, etc.
Appearances at Literary Festivals
At the Hay Literary Festival in Xalapa, Mexico
Amis admits fear of ageing and losing his talent. 15 October 2011. LINK | PDF
Martin Amis: intoxicating, free -- the novelist's life. 14 October 2011. LINK | PDF
Hay Festival Xalapa: Amis, Richard Ford, and many more. 13 Oct 2011. LINK | PDF
At the Hampstead and Highgate Literary Festival
Discussing The Pregnant Widow. 20 September 2010. LINK
Monsters
A conversation between Amis, Ian Buruma, and Bill Buford at the 2007 New Yorker Festival, 5-7 October 2007. LINK | VID (315MB)
No Laughing Matter: Martin Amis in Conversation with Christopher Hitchens
Speaking about Saul Bellow as part of Jewish Book Week 2007. 25 February 2007.
Reading from House of Meetings
At the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA, 31 January 2007. LINK | MP3
At the 2006 Edinburgh Book Festival LINK | WMV
Discussing House of Meetings and contemporary politics. 4 October 2006.
Introducing House of Meetings
3 October 2006, the Royal Festival Hall, London. Steve Braunias reports on the event for the New Zealand website Stuff. LINK | RPT | PDF
At the 2006 PEN World Voices Festival
The PEN American Center, 25-30 April 2006. Click here to visit the excellent World Voices home page for a full listing of the program and other speakers. Click here to listen to Amis's readings and interviews. See the Interviews section of The Martin Amis Web for direct links and downloadable files of these recordings.
In Conversation with Stephen King LINK | PDF
From the 29 December 2005 New Yorker festival. Covered by Madeleine Murray for the Sydney Morning Herald.
Is There a Monster in the House?
At the New Yorker Festival, 28 September 2002. WORD | PDF
Events at the University of Manchester
Between 2007 and 2011 Amis was on the creative writing faculty at the Center for New Writing. Part of his appointment involved participating in public literary forums such as those below.
Click here to see the list of upcoming events at the UoM Centre for New Writing.
Click here to see a summary of past events, including an archive and podcast page.
Amis, Blake Morrison, and John Gray on literature & violence
July 2010. LINK | MP3 (34MB)
Amis Launches The Pregnant Widow
8 February 2010. LINK | MP3-1 (81 MB) | MP3-2 (26 MB)
Amis, Clive James, and Peter Porter on literature & ageing
7 December 2009. LINK | WAV (310MB) | MP3 (58MB)
Amis, Will Self, and Carol Mavor on literature & sex
12 October 2009. LINK | MP3 (72MB)
Amis, Melvyn Bragg, and Al Alvarez on literature & suicide
3 July 2009. LINK | MP3 (66MB)
Amis and Howard Johnson on Britishness & comedy
11 February 2009. LINK | PDF | WMA (80MB)
Amis, John Gray, and Adam Phillips on literature & science
1 December 2008. LINK | PDF | MP3 (60MB)
Amis, James Fenton, and John McAuliffe on Philip Larkin
2 October 2008. LINK | PDF | WMA (75MB)
Amis, James Wood, and Graham Ward on literature & religion
1 July 2008. LINK1 | LINK2 | PDF | MP3 (70MB)
Amis, Maureen Freely, and Ed Husain on literature & terrorism
3 December 2007. LINK | PDF | MP3 (67MB). For additional commentary see:
Jenny McCartney, The Telegraph, 9 December LINK | PDF
Maureen Freely, Guardian blogs, 4 December LINK | PDF
Tom Chatfield, Prospect Magazine blog, 4 December LINK | PDF
Riazat Butt, the Guardian, 4 December LINK | PDF
Amis, John Banville, and Will Self on contemporary literature
The Centre for New Writing Launch Event, St. Ann's Church, September 2007.
Related Appearances
Amis reads 'The Pregnant Widow' LINK | PDF
Conversation with Robert McCrum at the Writers' Centre Norwich, 11 May 2009.
Martin Amis & Andrew Anthony: On writing and radical Islam
Discussion organized by the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 11 October 2007.
LINK | MP3 (35MB) For additional commentary on this appearance see:
Chris Morris, The Observer, 25 November LINK | PDF
Emily Hill, Spiked Online, 17 October LINK | PDF
Nigel Reynolds, The Telegraph, 15 October LINK | PDF
Padraig Reidy, The Guardian, 12 October LINK | PDF
Reading Martin Amis
Peg Eby-Jager writes a detailed account of the April 20 2004 Amis-Hitchens appearance at UCLA's "Our Favorite Writers" series. WORD | PDF
On Nabokov and Literary Greatness
At the Nabokov Centenary Celebration, 15 April 1999. LINK1 | LINK2 | WORD
On Jorge Luis Borges
from a 14 January 1999 British Library Colloquium. WORD | PDF
In Chicago 1998
An account of Amis's appearance at Barbara's Bookstore (3 February 1998), where he discussed Bill Clinton and read from Night Train. WORD | PDF
Political Correctness: Robert Bly and Philip Larkin
At Harvard, reading his essays on Iron John and the politics of Philip Larkin's reputation, 30 January 1997. LINK1 | LINK2 | PDF