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Stephen Fry and Friends on the Life, Loves, and Hates of Christopher Hitchens

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Stephen Fry and other friends of Christopher Hitchens came together to celebrate the life and work of this great writer, iconoclast and debater.

In this historic event, Stephen Fry and other friends of Christopher Hitchens came together to celebrate the life and work of this great writer, iconoclast and debater. Fry was joined on stage at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall by Richard Dawkins and the two discussed Hitch’s unflinching commitment to the truth. Hollywood actor Sean Penn was beamed in from LA by Google+ and, between cigarette puffs, read from Hitch’s acclaimed work, The Trial of Henry Kissinger. Five friends of Hitch spoke via satellite in New York: satirist Christopher Buckley and editor Lewis Lapham mused on Hitch’s prowess as a journalist. ‘Like a pot of gold’, said Lapham. Martin Amis, Salman Rushdie and James Fenton delighted the audience with stories of Hitchens as a young man. Rushdie drew roars of laughter when he recounted a word game invented by Amis and Hitchens where the word ‘love’ is replaced with ‘hysterical sex’. Particular favourites included Hysterical Sex in the Time of Cholera and Hysterical Sex Is All You Need.

Watching the event with Hitch at his bedside in Texas, Hitch’s wife Carol and novelist Ian McEwan provided an email commentary. ‘His Rolls Royce mind is still purring beautifully’, typed McEwan.

The event was watched live by 2500 at the venue, and by thousands more in UK cinemas and online.

Featuring

  • Richard Dawkins

    Evolutionary biologist and bestselling author

  • Lewis Lapham

    Writer and former editor of Harper's Magazine

  • James Fenton

    Poet, journalist and critic

  • Sean Penn

    Actor, director and activist

  • Martin Amis

    One of Britain’s most celebrated writers, whose latest book is the autobiographical novel, Inside Story

  • Salman Rushdie

    One of the world’s most acclaimed authors

Chair

  • Stephen Fry

    Celebrated actor, writer and broadcaster

Speakers are subject to change.

Speakers

Chair

Stephen Fry

Celebrated actor, writer and broadcaster

Celebrated comedian, actor, writer, presenter, and activist. His acting roles have included a Golden Globe Award–nominated lead performance in the film 'Wilde', and he has also written and presented several documentary series, including the Emmy Award–winning 'Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive'. He was also the long-time host of the BBC television quiz show QI, with his tenure lasting from 2003 to 2016.
Featuring

Richard Dawkins

Evolutionary biologist and bestselling author

Former Charles Simonyi Chair in the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University and emeritus professor of New College, Oxford. His books, which have sold 8 million copies worldwide, include The Selfish Gene (1976), The Blind Watchmaker (1986), Climbing Mount Improbable (1996) and The God Delusion (2006).

Lewis Lapham

Writer and former editor of Harper's Magazine

Writer and former editor of Harper's Magazine and founder of Lapham's Quarterly.

James Fenton

Poet, journalist and critic

Poet, journalist and critic.

Sean Penn

Actor, director and activist

Actor, director and activist.

Martin Amis

One of Britain’s most celebrated writers, whose latest book is the autobiographical novel, Inside Story

One of Britain’s most celebrated writers. He is the author of fourteen novels, two collections of stories and eight works of non-fiction. His novel Time’s Arrow was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, for which his subsequent novel Yellow Dog was also longlisted, and his memoir Experience won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. In 2008, The Times named him one of the 50 greatest writers since 1945.

Salman Rushdie

One of the world’s most acclaimed authors

Author of fourteen novels including Grimus, Midnight’s Children (for which he won the Booker Prize and the Best of the Booker), Shame, The Satanic Verses, Shalimar the Clown, and Quichotte (which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2019). He has also published works of non-fiction including Joseph Anton and The Jaguar Smile, and co-edited two anthologies, Mirrorwork and Best American Short Stories 2008. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University. A former president of PEN American Center, Rushdie was knighted in 2007 for services to literature. His latest publication is the essay collection Languages of Truth.