Join us to meet Zoulfa Katouh, one of our Big City Reads authors, award-winning and internationally bestselling author of the novel As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow, which has been translated into over twenty-five languages and was a Governor General’s Award finalist and a Carnegie Medal nominee. Zoulfa holds a degree in pharmacy and a master’s in drug sciences. She resides in Switzerland, where she lives as a Studio Ghibli protagonist who is surrounded by an ever-growing stack of books. Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity and learn all about Zoulfa Katouh’s new YA novel The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue. Zoulfa will be in conversation with author A. M. DASSU.

A. M. DASSU is a former World Book Day author and internationally acclaimed author of 15 children’s books, including Boy, Everywhere and Fight Back and Kicked Out, which have collectively been listed for over 55 awards, including the Carnegie Medal, Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and Week Junior Book Award.

Book your ticket here

Please note this event will be run as a webinar. We will send the meeting link the day before the event.Tickets are available as Pay What You Can, and we welcome any donations. Tickets must be booked through Nottingham City of Literature.

If you are interested in a deeper conversation about The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue, join our reading group at Five Leaves Bookshop on Wednesday 26th August, 7-8.30pm. Book your space for the book group here.

This event is part of Big City Reads 2026, Nottingham City of Literature’s summer reading campaign