The fifth Finchley Literary Festival began today and continues over the weekend, offering an array of events and workshops with authors in and around the area.

Yvette Edward who was born in Barnet but now lives in Hackney. After a particularly introspective year in the lead up to her 40th birthday, she decided to take the plunge and finally commit herself to writing.

Her first novel, A Cupboard Full of Coats, sees a friend of a woman’s late mother come from Monserrat to visit. Over the weekend they discuss her mother, her death and their homeland.

“My family are from Monserrat, it’s a tiny island very near Antigua, about the size of Hackney. I was really keen to write contemporary fiction with Montserratian characters, it might seem a small thing but it’s something I’m quite passionate about.

“I really wanted to capture some of the Monserrat that I heard my mum and my dad and aunts and uncles talking about when I was growing up and what life was like then and the culture and the food. I really wanted to capture that, as it’s already changed.”

Her second and most recent novel, The Mother, is narrated by a woman attending the trial of the boy who stabbed and killed her son. This again was inspired by her family.

“The idea for that was sewn a few years ago when my step-son was very randomly the victim of a stabbing by a young boy with a group of other boys. He survived and he’s fine but I just couldn’t really get my head around it, I couldn’t understand why it happened and why it had happened to him and it challenged a lot of things I hadn’t consciously thought about.

“It’s not just a lack of regard for the lives of the victim but a lack of regard or value for their own life. I really wanted to understand that. I don’t know whether I’m an expert at understanding it now but through writing the mother I basically got to explore a lot of those questions that I had.”

As well as many opportunities to meet author like Yvette, the festival offers writing workshops, a Dragon’s Pen pitching opportunity, music and poetry events and a literary walk; with an array of books on sale from The Big Green Bookshop.

Details: 020 8346 9449, finchleyliteraryfestival.blogspot.co.uk