Zadie's World: Literature Salon and Live Stream on Zadie Smith

Zadie Smith made her debut with the novel 'White Teeth' in 2000 and has since established herself as one of her generation's sharpest literary voices, with a body of work spanning essays, short stories, drama, children's books, and novels.

A defining feature of Smith's writing is her ability to write across generations, cultures, and classes. In sharp yet consistently humorous prose, she depicts multicultural environments with characters of different social, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds - and despite the misunderstandings and conflicts that arise, she insists that humans always have agency.

The evening takes place as Zadie Smith receives the H.C. Andersen Literature Prize 2026 and visits Denmark and the Black Diamond. The prize honours authors whose genre or narrative style bears traces of H.C. Andersen's works; previous recipients include Paulo Coelho, J.K. Rowling, Isabel Allende, Haruki Murakami, and Margaret Atwood. The recipient receives the bronze sculpture 'The Ugly Duckling' by sculptor Stine Ring Hansen, a diploma, and 500,000 Danish kroner.

Evening Programme
18:00-18:50: Literature salon on Zadie Smith's body of work
19:00-20:30: Live stream from the Black Diamond