Sarah Waters's Blog

The Handmaiden, which was inspired by Sarah Waters’s novel Fingersmith (2002) will be released in the UK through Curzon Artificial Eye in April 2017.

The New York Times chose The Handmaiden as one of their top ten picks of 2016 and the Guardian US placed the film ninth in its list of the fifty best films of 2016. The film was awarded Best Foreign Picture and Best Production Design by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, after being nominated for the 2016 Palme d’Or.

‘Park has conjured up not only his smartest but also his most stirring film to date’ – New Yorker

‘Sarah Waters’s novel Fingersmith has had a lavish and almost operatically spectacular adaptation by Korea’s unparalleled auteur Park Chan-wook’ – Guardian

‘The Handmaiden, the mesmerizing new movie by the spectacularly talented South Korean director Park Chan-wook. This breathless feminist thriller has the refined style of an art film but offers the disreputable fun of a guilty pleasure. The Handmaiden is based on Sarah Waters’s acclaimed 2002 novel Fingersmith, but Park shifts the action from Victorian England to a fabulous-looking 1930s Korea that’s ruled by the Japanese. And what delirious action it is’ – Vogue.com

‘Park Chan-wook has made the year’s most irresistible love story’ – David Edelstein, film critic for New York magazine

Look out for Sarah’s piece on Vesta Tilley, in Tate magazine, attached to the Queer British Art exhibition:

'QUEER BRITISH ART TATE BRITAIN 5 APRIL – 1 OCTOBER 2017'.

Find out more on the Tate website.

The American Repertory Theatre reunited with Oregon Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Bill Rauch, director of the 2014 Tony Award-winning play All The Way, to present Fingersmith, Alexa Junge's adaptation of Sarah Waters' 2002 novel of the same name, finishing its run in Boston, on January 8th, to wonderful reviews:

‘… a fast-paced adaptation that deftly brings the key points of the novel to the stage’ – Boston Globe

‘…a heady, involving brew’ – Variety

‘Fingersmith is a richly emotional story with characters who make you care about them, despite their many flaws. It is impossible to include more in a review without tripping into spoiler territory, but suffice to say that the trio of women and their relationships at the center of the play will make you feel a lot. In fact, you might feel like you've had your pocket picked while you were looking the other way. They're very good at what they do’ – Broadway World

See behind the scenes of Fingersmith:

A.R.T. Scenic Shop

A.R.T. Costume Shop

Celebrating 250 issues of DIVA magazine, Sarah has been shortlisted for the DIVA Author of the Year award. The winners will be announced on Thursday 23rd March. For further information visit the DIVA website here.

Sarah has contributed to the National Trust’s forthcoming LGBTQ articles and publications as part of the nation’s commemoration in 2017 to mark 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality. For further information visit the National Trust's website here.

Sarah Waters' Booker shortlisted novel Fingersmith was first adapted for stage by Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Artistic Director Bill Rauch. The play is now showing in Cambridge, MA, as part of A.R.T Season from December 4, 2016 – January 8, 2017.

Buy tickets here.

See behind the scenes of the production of Fingersmith in these videos:

A.R.T. Scenic Shop

A.R.T. Costume Shop

The Handmaiden, which was inspired by Sarah Waters' 2002 novel Fingersmith , will be screened at the 2016 BFI London Film Festival on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th October 2016.

Nominated for the 2016 Palme d'Or and directed by Park Chan-Wook, The Handmaiden will be released in UK cinemas in February 2017. Find out more here.

As part of Historic England's season of celebration of LGBQT heritage, Sarah Waters visited Anne Lister’s Shibden Hall. Visit the Historic England website at the links below for the article and videos.

Watch Sarah Waters on Anne Lister and Shibden Hall

Find out more about Pride of Place: England's LGBTQ Heritage, by Historic England.

Thursday 24 November, 6pm, Edinburgh

A programme exploring the horror, romance, and darkness of the Gothic tradition through music and the spoken word. The journey takes us from the dark Scottish neuks of Hogg and Stevenson, over the windswept English Moorland, and across to the foreboding labryinths and chambers of the old Germanic forests.

The event will feature original songs and music by Helen Clark, inspired by fiction from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith, with associated tales, readings and poems delivered by master storyteller David Campbell

Find out more:

www.helenclarkmusic.com

www.davidcampbellstoryteller.com

In July 2016, Sarah Waters was awarded honorary fellowships from both Cardiff University and Goldsmiths, University of London.

Find out more below, and watch Sarah’s speech from the ceremony at Cardiff University.

Sarah Waters honoured at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Watch the speech at Cardiff University, originally broadcast on 13th July 2016.