Sceptre Is 25, Pavilion Theatre, Brighton, May 23

Four authors who have recently had books published by Sceptre read from their novels, before an open discussion with the host, Dr Katy Shaw, senior lecturer in English Literature at the University of Brighton.

First to read was Clare Morrall, from The Roundabout Man, a story of the dysfunctional Quinn and his life in the middle of a roundabout near a service station. Like Jess Richards, who later reads from Snake Ropes, Morrall's story comes largely from the imagination. The excerpt from The Roundabout Man was humorous, and Morrall has a great gift for creating imagery.

Richards' debut novel was conceived on a creative writing course at the University of Sussex, and honed in classroom discussions. The story and style is clearly original and highly creative, with a very strong protagonist in Mary, a 16-year-old island girl.

Ros Barber's The Marlowe Papers is an imaginative reworking of the life of playwright Christopher Marlowe, and explores the idea that his death was faked and that he continued his career in exile using the nom de plume of William Shakespeare. Written entirely in iambic pentameter, the verse flowed beautifully yet didn't detract from the plot. The final author, Andrew Miller, read from his sixth novel Pure, which recently won the Costa Book of the Year, and it was delivered in an accomplished storytelling style.

The authors and the hosts then debated the common themes in their novels of community and isolation. They compared the virtues of historical research against those of invented occurrences, and how they overcome the challenges that face modern authors. The discussion ended as a celebration of the novel as an art form, and rejoiced in the diversity in writing.