Booker Prize-winning authors Ian McEwan and Julian Barnes will meet readers in Athens this autumn in two literary events at Megaron the Athens Concert Hall. Appearing separately as part of the “Writers, Books, Ideas” series, the acclaimed British novelists will discuss their latest books, McEwan’s What We Can Know, published in Greek as Τι μπορούμε να γνωρίζουμε, and Barnes’s Departure(s), published as Αναχωρήσεις. Both Greek editions were translated by Katerina Schina.
The events continue the collaboration between Megaron and the Hellenic Foundation for Book and Culture. Each author will appear at the Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall in conversation with journalist and writer Ilias Maglinis.
Ian McEwan: What We Can Know
Ian McEwan will appear at Megaron on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, to discuss What We Can Know, his most recent novel and an attempt to bring the past, present and future into conversation across the barrier of time.
The novel combines a search with revenge, fame, a love affair and mental illness. It also draws on McEwan’s interest in nature, poetry and humanity’s capacity for survival. These elements raise questions about what can be known, what is lost and how people interpret the traces left by earlier lives.
Born in 1948, McEwan has written international bestsellers that have been translated into more than 30 languages. He has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize six times and won the award in 1998 for Amsterdam. In 2008, he was named British Author of the Year, while in 2023 he was appointed a Companion of Honour.
Many of his novels have also been adapted for the screen. They include Atonement, whose film adaptation won the BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Film. The Greek edition of What We Can Know, titled Τι μπορούμε να γνωρίζουμε, was translated by Katerina Schina and published by Patakis Publications in 2026.
Ian McEwan at Megaron
Event: What We Can Know
Date: Tuesday, 29 September 2026
Time: 19:00
Venue: Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall, Megaron the Athens Concert Hall
Duration: Approximately 120 minutes without an interval
Language: English, with interpretation into Greek
Admission: Free with an e-ticket, maximum two per person
Reservations open on Tuesday, 22 September 2026.
Signed copies of Ian McEwan’s books will be available for purchase at Megaron’s M-Shop.
Julian Barnes: Departure(s)
Julian Barnes will meet the Athens public on Thursday, 15 October 2026, to present Departure(s), his latest book and a reflection on the choices that shape a life.
The book considers how people remember the past, face the future and approach the moment of farewell. Its interest in memory, time and mortality places it firmly within the concerns that have defined Barnes’s writing.
A novelist, short-story writer and essayist, Barnes is a leading figure in contemporary European literature. He won the Booker Prize in 2011 for The Sense of an Ending, following three previous nominations.
The Greek edition of Departure(s), titled Αναχωρήσεις, was translated by Katerina Schina and published by Metaichmio in 2026.
Julian Barnes at Megaron
Event: Departure(s)
Date: Thursday, 15 October 2026
Time: 19:00
Venue: Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall, Megaron the Athens Concert Hall
Admission: Free with an e-ticket, maximum two per person
Reservations open on Thursday, 8 October 2026.
The “Writers, Books, Ideas” series
The visits by McEwan and Barnes open the “Writers, Books, Ideas” programme for the 2026–27 season. The series continues the collaboration between Megaron the Athens Concert Hall and the Hellenic Foundation for Book and Culture, bringing prominent voices from literature, science and the arts into direct conversation with audiences in Athens.
The programme places particular emphasis on storytelling, research, original thought, oral expression and the exchange of ideas. The two autumn appearances offer readers the opportunity to hear two of Britain’s most distinguished living novelists discuss their newest work within weeks of each other.
