Author to speak in her adopted town

GILL Hoffs, author of a new book which documents the sinking of a ship built in Warrington and launched from Liverpool, is to talk about the book as part of the Warrington LitFest.
The 34-year-old was inspired to write “The Sinking of RMS Tayleur” after she visited Warrington Museum and Art Gallery with her son and spotted artefacts from the ship’s wreckage.
A curator from the museum then began to tell her the story of the disaster which happened in 1854 and is sometimes described as “the first Titanic”.
The mum-of-one, who is originally from Scotland but now lives in Warrington, was so touched by the shipwreck that she put pen to paper and paid tribute to almost 400 people who lost their lives.
It took Gill two years to write the book and on the 160th anniversary of the disaster she reveals new theories behind the sinking and tells the stories of the passengers and crew on the ill-fated vessel.
A book tour has already seen her take in cities across the country and now she’s back in her adopted home town of Warrington on Friday April 25 for the book talk at Pyramid.
During the evening, Gill will also share insights on the practicalities of writing non-fiction including structuring the book, research, overcoming difficulties and dead-ends, approaching publishers and agents, editing, sourcing illustrations, and promoting the finished product and finish with a Q&A.
Gill said: “Giving a talk as part of Warrington LitFest is particularly exciting for me as there’s every chance that descendants of the people who built RMS Tayleur at the Bank Quay Foundry, celebrated her launch in town or travelled on her, will be in the audience – and
they may not even realise it!”