Brycchan Carey, Public Speaker

I am a frequent speaker at both academic and public events, as well as on radio and television. I am passionate about communicating my work to audiences large and small and I have a reputation as a lively and inspiring speaker who engages effectively with public audiences. I would be delighted to speak at your event or organisation!

My subjects

I have three main areas of interest: the history and culture of natural history and the sciences more generally; the history, literature, and culture of empire, slavery, and abolition; and Black British history and writing, particularly in the age of empire. I also offer local history topics in the areas where I live or have family connections: Northumberland, Cornwall, London, and the Channel Islands. My interests are mainly, but not entirely, in the period 1600-1900. Please see the selection of titles below for examples of the sorts of public talks I can offer.

Where do I give talks?

I have spoken across the world, as far afield as Canada, India, and the United States, as well as in many European countries. In addition to academic events, I have spoken at literary festivals, history societies, reading groups, museums, churches, schools, the University of the Third Age, the Women's Insitute, and many other community organisations. I am very happy to travel, subject to availability.

Can I hear one of your talks?

Yes, you can listen to the The Linnaean Society of London's Annual Founder's Lecture in December 2020 in which I spoke on the topic of: 'Gilbert White of Selborne: Poet, Preacher, and Naturalist'. This was broadcast from my study at the height of the Covid pandemic! Watch the recording on YouTube

You can also listen to my contribution to the Radio 4 programme 'The Amazing Life of Olaudah Equiano', which was broadcast on 24 May 2022 and is now on BBC Sounds. Listen to the recording on BBC Sounds.

How much do I charge?

It depends. I usually ask for reasonable travel expenses, which in the UK will normally be by train or road from my home town of Alnwick, Northumberland. For overseas venues, flights would normally be either from Newcastle Airport (NCL) or Edinburgh Airport (EDI). My fees are moderate and negotiable, and may be waived in some cases for small non-commercial organisations, particularly in my local area. Please ask and I'm sure we can work something out!

A selection of titles

Here are some of the public talks I have given in the UK over the past ten years or so. This is just a small selection: I have many more topics available and many of these talks have been given several times. You can find a full list by downloading my CV. Many of these topics overlap: for example, I am currently very interested in the relationship between natural history, antislavery, and local organisations. I would be happy to talk on any of the topics below, or to adapt them to fit your requirements, and I am always working on new material, so please get in touch!

Nature Writing, Science, and Literature

The Founder's Lecture: 'Gilbert White of Selborne: Poet, Preacher, and Naturalist' for the Linnaean Society of London (December 2020, via Zoom). (This lecture was recorded and is available online)
'Gilbert White: An Eighteenth-Century Parson Naturalist' for the Gilbert White House Museum, Selborne, Hampshire (November 2020, via Zoom)
'Botany, Birds, and Books: The Literary Gilbert White' for the Gilbert White House Museum, Selborne, Hampshire (November 2018).
'Voyages to the Moon' for Explore Life Long Learning, Newcastle upon Tyne (November 2018)
'Space, Time and Monsters: A Billion Years of Science Fiction in Films, Books, and TV' for Gamlingay Library, Cambridgeshire (May 2013)
'Lunar Geese, Celestial Dew, and the Emperor of the Moon: Five Centuries of (Imaginary) Interplanetary Exploration' for the Kingston Readers' Festival, Kingston-upon-Thames (May 2009)

Olaudah Equiano, Ignatius Sancho, and other Black British Writers

'Olaudah Equiano, an Eighteenth-Century African in the North East' for the Rothbury University of the Third Age, Northumberland (February 2022)
'Olaudah Equiano and the Abolition of Slavery' for the Acorn School, Stroud. (October 2020, via Zoom)
'Olaudah Equiano's Interesting Narrative' for the Riverside Arts Centre Reading Group, Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey (May 2016)
'Ignatius Sancho, his Music, and the Montagu Family', at the The Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble performance, Boughton House, Northamptonshire (July 2014)
'Black London in the Age of Slavery' for the Kingston Museum, Kingston-upon-Thames (September 2007)

Abolitionism, Antislavery, and English Literature

'Erasmus Darwin and Thomas Day: Poets Against Slavery' for the Erasmus Darwin House Museum, Lichfield (June 2022)
'From Peace to Freedom: Colonial Quakers and the Origins of the Antislavery International, 1657-1758'. for the International Slavery Museum, Liverpool (May 2012)
'Abolishing the Slave Trade on the London Stage, 1760-1807' for the Museum of London (March 2009)

Northumberland and the North East

'Percival Stockdale: A Northumbrian Clergyman, Poet, Campaigner, and Contrarian' for the Aln and Breamish Local History Society, Northumberland (October 2021).
'Olaudah Equiano, an Eighteenth-Century African in the North East' for the Rothbury University of the Third Age, Northumberland (February 2022)

A Literary Miscellany!

'Huckleberry Finn: Satire, Civil War, and Reconstruction' for Explore Life Long Learning, Newcastle upon Tyne (December 2019)
'The Origins of Children's Literature' for the Felton Women's Institute, Northumberland (April 2019).
'Sun and Light in the Poetry of John Donne' for Explore Life Long Learning, Newcastle upon Tyne (January 2019)
'Jane Austen Goes to the Movies' for Gamlingay Library, Cambridgeshire (October 2013)
'Hermione and the House-elves Revisted: J.K. Rowling, Antislavery Campaigning, and the Politics of Potter' for the Kingston Readers' Festival, Kingston-upon-Thames (April 2008)

Brycchan Carey speaking at the International Congress on the Enlightenment, University of Edinburgh, 2019