Mothering and Wuthering: Maria and Emily Brontë

Biographer and journalist Sharon Wright and award-winning poet Emma Conally-Barklem discuss their work, including the relationship between Emily Brontë and her mother Maria`s legacy.

Sharon’s ‘Mother of the Brontës: The Life of Maria Branwell’ is the bestselling biography of the Cornish mother of genius and Emma’s latest collection is ‘The High Flight: 50 Poems Inspired by Emily Brontë’s Hawk’, published this spring.

With readings from their books and an audience Q&A.

About the Authors

Sharon Wright wrote the bestselling biography of Maria Branwell, mother of the Brontës. She writes for magazines and newspapers including The Guardian, The Times and Woman & Home and has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Today. In 2024 she won a correction to the Brontë memorial in Westminster Abbey.

Emma Conally-Barklem is an author, poet, grief worker, workshop facilitator and yoga teacher based in Yorkshire. In 2023, she was New Northern Poet for Ilkley Literature Festival. Emma won The Society of Young Publishers First Chapter Award 2025. ‘The High Flight: 50 Poems Inspired by Emily Brontë’s Hawk’ is her first full collection.