Philippe Sands & Juan Gabriel Vásquez | Light in Dark Places
Sat 22 Nov 2025 | 10:00am - 11:15am
An unmissable conversation between two writers and friends, whose latest books explore the devastating forces that turned the world upside down and created the one we now inhabit. For Philippe Sands it’s Augusto Pinochet in Chile, while Juan Gabriel Vásquez takes the reader through major upheavals including the guerrilla movements in 1960s Latin America. Together they address the question: can literature play a more profound role than a court in delivering justice?
Join these outstanding writers for an enthralling exploration of chilling historic events. Sands’ gripping story blends personal memoir, historic detective work and courtroom drama to unfurl a twin portrait of a pair of mass murderers. Retrospective by Vásquez reveals the story of one man and his family — based on real people and events — and a devastating portrait of the forces that shaped their lives, and for half a century turned the world upside down.
Livestream option available
Venue: TTP Stage (Cambridge Union)
Duration: 1 hour 15 mins
Event supported by
Tickets available soon.
Author Biography
Philippe Sands is Professor of Public Understanding of Law at UCL, visiting professor at Harvard Law School and a practising barrister at 11 KBW. He has been involved in many significant international cases in recent years, including Pinochet, Congo, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Iraq, Guantanamo, Chagos and the Rohingya. He is the author of Lawless World, Torture Team, East West Street (winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction) and Sunday Times bestsellers The Ratline and The Last Colony. He has served as President of English PEN and a member of the board of the Hay Festival.
Juan Gabriel Vásquez is the author of five previous novels, The Informers, The Secret History of Costaguana, Reputations, The Sound of Things Falling and International Booker shortlisted The Shape of the Ruins, as well as two acclaimed story collections The All Saints’ Day Lovers and Songs for the Flames. He is also the translator into Spanish of works by E. M. Forster, John Hersey and Victor Hugo. His own books have been translated into more than twenty languages.
