From the author of the smash-hit Around the World in 80 Trains comes a new globetrotting journey – this time celebrating the peculiar magic and mayhem of the night train. In her acclaimed new book, Moonlight Express, journalist and award-winning travel writer Monisha Rajesh takes us aboard night trains across Europe, India, South Africa, the USA, Canada and Peru. Her journeys are filled with literary wonderment, humour, plot twists and unsavoury revelations… Hop-aboard and let us take you on a journey like no other…

Moonlight Express:
The wonder of the night train: headlamps ablaze, passengers boarding after sunset and leaving before sunrise, slipping in and out of compartments unseen. For Monisha Rajesh, the singular thrill of sleeper trains inspired a new journey around the world – one filled with moonlit landscapes, cosy compartments and quirky companions.

From Austria’s Nightjet to the Caledonian Sleeper and the Santa Claus Express, Rajesh invites us on an adventure aboard the world’s most wondrous night trains. Along the way, she samples reindeer stew in Scandinavia, retraces the original route of the Orient Express, sips on pisco sours aboard the Andean Explorer, and watches the sun rise over the Potomac River on the Silver Meteor to New York.

A decade ago night trains were giving way to budget airlines and high-speed rail. But as people search for slower and more environmentally friendly ways to travel, night trains are in the midst of a renaissance. By turns romantic and hilarious, Moonlight Express brings us along for the ride – and drops us back at the platform before sunrise.

Monisha Rajesh is a British journalist whose writing has appeared in Time magazine, the New York Times, and Vanity Fair. Her first book, Around India in 80 Trains, was named one of the Independent’s best books on India. Her second book, Around the World in 80 Trains, won the National Geographic Traveller Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year. In 2024 she was named in Condé Nast Traveller’s Women Who Travel Power List, alongside Eva Longoria and Padma Lakshmi. She lives in London.

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Saturday 20 June | 2.30 pm
Belle Vue Pavilion, Belle Vue Park, Albert Crescent, Penarth CF64 1DA
Tickets: £15.00 – Event Ticket with a copy of Moonlight Express (RRP: £9.99) /£10.00 – Event Only / £5.00 – Inclusive Ticket / £5.00 Student Ticket

Buy a Festival Weekend Pass and get free entry to all festival events, plus some brilliant bookish perks.

The Penarth Literary Festival is organised by Griffin Books and runs from Friday 19 – Sunday 21 June. The festival coincides with Independent Bookshop Week and includes a packed programme of author events, workshops, and lots of other bookish fun for all ages and interests.