Pictures: Disabled racing driver Nicolas Hamilton does a pit stop at Milton Keynes Literary Festival

Trailblazing racing driver Nicolas Hamilton took part in the Milton Keynes Literary Festival with a special appearance at CMK Library on Saturday. (6/4)

His talk, Now That I Have Your Attention: 7 Lessons in Leading a Life Bigger Than They Expect, was held as part of the Spring Festival’s In-person events.

It served to tell Nicolas’s incredible journey which has taken him from being written off due to his cerebral palsy to reaching the top level of British motor sport, and to promote his first book.

​Nicolas was told he would never walk and would need a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He now not only walks everywhere but is the first disabled athlete ever to compete at the top level of British motorsport, The British Touring Car Championship.

His experience has enabled him to become a prolific public speaker using his social media platform to reach beyond fans of motorsport

Nicolas says his journey has at times been hostile and forced him to navigate periods of anger and resentment, but by building his mental strength and pushing himself beyond the physical limits of what anyone had ever expected of him, Nicolas has changed his life. Now, he shares the valuable, tough and often surprising life lessons he’s learned – and how, with self-discipline and self-compassion, others can defy similar obstacles.

Nicolas has been featured in British Vogue and worked with brands such as Meta, Amazon, and MINI, sharing his clear vision and understanding of how brands can improve diverse representation.

The MK Lit Fest is a festival of books, words, writers and ideas that celebrates everything literary, bookish or wordy. Organiser Flora Rees, said: “MK Lit Fest was thrilled to host Nicolas Hamilton speaking about his inspirational life and his brand new book, Now That I Have Your Attention on Saturday. In his first 90 seconds onstage, Nicolas said, ‘Nowadays, I count myself as one of the lucky ones’, demonstrating the positivism and optimism that was a signature of his talk.

“The Festival audience, who enjoyed 15 events embracing literary fiction, green politics, memoir, writing workshops, graphic novels and fun-packed children's events, considered themselves lucky too.”