PLEASE NOTE: this event will now be an online event, to be released on our YouTube channel shortly.
Yorkshire writer, poet and musician Stu Hennigan talks about his dark, complex, and visceral debut novel Keshed, an unflinching character study exploring class, belonging, fatherhood and conflicting ideals of modern masculinity. (Note: strong language and adult themes)
In the derelict shell of what was once his family home, a dying man surveys the wreckage of his former life and drinks himself senseless, haunted by the chain of events that led him there. At heart, Keshed is the story of a relationship struggling to cope with the impossible pressures of raising a child under late-stage capitalism; but it’s also a love letter to the working-class north, from the grinding poverty of Thatcher’s ’80s to the present day.
Stu will be interviewed by author Simon Crump.
“Stu Hennigan is one of my favourite writers. His voice is unmistakable and always compelling. Keshed, in its presentation of class and fatherhood, displays verve, fearlessness and total commitment to its characters and their world. It’s brutal and beautiful.”
Wendy Erskine, author of The Benefactors
Stu Hennigan is a writer, poet and musician from the north of England. His book Ghost Signs (Bluemoose, 2022) was shortlisted for best non-fiction at the Books Are My Bag Awards and Best Political Book By A Non-Parliamentarian at the Parliamentary Book Awards in 2022/3. His short fiction, essays, poetry, criticism and articles have been published widely in print and online. Keshed is his first novel.