Ian McGuire online book launch

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor
Author Ian McGuire.

1 October 2020 Tickets from £5 — Book now

Close readers will have noticed Ian McGuire crop up in these hallowed pages before – the former co-director of the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester is also the acclaimed author of Man Booker Prize-longlisted The North Water, recently adapted into a four-part television series starring Colin Farrell and Tom Courtenay, and set to hit a small screen near you soon (BBC Two, in fact).

Parallels are drawn to Dickens by Roddy Doyle in his September review in The New York Times – he says, “There was very little I didn’t like and admire about The Abstainer.”

In the meantime, Ian’s latest novel is just out – called The Abstainer, it’s described as “an epic story of revenge and obsession” set in Victorian Manchester, and sounds as edgy and maybe even as grisly as his second novel (his first, 2006’s Incredible Bodies, is more of a campus novel). Parallels are drawn to Dickens by Roddy Doyle in his September review in The New York Times (where you can read an extract from the book) – he says, “There was very little I didn’t like and admire about The Abstainer.”

Here’s the plot… “Stephen Doyle arrives in Manchester from New York in 1867. He is an Irish-American veteran of the Civil War and a member of the Fenians, a secret society intent on ending British rule in Ireland, by any means necessary. Now he has come to seek vengeance. James O’Connor has fled grief and drink in Dublin for a sober start in Manchester as Head Constable. His mission is to discover and thwart the Fenians’ plans. When his long-lost nephew arrives on his doorstep, he never could have foreseen how this would imperil his fragile new life – or how his and Doyle’s fates would come to be intertwined. The rebels will be hanged at dawn, and their brotherhood is already plotting revenge.”

Ian McGuire will read from the new book and chat about it with John McAuliffe, Associate Publisher at Carcanet Press and Reader in Creative Writing at the University of Manchester – and co-founder, in 2007, of the CfNW alongside Ian – in this online event hosted by Blackwell’s Bookshop.

Sign up via Eventbrite – you will be sent an email with details of how to join the online event shortly before it starts. (Please note you must download Zoom to gain access to the event and use the same email address to log in that you used to book your tickets.) Tickets are priced at £5 each. If you would like to buy a ticket together with a signed copy of The Abstainer for £17, see the Eventbrite link.

Ian McGuire The Abstainer
Ian McGuire The Abstainer

1 October 2020 Tickets from £5 Book now

Where to go near Ian McGuire online book launch

Gallery
Leeds
Gallery
BLANK_

BLANK_is a Leeds-based gallery, run by the School of Creative Arts at University Centre Leeds. It encompasses a physical exhibition space and a publication that showcases new contemporary visual art…

Chancellors Hotel is a Grade II listed Victorian mansion located in South Manchester surrounded by five acres of beautiful landscaped gardens, in a relaxed, scenic and picturesque setting.
Manchester
Hotel
Chancellors Hotel

Chancellors Hotel is a Grade II listed Victorian mansion located in South Manchester surrounded by five acres of beautiful landscaped gardens, in a relaxed, scenic and picturesque setting.

Kōdo Entrance
City Centre
Restaurant
Kōdo

Kōdo, a secret bar like no other. It is all about discovery. The only way to enter is with a special code, which changes weekly.

MediaCityUK
Café or Coffee Shop
Blanconero

High-level Italian food in Salford Quays, with no less than seven different lasagnas to choose from.

Yoga classes for all levels and aims.
Leeds
Yoga Hero

Yoga Hero offers various classes, including within their studio and online for all levels and all aims.

What's on: Literature

Poet Mike Garry. Photo Paul Wolfgang Webster
Until
LiteratureManchester
Word Central at Central Library

Word Central is a long-standing live literature favourite at Central Library and features open mic performers and a special guest, brought to you by Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press.

free entry
joy
LiteratureManchester
Luke Wright at The Edge

Every year, poet, playwright and “wordsmith at the top of his game”, Luke Wright makes and tours a new show, and this one is JOY.

from £14.00
LiteratureManchester
Crime Central at Central Library

There’s murder and mayhem in the library! Manchester Libraries’ monthly event Crime Central welcomes new guests every month at Central Library, hosted by Rob Parker.

from £2.00

Culture Guides

NEXT: A Primer on Urban Painting production still
Cinema in the North

Street art, LGBTQ+ History Month, and the first film festivals of the year are amongst our cinema highlights this month.

Good Fridaze Family Social at Freight Island
Family things to do in the North

As we edge towards spring we take a look at the best events and activities for families, from theatre to festivals, dinosaur adventures to family raves.

A painting of a young child being bathed in a sink of a 197s style kitchen. Around the sink are a rubber duck, a bottle of  washing up liquid, a jug, a kettle and a mug.
Exhibitions in the North

Galleries are racing to announce new exhibitions so check out our top picks, from art films and nostalgic paintings to Hockney's collages.

Poet Evan Jones
Literature Events in the North

Some of our favourite leftfield live literature regulars are back with their first events of the year – we’ve picked a weird and wonderful heap we think you’ll love.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Feminist farce, a magical circus show and Oldham Coliseum return with a brand-new off-site show. All in our latest theatre guide.

FKA TWIGS
Music in the North

Masters of minimalism, leftfield electronica and cutting edge pop. We bring you the lot in our latest live music round up.