Join us for an evening of noirish near-future thrills about obsession, connection and penance, where human and machine bleed into one.
Set against a background of climate breakdown and pervasive surveillance, Wrecks, the new novel by Matt Hill, is a noirish thriller about hero worship, guilt and gigwork in an age of algorithms. Join Matt in conversation with writer Helen Tookey as they discuss the ideas and influences behind the book.
Wednesday 21st October 2026
The Performance Space, Bluecoat, L1 3BX
6.00-8.00pm (doors open 5.30pm)
Matt and Helen will explore why science fiction and horror give us unique tools to understand – and confront – the many crises of our present, and the ways speculative fiction can help us make sense of the interesting times we live in.
Matt Hill is the author of six genre-blurring novels that depict precarious lives in a near-future UK. Graft was a finalist for the 2017 Philip K. Dick Award, while Lamb, published by Liverpool’s own Dead Ink Books, was called ‘humane and weirdly beautiful’ by the Guardian, and later named a Times best science fiction novel of 2023.
The event will be followed by an audience Q&A and the chance to buy a signed copy of Wrecks.
Brought to you by the Smithdown Litfest with support from the Research Institute for Literature and Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University.