Friday 6th November, 7.30pm
St Mary’s Church, Walthamstow, E17 9RJ
Join us for a very special evening of conversation with Marlon James, discussing his extraordinary literary career, his prize wins and his latest novel, The Disappearers — a return to the Jamaica of his 2015 Booker winner, A Brief History of Seven Killings.
The Disappearers is an electrifying story of forbidden desire, fierce friendship, and defiance, hailed by The New York Times as “the novel of the decade, if not the century” and shortlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize, which will be unveiled on the 9th of November.
When eight gay men meet for the first time, in Kingston in 1988, answering the casting call for an openly queer play, they are already taking a big risk. But that is nothing compared to what rains down on them when a mob descends on one of their rehearsals. By the end of this night, one man is dead, all are injured, and two subsequently disappear.
As the survivors heal, each man finds he must confront the bigotry and homophobia that the attack laid bare. Some try to forget; some embrace their rage; and some simply vanish – but all are forever scarred. As one of the victims puts it, ‘there’s a difference between when something ends and when something stops’.
And this story won’t stop until both the disappearers and the perpetrators have been tracked, along trails both hot and cold, and an ending reached. Epic and intimate, violent and forgiving, The Disappearers is a tour de force which only Marlon James could have written – both an unflinching portrait of the hatred and shame faced by gay men in a society which refuses to accept them, and a deeply human story of acceptance and insight.
Doors open at 7pm
The ticket holder’s name will be taken on the door.
Friday 6th November, 7.30pm
St Mary’s Church, Walthamstow, E17 9RJ
Join us for a very special evening of conversation with Marlon James, discussing his extraordinary literary career, his prize wins and his latest novel, The Disappearers — a return to the Jamaica of his 2015 Booker winner, A Brief History of Seven Killings.
The Disappearers is an electrifying story of forbidden desire, fierce friendship, and defiance, hailed by The New York Times as “the novel of the decade, if not the century” and shortlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize, which will be unveiled on the 9th of November.
When eight gay men meet for the first time, in Kingston in 1988, answering the casting call for an openly queer play, they are already taking a big risk. But that is nothing compared to what rains down on them when a mob descends on one of their rehearsals. By the end of this night, one man is dead, all are injured, and two subsequently disappear.
As the survivors heal, each man finds he must confront the bigotry and homophobia that the attack laid bare. Some try to forget; some embrace their rage; and some simply vanish – but all are forever scarred. As one of the victims puts it, ‘there’s a difference between when something ends and when something stops’.
And this story won’t stop until both the disappearers and the perpetrators have been tracked, along trails both hot and cold, and an ending reached. Epic and intimate, violent and forgiving, The Disappearers is a tour de force which only Marlon James could have written – both an unflinching portrait of the hatred and shame faced by gay men in a society which refuses to accept them, and a deeply human story of acceptance and insight.
Doors open at 7pm
The ticket holder’s name will be taken on the door.
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