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Luke Kennard

@luukekennnard

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Writer. Lectures at University of Birmingham. Latest books, Black Bag and The Book of Jonah available below:

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Here are some readings! Gonna be real here for a minute: generally speaking you get about 2 weeks of attention when a book comes out and then it disappears without a trace forever and you’re like, ‘Huh.’ And that happens *every time* but you still never learn, despite there being circa 700 books a year that don’t get the eyes on them they deserve. You still feel like a child with a burst balloon. So the massive privilege of getting to do what feels like launching the same book again is not lost on me and I’m very grateful to anyone who comes to one of these. xoxo by @luukekennnard

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22 days ago

BLACK BAG by @luukekennnard is officially shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2026! @thebookerprizes

We are incredibly proud to publish this remarkably original, funny and profound novel. A huge thank you to the judges, booksellers and readers for their support, and a massive congratulations to Luke Kennard! We hope you’ll join us in celebrating this incredible achievement 📚

#BookerPrize #BookerLonglist #Bookstagram #LiteraryFiction by @luukekennnard

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a month ago

If you copy and paste this into your Online Internet Browser, it will take you to it:
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2026/poetry-prophecy-and-the-book-of-jonah-professor-luke-kennards-inaugural-lecture by @luukekennnard

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8 months ago

Looking ahead to November, we have even more events fast approaching. Don’t forget to have a look at our chalkboards outside and pick up an events leaflet when you pop by!

#edinburghevents #toppingandcompany taken in Topping & Company Booksellers of Edinburgh by @luukekennnard

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3 days ago

Thank you to my Aunt June for taking some photos of the Cheltenham Lit Fest Booker event from up in the circle. It was a big ol joy. Also a photo of me saying that I find things sort of difficult. xxx by @luukekennnard

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8 days ago

A real dream to read and talk with @isabelwaidner at @bhamlitfest tonight. Really grateful to the festival and to the legendary Tim Etchells for being such a brilliant interlocutor. (Also a photo of me on a novelty climbing wall because I felt weird just posting one picture. It symbolises “the climb of creativity” because it is like a climb isn’t it). xxx by @luukekennnard

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10 days ago

‘What am I without BLACK BAG?’ ◼️

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2026, this endlessly quotable, witty and wildly original novel by @luukekennnard will also have you meditating on finding true purpose and what it means to be human in our modern world #blackbag #bookerprize #bookershortlist @thebookerprizes by @luukekennnard

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16 days ago

Thank God for this funny book. In a Booker Prize shortlist that includes tales of homophobic murder and suicidal ideation in the midst of the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, Luke Kennard’s (@luukekennnard) Black Bag is a breath of fresh air.

A campus novel for our modern age, Black Bag follows a down-and-out actor as he takes up the greatest gig of his career: sitting at the back of a university lecture hall, silent and unmoving, zipped inside a black bag. It’s a psychological experiment conducted by a man named Dr Blend, who wants to measure his students’ reactions to Black Bag throughout the autumn term.

The novel is absurd, yet deeply earnest, and it looks deeply at masculinity, friendship, and the drive to make art in the 2020s. In our conversation with Kennard, we asked him his thoughts on the manosphere, what authors inspire him, and the importance of being “moved” by literature.

Read the full article at the link in bio.

Interview by willpocock_ by @luukekennnard

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16 days ago

1. I’ve always really appreciated the LRB’s review titling convention, so this is very exciting for me.
2. Even more so I really appreciate Claire Powell who was such a dream of a host at Daunts last night.
3. Me on the news.
4. Jim Woodring’s ‘Manhog’ by @luukekennnard

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17 days ago

It’s not every day a local author lands on the Booker Prize shortlist with a novel about a man sitting inside a giant black bag… but then again, Brum has always done things a little differently! 🎒✨

We’re so excited to announce that The Birmingham Dispatch is hosting a special live evening with Luke Kennard - University of Birmingham professor and Booker Prize 2026 shortlisted author of Black Bag.

Luke will be sitting down with our founding editor, Kate Knowles, to chat about the shortlist journey, modern masculinity, absurdist comedy, and what it’s really like to fly the flag for Second City storytelling on the global stage.

Afterwards, stick around for a drink and a proper chin-wag with The Dispatch team and fellow readers! 🍻

🗓 Date: Thursday 22nd October
⏰ Time: 6:30 PM (Doors at 6:00 PM)
📍 Venue: The Actress & Bishop, Ludgate Hill, B3 1EH

🎟 Tickets: £8 General // £4 Dispatch Members

Link in bio to grab your tickets before they sell out! taken in Actress and Bishop (official) by @luukekennnard

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17 days ago

LtwL pt. 26: Media Training by @luukekennnard

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19 days ago

Living the Writing Life Part 25: Entertaining Yourself on the Road by @luukekennnard

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22 days ago