H. Gareth Gavin in Conversation with So Mayer

‘Otherworldly and hyperreal, Never Was is a mind-bending and totally beautiful wrestling match with trans and queer lust’

-Jordy Rosenberg

H. Gareth Gavin, author of queer bildungsroman Never Was, speaks to So Mayer about his beautifully strange novel of grief, addiction and working-class masculinity.

Taking us from bus shelters to playgrounds to McDonalds, from the depth of a salt mine to a nightclub toilet, Never Was is Daniel’s story as told to their friend Fin, in a world of soap operas, sunglasses, newspaper clippings and Princess Diana. Dreamy, poignant, and revelatory, Never Was is a bewitching and inventive novel by an inimitable voice in literary fiction.

H. Gareth Gavin is a writer from Birmingham. Midland: A Novel Out of Time was shortlisted for the 2015 Gordon Burn Prize and his short story, ‘Home Death’, was longlisted for the Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize 2019/20. Funny Queer, a hand-sewn limited edition collection of stories, was published by the Aleph Press in 2021. His work has appeared in publications such as Hotel, Short Fiction, the Architectural Review, and Prototype (Anthology 4), and he is also the author of a critical book exploring the encounter between early twentieth-century literature and silent film.

H. Gareth Gavin will be in conversation with So Mayer. So Mayer is a writer, bookseller, organiser and film curator. Their first collection of short stories Truth and Dare will be published by Cipher Press in July 2023. Their most recent work includes A Nazi Word for a Nazi Thing, a book-length essay on queer films, bodies and fascism, and collaborative projects such as Space Crone by Ursula K. Le Guin, The Film We Can’t See and Unreal Sex.

Doors will open from 6:45pm.

Tickets: £8 General Admission / £15 Book & Ticket, inc. a copy of Never Was (RRP £11.99)

Venue: The Auditorium (Level 6) at Foyles, 107 Charing Cross Road*

*Please note that the Auditorium at Foyles is fully accessible from the Ground floor lifts.