Jarred McGinnis - The Coward | 23rd September @ 7pm

by Katia Wengraf September 2, 2021

Join us for an evening with Jarred McGinnis where we will be discussing his debut novel The Coward.

After a car accident Jarred discovers he’ll never walk again. Confined to a ‘giant roller-skate’, he finds himself with neither money nor job. Worst of all, he’s forced to live back home with the father he hasn’t spoken to in ten years. Add in a shoplifting habit, a painkiller addiction and the fact that total strangers now treat him like he’s an idiot, it’s a recipe for self-destruction. How can he stop himself careering out of control? As he tries to piece his life together again, he looks back over his past – the tragedy that blasted his family apart, why he ran away, the damage he’s caused himself and others – and starts to wonder whether, maybe, things don’t always have to stay broken after all.

The Coward is about hurt and forgiveness. It’s about how the world treats disabled people. And it’s about how we write and rewrite the stories we tell ourselves. Told with both dark humour and hope, The Coward draws on Jarred’s own experiences and explores masculinity, in the tradition of Richard Brautigan, Ben Lerner, Charles Bukowski and John Fante.

Jarred is the co-founder of The Special Relationship, which was chosen for the British Council’s International Literature Showcase. His short fiction has been commissioned for BBC Radio 4 and appeared in literary journals in the UK, Canada, USA and Ireland. He is an Associate Writer for Spread the Word, a fellow of the London Library’s Emerging Writer Programme and a Writer-in-Residence for First Story. He also has a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, but mostly he inspires the able-bodied by using public transport and taking his daughters to the playground.

wickedtomocktheafflicted.com / @jarredmcginnis

Get your tickets here! Attendees will be required to check in to the venue and wear their masks for the duration of the event. If you're unable to attend but still want to grab a signed copy you can do so here.