Andrew O'Hagan discusses his new novel Mayflies with Craig Smillie at the Glad Cafe for Book Week Scotland

Last night I was up past my bed-time shooting and editing an evening with author Andrew O'Hagan, on behalf of Scottish Book Trust. This was part of Book Week Scotland, and I’m so pleased to see these kind of events being able to go ahead in person again - there’s something special about being in the hush of a dark room, meeting the author, and hearing their stories first hand. The Glad Cafe is one of my favourite event spaces in the city, and when I say the room is dark, I really mean it! But these are the kind of challenge conditions I love to shoot in.

Craig Smillie led the conversation, paying particular attention to O'Hagan's latest book, Mayflies; a sublime, intimate, and semi-autobiographical story that charts a weekend of youthful excess in 1980s Manchester, and its tragic aftermath thirty years later. Here’s Scottish Book Trust on O’Hagan:

“Andrew O'Hagan is one of his generation's most exciting and most serious chroniclers of contemporary Britain. Following two previous nominations, his novel The Illuminations was longlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize. He was voted one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists in 2003. He has won the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. He lives in London.”

Earlier in the year you may have read my blog describing the events of Kenmure Street when local residents took a stand against an attempted UK Home Office dawn raid - you can see my photos from the day HERE. I mention it because after chatting to Craig, the evening’s host, I realised he’s the same Craig Smillie who wrote this fabulous folk song commemorating the act of resistance. Give it a listen and a share, Craig’s a great guy!

A selection of my photos of Craig and Andrew were sent off to the newsdesks straight after the event, so you might see them crop up in the papers later this week - for now, you can see a few of my photos below;