We are delighted to welcome acclaimed author Benjamin Wood to Deansgate, celebrating the paperback release of his Booker Prize-longlisted novel, Seascraper.

Vivid, atmospheric and profound, this slim but powerful masterpiece from the author of The Young Accomplice opens new windows of opportunity in the monotonous life of a young Longferry shrimp catcher, when a Hollywood director arrives in town and requests his help with scouting film locations.

Benjamin will be chatting to Bookseller Conor about this shimmering new novel. Their talk will be followed by an audience Q&A and a signing. Doors at 6pm.

About Seascraper

Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach to scrape for shrimp; spending the rest of the day selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream.

When a striking visitor turns up, bringing the promise of Hollywood glamour, Thomas is shaken from the drudgery of his days and begins to see a different future. But how much of what the American claims is true, and how far can his inspiration carry Thomas?

Haunting and timeless, this is the story of a young man hemmed in by his circumstances, striving to achieve fulfilment far beyond the world he knows.

About the author

BENJAMIN WOOD was born in 1981 and grew up in Merseyside. Seascraper is his fifth novel. His previous works have been shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, the Commonwealth Book Prize, the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, the RSL Encore Award, the CWA Gold Dagger Award and the European Union Prize for Literature. In 2014, he won France’s Prix du Roman Fnac. He is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at King’s College, London, and lives in Surrey with his wife and sons.