We’re thrilled to be welcoming Sheena Patel to the shop to talk about her incredible debut novel I’M A FAN. Riding high on many Best Books of 2022 lists, it’s a darkly funny story of sex, warped romance and uneven power dynamics. Sheena will be in conversation with Muzna Rahman, senior lecturer of English Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University.

About the book:

In I’m A Fan single speaker uses the story of their experience in a seemingly unequal, unfaithful relationship as a prism through which to examine the complicated hold we each have on one another. With a clear and unforgiving eye, the narrator unpicks the behaviour of all involved, herself included, and makes startling connections between the power struggles at the heart of human relationships and those of the wider world, in turn offering a devastating critique of access, social media, patriarchal heteronormative relationships, and our cultural obsession with status and how that status is conveyed.

About the author:

Sheena Patel is a writer and assistant director for film and TV who was born and raised in North West London. She is part of the 4 BROWN GIRLS WHO WRITE collective, has been published in 4BROWN GIRLS WHO WRITE (Rough Trade Books) and a poetry collection of the same name (FEM Press). IN 2022 she was chosen as one of the Observer’s Top 10 best debut novelists. I’M A FAN is her first book.

Doors: 18.30, event starts: 18.45

Tickets are £3.00 or free when pre-ordering a copy of the book. I’M A FAN will also be available to purchase on the night and Sheena will be signing copies after the talk. If you would like a signed copy but cannot make the event, please contact us on 0161 274 3331 or manchester@blackwell.co.uk and we can arrange this for you.