Phantoms at the Phil

Thursday 8th January | 7pm - 9pm

After a brief residence elsewhere, Phantoms returns to its spiritual home at the Lit and Phil, where it began in 2004. As always, there will be three new stories with a supernatural disposition, this time read by Gail-Nina Anderson, Sean O’Brien and our special guest David Almond. David, whose many acclaimed books need no introduction, is, we might say, a revenant at Phantoms. He leads a list of distinguished visitors, including Val McDermid, Anne Cleeves, Manya Wilkinson and Lesley Glaister, all of whom have successfully haunted the ghost-friendly chambers of the Lit and Phil. If you’re looking for a bit of eerie disquiet, you’ve come to the right place.

Gail-Nina Anderson

Gail-Nina Anderson | Image provided by promoter[/caption]

Gail-Nina Anderson is a cultural historian, lecturer, journalist and short story writer. Her specialisms include Cinema, the Visual Traditions of The Gothic, and Victorian Art and Culture. Gail-Nina is a popular and frequent lecturer at the Lit & Phil, and lives in Newcastle.

Sean O’Brien

Sean O' Brien | Image provided by promoter

Sean O’Brien’s twelfth collection of poems, The Bonfire Party, is published by Picador in January 2026. His work has won many awards, including the T.S. Eliot and Forward prizes. His third book of short stories, The Long Glass, was published by Postbox in 2025. He is Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

David Almond

David Almond | Image provided by promoter

David Almond OBE FRSL grew up in Felling on Tyne. He is the author of Skellig, Counting Stars, The Falling Boy, Puppet, The Tightrope Walkers, A Song for Ella Grey and many more novels, short stories, picture books, radio programmes, opera librettos and plays. His work is published and performed all around the world. His major awards include The Carnegie Medal, The Nonino International Prize, The Michael L Printz Award and The Hans Christian Andersen Award. He is Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. In 2021 he was awarded an OBE for services to literature. He lives on the beautiful North-East Coast.

Suitable for 18 years +

A LIVE Lit & Phil Event | £5/£3 (concession)

(If you would prefer to book directly over the phone, please call the Library Desk team on 0191 232 0192 and they will be happy to help)

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