Poverty and the pandemic: in conversation with Stu Hennigan

When lockdown came in 2020, Leeds librarian Stu Hennigan volunteered as a food-parcel delivery driver. His trips through the eerily-deserted streets took him to some of the poorest communities in the city. Literally a lifeline for people who had been living on an economic knife-edge for years, Ghost Signs is his first-hand account of the poverty he encountered. Having already received national coverage from Prospect magazine among others, Ghost Signs is essential reading.

Stu Hennigan is a writer, poet and musician from the north of England, currently based in Leeds. His book Ghost Signs: poverty and the pandemic, published by Bluemoose in June 2022, was shortlisted for Best Non-fiction at the 2022 Bookseller's Association Awards and was listed by Blackwells as one of their books of the year. His short fiction, essays and poetry have been published in print and online by Lune: the journal of literary misrule, Massive Overheads, Lunate, Visual Verse and Expat Lit. He is currently mid-way through the third draft of a new novel, and works as Senior Librarian for Stock and Reader Development at Leeds Libraries. You can find him on Twitter @stuhennigan.

Annie Warren is an editor, writer, translator, and stand-up comedian based in Nottingham. She was legal editor for Thomson Reuters, is a travel editor for the Rough Guides series, and a freelance editor at Northern indie Bluemoose.

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