New College Festival – Luke Kennard

Luke Kennard – 'The Book of Jonah' This afternoon session welcomes award-winning poet and novelist Luke Kennard, whose recent publications include ‘The Book of Jonah’ (Picador, 2025), ‘Black Bag’ (Hachette, 2026), longlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize, and ‘Notes on the Sonnets’ (2021), which won the 2021 Forward Prize. Kennard joins us to talk about how religious belief and narrative continues to shape and inform much of his creative work. In ‘The Book of Jonah’, Kennard brings wit and irreverence to one of the Bible’s strangest stories – while both Jonahs run away, Kennard’s is a wily and evasive business traveller, fleeing God through NGOs, arts agencies, and PR consultants, accepting any assignment that will take him further away from Nineveh. Blending the sacred with the absurd, Kennard asks what prophecy, purpose, and even false prophecy might mean within the restless machinery of global capitalism today. Accessibility We are committed to providing an accessible and inclusive attendee experience. In line with fire safety regulations attendees using a wheelchair must be able to self-transfer to an evac chair in order to safely evacuate the building. If you have specific accessibility needs or accommodation requests please let us know during registration or contact us in advance by emailing [email protected]. Additional information can be found at Accessibility Information: New College Venue & Travel The event will take place at New College on the Mound. Please access via the glass door through main gated entrance. New College is very accessible on foot, bike and bus. We would encourage all attendees to consider sustainable travel options to the event. Car parking is not available and limited only to nearby street parking: Find parking bays – The City of Edinburgh Council Further information on the venue and travel options can be found at Travel Options