Yours truly first met John Niven in the late 1990s when he was an A&R person working for Independiente Records. I was playing guitar with the band Sunhouse that he kept a watchful eye on, but that's [another story] - but relevant to his writing.

At the time I had no idea of John's literary talents, his first-class English literature degree (thanks Wikipedia) was not apparent to me through the hedonistic haze of the London music industry scene in 1998.

And yet it was that same environment that was to fuel John's post-record-company career as he drew inspiration for his first novel. Kill Your Friends is a satire on the music business, the debut novel described by The Word as "possibly the best British Novel since Trainspotting". Write about what you know...

And so it started. In 2023, ten novels later, John published his latest book to great acclaim – the best seller O Brother documents the life and eventual suicide of his brother Gary. His latest novel is certainly a departure from his previous work due to its very personal nature. It is conflicted to say the least.

If you follow John on Twitter [@estellecostanza], as we do, you will perhaps get a sense of what to expect from a literary chat at Deer Shed. Uncompromising, we hope! We are both excited and delighted to welcome him to Yorkshire to discuss his latest book, his long writing career, his current fave bands and where he is taking us next...