Amy Lilwall and John Ironmonger

Blackwell’s Manchester welcomes Amy Lilwall and John Ironmonger to discuss their climate crisis novels The Water That May Come and The Wager and The Bear.

The Water That May Come follows four lives facing rising seas in Britain, exploring survival, sacrifice, and identity in a future where refuge is uncertain. The Wager and The Bear tells the story of Tom and politician Monty, whose decades-long feud leads them and a starving polar bear onto a drifting iceberg, blending tragedy, love, and environmental catastrophe.

Amy Lilwall teaches Creative Writing at the University of Lincoln and writes speculative fiction exploring power, injustice, and alternative realities. John Ironmonger, based in Cheshire, is a zoologist and author of several novels, including the international bestseller The Whale at the End of the World.