Neil McRobert and Gemma Amor in conversation

Blackwell’s Manchester hosts a special double launch with Neil McRobert and Gemma Amor, celebrating their new books Good Boy and Itch!. Richly written and steeped in folklore, these unsettling tales explore horror, humanity and the craft of storytelling.

Good Boy begins when a boy vanishes on the edge of a small town and a woman encounters a mysterious man digging a grave at the scene. Praised by Stephen King, Rachel Harrison and Stephen Graham Jones, it is a chilling masterclass in the novella form.

Itch! follows Josie, whose return to her hometown on the edge of the Forest of Dean leads her into a mystery of folklore, decay and obsession. Grappling with her past while haunted by visions and infestations, she finds herself drawn towards a dangerous truth lurking in the woods.

Neil McRobert is a writer, podcaster and former academic, best known as host of the horror podcast Talking Scared. Gemma Amor is a Bram Stoker and British Fantasy Award-nominated author, illustrator and podcaster, whose work has been featured in Best Horror of the Year and named by Esquire as shaping horror’s next golden age.