Roy Claire Potter in conversation with Gareth Gavin

Blackwell’s Bookshop will host Roy Claire Potter for the Manchester launch of The Wastes. The Wastes will be available for purchase, and Roy will sign copies after the talk. For those unable to attend but interested in a signed book, Blackwell’s offers assistance at 0161 274 3331 or via email at manchester@blackwell.co.uk.

In The Wastes, Potter explores memory and identity through a protagonist journeying to a desolate South Pennines landscape marked as “The Waste” on a map. Following her mother’s death, the woman finds herself haunted by fragments of her past, from encounters on public transport to faded memories of bar jobs and a curious press image of Vanessa Redgrave. As she navigates this eerie terrain, her sense of time blurs, blending past, present, and future into an uncertain path that leads her into the very earth.

Roy Claire Potter, known for their linguistics-inspired and performance-focused art, frequently collaborates with musicians to create audio for music festivals and radio. Their work has recently featured with Book Works, Cafe OTO, and Camden Arts Centre, and has appeared with Tate Publishing and Sub Rosa, among others. Roy will be joined by Gareth Gavin, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Manchester’s Centre for New Writing.