Black Bag

By Luke Kennard

Categories: Literature & Fiction

Black Bag is a 2026 comic novel by Luke Kennard, a poet and professor of creative writing at the University of Birmingham. It was published in the UK by John Murray and longlisted and then shortlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize. A penniless out-of-work actor is hired by a psychology professor to sit zipped inside a large black bag at the back of university lectures for a term. The experiment has unexpected effects on the students, the staff and the actor himself, in a satire about identity, masculinity and art.

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• Sarah Jessica Parker: “I offer an early 2026 round up. ... Sorry a bit about the length of the post but I didn't want to short shrift any of the authors. Hope some of or all of the books find their way to your hands.”