{"product_id":"black-bag-9781638933380","title":"Black Bag by Kennard, Luke","description":"\u003cb\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2026 \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"The funniest and smartest novel I've read in a while.\" --Zadie Smith \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAn out-of-work actor accepts the role of a lifetime--sitting soundlessly in a lecture theater, zipped into a large leather bag--to aid a professor's psychological experiment. What could possibly go wrong? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn Luke Kennard's audacious new novel, a penniless and out-of-work actor picks up a job working for Dr. Blend, a university professor who is conducting a psychological experiment. Dr. Blend wants to know: how will his students react to someone zipped into an oversized bag, sitting at the back of the lecture hall over a series of Fall lectures? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe role, eagerly accepted, soon yields unexpected consequences, from a professor of post-humanism developing research questions of her own--in particular, can you love someone secreted away inside a black bag?--to the actor's childhood friend forming a vision for monetizing this unique new situation. In the end, only Black Bag will be able to say what it all means . . . \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA warped campus novel, an investigation into the crisis of masculinity, and an off-kilter love story, \u003ci\u003eBlack Bag\u003c\/i\u003e is a firework of a novel: blazingly funny and profoundly humane. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A genre-defying, big-swing of a novel . . . a sharply funny meditation on masculinity, academia, the modern attention economy, and the quiet desperation of everyday life.\" --Andrew Boryga, author of \u003ci\u003eVictim\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Luke Kennard\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Zando\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/17\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.20lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.30w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781638933380\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/12\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLuke Kennard\u003c\/b\u003e is an award-winning poet and novelist. His poetry collection, \u003ci\u003eCain\u003c\/i\u003e, was shortlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize and described by Alan Hollinghurst as \"the cleverest and funniest thing I've read this year,\" and \u003ci\u003eNotes on the Sonnets \u003c\/i\u003ewon the Forward prize for Best Poetry Collection in 2021. \u003ci\u003eThe Transition\u003c\/i\u003e, his first novel, was BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime and was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. His most recent poetry collection, \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Jonah\u003c\/i\u003e, was published by Picador in 2025 and \u003ci\u003eBlack Bag\u003c\/i\u003e, his third novel, was published by John Murray and Zando in 2026 and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. He is a professor of literature and creative writing at the University of Birmingham.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Zando","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50526283202713,"sku":"9781638933380","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0572\/3367\/0297\/files\/9781638933380.jpg?v=1790197842","url":"https:\/\/bookmarksretail.store\/products\/black-bag-9781638933380","provider":"Bookmarks Retail","version":"1.0","type":"link"}