Join us at Caper as debut novelist Issa Quincy talks to Tom de Freston about his book Absence.

An elusive narrator is beguiled by a poem that returns to him in mysterious ways, echoing across the years.

He recounts memories and impressions as they float fleetingly to the surface of his mind: an eccentric and beloved schoolteacher leaves behind a dark secret after his death; a woman lays the table for a son she knows will never return home; a young man, the pariah of his family, finds solidarity and the distant call of freedom in the letters of an estranged Aunt; a black and white photograph tells of another family, afflicted with generations of tragedy.

These are some of the people and stories that haunt the pages of Absence. This hypnotic novel is a stirring evocation of the limitless depth of the present – a symphony subtly constructed out of the murmurs, memories and phantoms that add up to an ordinary human life.

Issa Quincy is a British writer based in New York City. He grew up in Oxford and studied philosophy and literature. While studying, he worked in theater, writing and directing his own plays in both London and Norwich. He spent several years working as an archivist. His poetry has appeared in The London Magazine and has been anthologized by New Rivers Press. Quincy’s fiction has appeared in Transition Magazine. His debut novel, Absence, is forthcoming from Granta in spring 2025.

Tom de Freston is an artist, writer and illustrator based in Oxford. His non fiction includes, Wreck (Granta, 2022) and Strange Bodies (Granta 2024). www.tomdefreston.co.uk

Unwaged or unable to pay for any reason? Contact us privately here and we will do our best to arrange a ticket for you.