Interview | Luke Kennard on writing against the technocratic times in his novel ‘Black Bag’
This is an interview with author Luke Kennard about his Booker-shortlisted novel 'Black Bag', a satirical campus novel inspired by a 1967 social experiment. Kennard discusses the novel's themes, including social commentary on late-capitalist technocratic ways and the frustrations of artists in the current climate.
Why it matters
The interview provides insight into contemporary literature that critiques societal trends, offering a perspective on how art reflects and challenges the impact of technology and capitalism on creative fields.
Luke Kennard’s Booker-shortlisted novel, Black Bag (published by John Murray), is a social experiment in and of itself. Inspired by the 1967 experiment conducted by Charles Goetzinger, the story here is told through the eyes of the narrator-protagonist, a struggling actor, who is chosen to play ‘black bag’ for a university professor conducting his own experiment. A dark humour-infused satirical take on the campus novel, Black Bag defies easy literary categorisation. Here, the author discusses the thought process behind the novel and his future literary experiments. Edited excerpts:
What was it about the black bag experiment or the mere-exposure effect that inspired your novel?
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