Will Self, who knew JG Ballard well in his final years, takes us on a journey through the work and imagination of the man he called 'the most important British writer of the late 20th Century'. Ballard's contribution to literature, to the visual arts, to architectural theory and philosophy is more widely recognised and grows each year and his views of cities and places have much to teach us now in debating their future.

Speaker biography:

Will Self was nominated in 1993 as one of Granta magazine's 20 Best of Young British Novelists. His books include the short-story collection The Quantity Theory of Insanity, winner of the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize; How the Dead Live, which was short-listed for the Whitbread Novel of the Year 2002; The Butt, winner of the 2008 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize; Umbrella, Perfidious Man, and collections of journalism, including Junk Mail and Feeding Frenzy. His most recent book is the novel, Shark.

Image: © Valerie Bennett

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