Reality versus fiction is at the heart of the current literary debate. We live in a world of docu-drama, the 'real life' story. Works of art, novels, films, are frequently bolstered by reference to the autobiography of the creator, or to underlying 'fact.' Where does that leave the imagination? And who gets to define the parameters of 'reality' and 'fiction' anyway? Five writers debate the limits of materialism and realism, in art and literature - and offer a passionate defence of the alchemical imagination in a fact-based world.

Shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize 2020 'Insightful. Inventive. Hilarious. Genius' EIMEAR MCBRIDE 'Bina is fiction of the rarest and darkest kind, a work whose pleasures must be taken measure for measure with its pains' RACHEL CUSK 'A captivating look at female friendship' MAIL ON SUNDAY My name is Bina and I'm a very busy woman. That's Bye-na, not Beena. I don't know who Beena is but I expect she's having a happy life. I don't know who you are, or the state of your life. But if you've come all this way here to listen to me, your life will undoubtedly get worse. I'm here to warn you . . . So begins this 'novel in warnings' - an unforgettable tour de force in the voice of an ordinary-extraordinary woman who has simply had enough. Through the character of Bina, who is writing out her story on the backs of discarded envelopes, Anakana Schofield filters a complex moral universe filled with humour and sadness, love and rage, and the consolations, obligations and mysteries of lifelong friendship. A work of great power, skill, and transformative empathy from a unique and astonishing writer.

Martin John must put a stop to it. They have an agreement, he and Mam. Get out to Aunty Noanie on Wednesday. Stop talking rubbish. Don't go near the buses and don't go down on the Tube. Keep yourself on the outside. Get a job at night. Get a job at night or else I'll come for ya. But Martin John can't stop. Meddlers are interrupting him and Martin John doesn't like Meddlers. If he's interrupted he can't complete his circuits; if he can't complete his circuits, bad things may happen. That's a fact. Written with all the electrifying humour of her award-winning debut Malarky, exhibiting a startling grasp of the loops and obsessions of a molester's mind, Martin John is a testament to Anakana Schofield's skill and audacity-and stands as a brilliant, Beckettian exploration of a man's long slide into deviancy.