Craving Connection: John Patrick McHugh & Thomas Morris

Two literary stars discuss fiction, self-discovery and the search for connection.

In John Patrick McHugh’s acclaimed novel Fun and Games, 17-year-old John has choices to make. Should he leave or stay on the island where he grew up? Should he stand out or fit in? Can he let himself be loved?

Thomas Morris’s collection, Open Up, features wincingly humane stories of (dis)connection, adolescence and emotional vulnerability.

Join us for a thoughtful conversation about the power of fiction to show what makes us human.

Thomas Morris is a writer and editor from Caerphilly, South Wales. His debut story collection, We Don’t Know What We’re Doing (Faber & Faber) won the Wales Book of the Year, the Rhys Davies Trust Fiction Prize, and a Somerset Maugham Award. In 2023, Thomas was named one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists and published his second book of stories, Open Up. He lives in Dublin, where he was formerly editor of The Stinging Fly. Click here to discover more about Thomas' work. 

John Patrick McHugh is from Galway. His work has appeared in The Stinging Fly, Winter Papers, Banshee, The Tangerine and Granta, and have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3. He is the author of the short story collection Pure Gold. Fun and Games is his debut novel.