Join John Higgs as he discusses his book Lynchian, which is about the film-maker David Lynch.  John will be in conversation with Rupert Cole from Screen B14. This event is brought to you in collaboration with White Rabbit Books.

‘What is it about David Lynch’s cinematic bag of tricks – his shots of shadows and flickering electricity, his sinister soundscapes and his heartfelt scores, his dreamlike irrational stories – that affects us so deeply? How can he present us with trees swaying in the wind, or a character suddenly becoming another person, or more questions than answers, and it stays with us forever? And why is it that, when somebody else uses his tricks, it does not achieve the same results?’

The loss of David Lynch in January 2025 produced an extraordinary outpouring of love and grief that revealed how deeply he mattered. But the strength and size of this reaction came as a surprise to many. In life, Lynch was a wilfully obtuse cult filmmaker who had been unable to get a film financed for the last two decades of his life. In death, both the man himself and his work are unquestionably in the pantheon of all-time greats.

He leaves behind an adjective, ‘Lynchian’, a term used to describe work that echoes his. And yet, only Lynch could be truly Lynchian, and those who copy him fail to have an impact. So why does his work affect people so deeply? Why do some find it haunting and unforgettable while others dismiss it as meaningless? Answering that question takes us into the strange realms of psychology, art and theology. We will discover why ambiguity and mystery are so seductive, how Lynch’s creative and meditative practices overlapped and why a director whose work contains so much abuse of women has such a female-skewing fanbase.

Through a personal, first-person lens, Lynchian unpacks the mystery but refuses to solve the enigma of an artist whose work reshaped cinema from the inside out – where story gives way to dreams, and meaning lies not in answers, but in experience.

‘A while ago I decided to read anything Higgs writes. He seems to be able to take any subject and poke at it until it yields up its secrets’ FRANK COTTRELL BOYCE

‘Reading John Higgs is like being shot with a diamond. Suddenly everything becomes terrifyingly clear’ MOJO

‘Higgs’s prose has a diamond-hard quality. He knows how to make us relate’ THE TIMES 

John Higgs is the author of Exterminate Regenerate, I Have America Surrounded, The KLF, Stranger Than We Can Imagine, Watling Street, The Future Starts Here, William Blake Now, William Blake vs The World, Love And Let Die.  He lives in Brighton. 

Rupert Cole is a programmer for Screen B14, a Kings Heath-based community cinema & film collective specialising in affordable events championing local filmmakers as well as independent and world cinema. Recent highlights include sold-out screenings at the Hare & Hounds, The Heath Bookshop and Blow Water Cafe, and a feature spot on BBC’s The One Show. Professionally, Rupert is an award-winning soundtrack composer with over seventy credits across film, TV and video games. His latest project, indie game “Is This Seat Taken?” has been ’26 BAFTA longlisted in two categories.

This event will be BSL interpreted.

This event is part of The Heath Bookshop Literature & Music Festival and is supported by National Lottery Grants Funding through Arts Council England.