A Night At The Good Inn: Black Francis, Josh Frank and Steven Appleby in Conversation with David Quantick

On Saturday 7th June, Pixies frontman Black Francis joins writer Josh Frank and artist Steven Appleby for a unique event to celebrate the publication of their new book, The Good Inn. Hosted by David Quantick, the event takes place at the British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1 2DB, from 9pm. You can get your hands on tickets here.

The Good Inn, which SelfMadeHero publish in June, is a bold and visually arresting novel about art, conflict and the pioneers of early cinema. The evening includes a screening of two of the early classic French surrealist shorts that inspired the book: Buñuel’s masterpiece, Un Chien Andalou (1929), and Méliès’ ground-breaking A Trip To The Moon (1902), featuring a new score by French musical duo Air. This is followed by an on-stage discussion with Black Francis, Josh Frank and Steven Appleby, who will also sign copies of the book at the event. Authentic Parisian absinthe will be provided on the night by La Fée.

Based on a yet-to-be-written soundtrack to a movie that doesn’t yet exist, The Good Inn weaves together two historical events: the explosion on the battleship Iéna at the French port of Toulon and the making of La Bonne Auberge, the earliest known pornographic film from France, produced by the pioneering Bernard Natan. He is featured in the book alongside Pierre Batcheff, the actor who starred in Un Chien Andalou. Illustrated throughout by Steven Appleby, the novel combines fact and fiction to recreate this lost piece of history. An exhibition of Appleby’s artwork will be on display in the Conference Centre foyer on the night.

The Good Inn coincides with the release of Pixies’ first new album in 23 years, Indie Cindy. Pixies play Field Day festival the following day, Sunday 8th June, in the middle of an extensive world tour. You can watch Black Francis talk about The Good Inn alongside his Pixies bandmates below.

To book tickets for “A Night At The Good Inn”, click here.