Oysters, Sex and Death: The Life and Writing of

Alastair Harper has been a journalist who has written for the New Statesman, Prospect, the Guardian and other publications, before becoming the campaign lead at a range of housing, refugee and environmental organisations. He continues to work on the environment. He is an award winning playwright and fronts the band Extradition Order whose last album explored the life of MFK Fisher.

Rebecca May Johnson is author of Small Fires, An Epic in the Kitchen, which won the inaugural Nach Waxman prize for Food and Drink Scholarship in 2024, was described in the Sunday Times as ‘a manifesto for reclaiming cooking as an intellectual’, and the New York Times as ‘brave enough to hurt feelings, delicious enough for no one to care’. Her second book Meal Time, will be published by Jonathan Cape. She is also an editor at food and culture magazine Vittles.

Gurdeep Loyal is an award-winning food/travel writer and culinary trends expert. Gurdeep was winner of the Jane Grigson Trust Award for his debut cookbook, Mother Tongue – Flavours of a Second Generation (4th Estate, 2023), which explored British-Indian diasporic identity through food. He also curates the online platform MotherTongueTV.com which celebrates food stories of migration around the world. Gurdeep has written about food, travel and gastronomic cultures for the likes of: Delicious Magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, the Independent and Borough Markets. He is a monthly columnist for Olive Magazine and alongside being a regular on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen show. His new cookbook Flavour Heroes – 15 Modern Pantry Ingredients to Amplify Your Cooking is out in June 2025.

Extradition Order are a London-based band that have produced five albums, including their American Century trilogy which constitutes three records on the lives, loves and times of the Kennedy family, J Robert Oppenheimer and, as of 2025, MFK Fisher. They regularly host the cabaret-discussion night We’re Not Kids Anymore which combines historians, musicians, theatrical performance and novelists in a unique evening of adult entertainment.

The British Library Food Season returns for its seventh year, bringing together some of the most influential names in food, drink, hospitality, literature and science, for a series of events that highlight the stories, the politics and the people behind how and why we eat. Discover more Food Season events. 

This is an in-person only event in the British Library Knowledge Centre. Please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event.  If you have specific access requirements please email customer@bl.uk

There are a range of concessions available. These include discounts for British Library Members, half-price tickets for students and under 26s, free entry for carers as well as a number of other concessions.