Annie Mac talks about her new novel and exploring the experience of being Irish in England

Meet Annie Macmanus, also known as Annie Mac, a former BBC Radio 1 DJ, in Maggie’s Bar, an Irish pub in north London. Annie Mac’s second novel, The Mess We’re In, is set at the turn of the millennium and is a gritty coming-of-age story exploring themes of displacement, belonging, identity, and home. The novel is also a love letter to London as seen through the eyes of an immigrant. Inspired by Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Patrick Hamilton’s Hangover Square, Annie Mac took writing classes to turn from a curator to a creator. Her critically acclaimed and best-selling debut novel, Mother, Mother, is a dark yet hopeful family saga set in Belfast. The Mess We’re In takes readers through the experience of being Irish in England and explores the author’s personal journey of whether to stay in her adopted home or move back to Ireland. As she sat in Maggie’s Bar, Annie Mac watched her children play darts and contemplated the meaning of belonging and emigration.