Justin Robertson, author of The Trial of Jonah, has spent 2025 immersed in surreal fiction, philosophy, and cutting-edge music, all fueling the trance-like creativity that defines his work. Settling in Shepperton has offered quiet, eerie inspiration, while seeing his book resonate with readers has been a highlight, setting the stage for a busy 2026 of new albums, writing, and live projects.

What have you been reading this year?

I like to flick between apparent fact and fiction with bits of research thrown in, which I find keeps me refreshed. It’s tempting to binge on authors whom I admire, so I try and maintain some kind of chaotic system.

I’ve loved The Animals Praise the Antichrist by Alex Older, a splendid story of occult mystery and troubling secrets. The Safekeep by Yael Van Wouden is an elegant and heartbreaking novel with a twist.

My friend Mark Pilkington put me onto Pavane by Keith Roberts, a perhaps overlooked author of speculative science fiction. This one imagines a mechanical England where the inheritance of a successful Spanish armada and the assassination of Elizabeth 1st in 1588 has led to a very different future.

I also rediscovered Anna Kavan, particularly Asylum Piece, a very disturbing collection of stories that document her collapse into addiction and eventual incarceration in a Swiss clinic. David Keenan’s Volcanic Tongue is an essential collection of music journalism that is so much more; it’s a cultural artefact.

The Murder of Professor Schlick by David Edmonds does the seemingly impossible trick of making twentieth-century logical positivism engaging. It’s a fascinating account of the creation of a philosophical movement against the backdrop of the two world wars, the rise of nazism, communism, and the subsequent threat of nuclear annihilation of the post-war Cold War.

Continuing in a philosophical direction, I enjoyed the work of Jason Bahai Mohaghegh, who specialises in Middle Eastern thought. Night, A Philosophy of the After-Dark is particularly interesting for a club DJ, containing the best description of a nightclub I’ve ever read: ‘A sovereign cube of un-earthly time’.

I should mention Folk by Stef Macbeth, which I read in a day. It’s an intoxicating story that mirrors the experience of many people’s coming-of-age journey. I enjoyed On Mysticism by Simon Critchley, Alfred Jarry: A Pataphysical Life by Alastair Brotchie and The Disappearance of Rituals by Byung-Chul Han along the way.

Any new favourite films/TV programmes?

I enjoyed The Endless. about a UFO cult. In fact, I like anything involving cults.

Any new favourite tracks, records or releases from the year?

Way way too many to list. It has been a vintage year for exciting, innovative music. AI slop and the ridiculous amount of generic nonsense available has led to a counter strike by those interested in the wonky imperfect, so out with the slick audio wallpaper and in with the angular and disconcerting.

Mentions in dispatches from the front to Sonnenspot, the black Albumen, Dali Muru & The Polyphonic Swarm, Kuunatic, Kikagaku Moyo, Ivan The Tolerable, Saagara, Paddy Steer, Rhiannon Kirin, Library of the Occult, Širom, Al Wootton, Sewell & The Gong, Multi – Culti, David J Pitt and the Black Country experimental ensemble, Jonah Dan, Alien Trackers, Decius, Polypores, Hosianna Mantra, Dwarfs of East Azouga, Akio Nagase and about a million other great artists who are releasing great music just now.

Have you been listening to any podcasts, audiobooks or radio shows?

I am a huge fan of the Hermetix podcast.

Have you found any new sources of inspiration or creativity over the last year?

I recently moved to Shepperton, just down the road from J G Ballard’s old home. I must say I find the quietness of the village soothing and the beauty of the river very inspiring but it also contains a hint of perversity behind twitching curtains!

This sort of liminal borderland is just like the place I grew up. In fact, I was born on the estate I’ve moved back to, so it’s like psychic time travel. The hidden lives go those who dwell just over the privet hedges provide fertile ground for weird fiction.

What are your reflections on your book now that it’s out? Has anything surprised you?

I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how it seems to chime with other people’s experiences growing up, even if the circumstances are different, there seems to be a common archetypal sensation when art takes possession of your soul. I write very much in a state of trance, a torrent of consciousness that makes sense to me and so I’m very happy it makes sense to many other folk too! I’ve really enjoyed the book events. Reading the book out loud has given the words a new life, I think.

Any general reflections on 2025?

Yet another rotation of human folly.

What are you looking forward to in 2026?

Many, many new projects! I’ve got the new Five Green Moons album Moon 2 out already, but I’ll be doing it live in 2026. There’s a new book, The MineralTail and an accompanying album which I recorded with Matthew Shaw from Stone Club. Those will both be out in April. I’ll be playing and chatting all year, which makes me as happy as I can be.