An Interview with Benjamin Grose

Ben is a novelist and screenwriter from the UK. He has written numerous short stories, novels, screenplays, and articles, and has a Master’s in Creative Writing. His debut novel, The Reprobates, a finalist in the 2023 Foreword INDIES, was inspired by his student days working in a nightclub. It was here that he witnessed a lost generation at play. A TV adaptation of this novel is currently in pre-production.

Ben currently lives in Wiltshire with his partner and their family. He is part of the Bath Spa Creative Writing Alumni.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I started writing at a very young age—and after reading Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials at eleven years old, I decided I wanted to be a writer. I’ve not stopped writing novels, short stories, stageplays, and screenplays since then. The biggest literary influences over the course of my career have been Bret Easton Ellis, Haruki Murakami, F Scott Fitzgerald, Dennis Johnson, and Cormac McCarthy.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

I was standing outside the real ‘Munks’ one day in probably 2010-2011, having a cigarette and talking to one of the bouncers, and he said “The stuff you see in this place, someone should write a book about it…”

A few days later, I wrote the first lines—”I work in a nightclub where the only people more reprehensible than the customers are the people serving the drinks.”

I was twenty years old, wore a trilby hat most of the time, and was halfway through racking up a sizeable student loan for a degree in Creative Writing.

That first line of The Reprobates never changed through the many revisions to come.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

It was called The Reprobates before I even wrote a word, I think I loved it so much as a title I wrote it down on a scrap of paper once and put it in my wallet. So it’s always been called that; I never considered anything else.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

It already does! You can check it out on Spotify via my website. Music runs through the black heart of this novel; it did in the real ‘Munks’ and it did when I wrote the novel. In fact, if you read the novel whilst listening to the playlist, the mood should sync up perfectly. A few of my favourite tracks are: ‘Ernie’ by Fat Freddy’s Drop, ‘Broken Cowboy’ by The Dead South, and ‘When The Night Comes’ by Dan Auerbach.

Describe your dream book cover.

I’m a real fan of minimalism, Fitzcarraldo Editions have really set the bar high with their covers since they broke onto the scene. I’m also a fan of somehow using works of art to frame, which if used well can frame how the author intends the novel to be interpreted.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I could have been a professional footballer until I stopped playing at fifteen when I got to the youth academy stage and realised I didn’t want to walk that path. I’ve done all sorts of jobs in my teens and twenties, including a bartender, waiter, labourer, property auditor, copywriter, book reviewer, content designer, UX strategist, and now I work (by day) as Head of Service Design for a Government Consultancy in the UK.

What books did you read (for research or comfort) throughout your writing process?

I read a lot of Bret Easton Ellis’ early work, Less Than Zero in particular was a big influence, as was early Charles Bukowski, such as Post Office. Throughout the redrafting process I read Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris when my agent at the time recommended it.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

I hope that it makes people laugh, and maybe takes them back to those lost years—the fun, the ridiculousness, the madness of it all…but also to spare a thought for what existing in such a dystopia does to those who cannot get out and never do.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.