WE HAD IT COMING
Luke O’Neil book release party
Event Information
FREE // All Ages (21+ to Drink)
4pm-6pm
Join Boston journalist and author Luke O’Neil for the launch of his latest collection of fiction We Had It Coming in conversation with bestselling author Dave Wedge. Also reading will be Eoin Higgins, author of Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left, Bill Shaner of Worcester Sucks and I Love It, musician, activist and journalist Evan Greer and more.
Luke O’Neil is the author of the acclaimed political and literary newsletter Welcome to Hell World and the book of the same name. His collection of short fiction and poetry, A Creature Wanting Form, was published in 2023, and the follow-up, We Had It Coming, is out now. He’s a former writer-at-large for Esquire and was a longtime journalist for The Boston Globe, The Guardian, and many other newspapers and magazines.
About the book
“I’ve been asking myself just how it is that a person can go about their day to day life at a time like this and I keep coming back to another question which is how did we ever convince ourselves we had the right to do so before?”
That question runs through We Had It Coming, a collection of stories that pulse with both the familiar and the uncanny. O’Neil’s characters struggle to survive in a reality rife with violence, addiction, fascism, and the crushing weight of modern life. From the threat of mass shootings to the absurdity of predatory healthcare, his sharp observations of societal decay leave a lasting impact.
Yet even amid the chaos, O’Neil’s trademark wit cuts through, offering moments of unexpected levity. Jumping from CVS to the emergency room to a seaside Massachusetts town ravaged by the opioid crisis, and blending short stories, poetry, and micro-fiction, O’Neil’s stream-of-consciousness style and inventive syntax pull the reader into a mesmerizing rhythm.
Fans of his previous work will find a continuation of his unique voice, and new readers will be captivated by his unflinching portrayal of survival in a world gone awry.
Artist Information
Dave Wedge is a New York Times bestselling author who was an award-winning investigative journalist for the Boston Herald for fourteen years. His book about the 2013 Boston Marathon attacks, Boston Strong: A City's Triumph Over Tragedy, was adapted for the 2017 movie Patriots Day. He has written bestsellers about Tom Brady and “Deflategate,” Whitey Bulger and John Lennon. His most recent books, "Riding with Evil: Taking Down the Notorious Pagan Motorcycle Gang," and "Blood & Hate: The Untold Story of Marvelous Marvin Hagler's Battle for Glory," are both in development as feature films. His next book, about the Karen Read case, comes out in Spring 2026.
Bill Shaner writes a newsletter about a city that punishes you for caring called Worcester Sucks and I Love It. Before that he wrote for the city's alt weekly, Worcester Magazine (RIP). Focus areas include homelessness, policing and urban geography. His work has appeared in Teen Vogue, The Intercept, Welcome To Hell World, Mind The Moss, Mother Jones and elsewhere.
Eoin Higgins is a journalist and historian from New England. The author of Owned How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left, his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Intercept, The New Republic, The Nation, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), Common Dreams, The Outline, Splinter, Deadspin, and many others.
Evan Greer (she/they) is a queer musician, writer and activist based in Boston. Radical historian Howard Zinn once called Greer “an eloquent and energetic writer” reminiscent of “Phil Ochs”. Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello called Greer “a heck of a guitar player.” Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace called her “a mentally ill man in a dress” just before having her thrown out of an event in Washington, DC. Known for hosting some of Boston's best queer dance parties and causing problems for the powerful as the director of digital rights group Fight for the Future, Greer's music and activism have been featured by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, NPR and the Boston Globe and she's shared stages with artists like Pete Seeger, Talib Kweli, Against Me, Ezra Furman, Eve 6, Chumbawamba, Mirah, Kimya Dawson, Waxahatchee, Ted Leo, Dead Prez and Billy Bragg. Her last album Spotify is Surveillance hit the very bottom of the Billboard charts, and her new album, AMAB/ACAB, is out now on Get Better Records and features Eve 6, Liz Berlin of Rusted Root, and Boston Red Sox organist Josh Kantor. Now and then she writes hot takes about tech policy or queer liberation for outlets like the Washington Post, CNN, Time, Newsweek, Them, The Advocate, NBC, and Wired.
- Sat, November 8, 2025
- 4:00 PM 4:00 PM
- All Ages
