This is the website of the writer Julian Gough.

NOTE: My old website didn’t work well on mobile, so I’m building a more-mobile-friendly site. It will be under construction for the next while. Meanwhile, feel free to contact me through the Contact Page, and give feedback, or make suggestions.

Otherwise, below are brief summaries of my latest news, etc, under these headings: The Egg and the Rock, Toasted Heretic, Rabbit & Bear, The Novels, Minecraft. (More info on each, of course, available through the navigation bar above.)

THE EGG AND THE ROCK

OK, The Egg and the Rock is my great obsession. It’s a non-fiction book about the universe (yes, all of it) that I am writing in public, on Substack. It’s funny, it’s personal, it’s deeply researched, and I think it will change the way you see everything. It’s the perfect book, God damn it. I strongly advise you to subscribe to the Substack (it’s free), because that is where all of my best writing is now appearing.

Stunning NASA photograph of a cloud of gas over a dozen lightyears wide in which new stars are forming, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope — The cosmic cliffs, a region in the Carina Nebula in which new stars are forming. Photo credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/SCSCL

Seriously, if you like anything I have ever done, then click on this link and GO SUBSCRIBE TO THE EGG AND THE ROCK NOW.

TOASTED HERETIC

My old band, Toasted Heretic, recently made our third album, Another Day, Another Riot, available on all streaming services for the first time. We also remastered it, gave it a new cover, and tweaked the track order. (Thus finally fixing various things that we had been unhappy with for roughly thirty years…) Here’s a list of links to the album on all the most common streaming services (or just click on the album cover below…)

The album was originally released in 1992, and contains our top ten hit Galway and Los Angeles, plus the “good” recording of our most popular live song, Galway Bay. We also released our first “new” single in thirty years, Satellite Dishes. (It’s a song peculiarly suited to these pandemic times, but was in fact recorded during the sessions for the Another Day, Another Riot album, and never released.)

Paul McDermot interviewed me about the album for his excellent podcast series on classic Irish albums, To Here Knows When. (The series also includes episodes on Whipping Boy’s Heartworm, Fatima Mansions’ Viva Dead Ponies, and on and on; well-researched, deep thoughtful interviews, great podcast.)

Oh, one last thing, while we are talking about the return of Toasted Heretic: we own all the rights (including publishing) to all our songs, and legal clearances are therefore a simple process; so if you know anybody who might like to use a Toasted Heretic song in their film or TV show (however low, or high, their budget), get in touch through the contact form. We are happy to have the songs used, and heard.

RABBIT & BEAR

My fifth Rabbit & Bear book, A Bad King is a Sad Thing, is now out in paperback. illustrated, as ever, by the brilliant Jim Field, I am intensely proud of it. As with all the Rabbit & Bear books, it is ideal for children from about four years old to about seven or eight, depending of course on the child. The series is now published in over thirty languages. As every page is illustrated, the books are particularly good for children making the leap into reading on their own. If you are in the UK or Ireland, you can buy A Bad King Is A Sad Thing in all these places.

NOVELS

My most recent novel is still Connect. It’s still pretty great.

MINECRAFT

Yes, I wrote the End Poem. I hope you liked it! If you did, you will probably love The Egg and the Rock, my book about the universe which I am currently writing in public on Substack. Go there now, and subscribe, for free.

OK, that’s it for now! Thanks!

– Julian

PS Seriously, go subscribe to The Egg and the Rock. I hope the ideas there will blow your mind as much as they are blowing mine.