As part of a year of events marking the centenary of the death of the writer Franz Kafka, join us on Friday 7th June 2024 for a conversation between Leah Tomkins, author of new book Franz Kafka and the Truths of Leadership (Edward Elgar Publishing) and the journalist and broadcaster Shelagh Fogarty.

Franz Kafka is a writer who seems to crystallise modern understandings of the institutions of work, family, religion and the law, especially when they go awry. Images from stories such as The Trial and The Metamorphosis have soaked into the cultural conversation to such an extent that the expression ‘Kafkaesque’ immediately conjures up a mix of the awful and the absurd.

Challenging the popular view of Kafka as patron-saint of the underdog, and emphasising the significance of his own work as a leader, Leah’s book explores Kafka’s expertise in the exercise of power. Kafka anticipates many of the core themes of leadership – both good and bad – but especially leadership of the populist, ‘post-truth’ kind, where facts are often overpowered by fictions and fantasies. Whether we are leaders ourselves or simply affected by others who make rulings on our behalf, the book offers provocative new ideas about how leading can so easily become misleading – and what we might be able to do about it.

In today’s world, where half-truths and ‘alternative facts’ can inspire people to action, Kafka has never been more relevant. To bring this to life, the conversation with Shelagh will include a discussion of well-known political leaders – not just those who exemplify ‘post-truth’ tactics, such as Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, but also others, including Barack Obama and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose approaches to leadership also contain fascinating elements of the ‘Kafkaesque’.

The event will be introduced by Richard Ovenden, the Bodley’s Librarian, and is followed by a drinks reception.

This event is generously supported by ROUNDHOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES (LONDON) LIMITED.