In April 1992, the acquittal of three white police officers accused of beating black teenager Rodney King sparked frenzied rioting in South Central Los Angeles. Out of this chaos, novelist, lecturer and graffiti artist Ryan Gattis has woven one of the novels of the year: an adrenaline-fuelled story of race, revenge and loyalty that follows the intersecting lives of a huge cast of Chicano gangsters, drug dealers, graffiti artists, medics and Korean vigilantes over six terrifying days. Gattis explores how he came to write this coruscating portrait of a multi-ethnic city in revolt.  This event will be chaired by John Butler, novelist and film director.