This autumn Comma launches two new collections borne out of different, but equally intense commitments to research. Michelle Green‘s debut collection, Jebel Marra, explores the complexities of the 2005 civil war in Darfur through the eyes of the many different individuals involved – aid workers, farmers, local politicians, even an archaeological research team. Michelle’s book is all the more extraordinary for being based, partly, on her own experiences as an aid worker caught up in the war. Sara Maitland’s Moss Witch features 14 stories developed directly from conversations with leading scientists, each story fusing together cutting-edge research with ancient myth or literary realism. As the laboratory smoke settles, we meet witches who can outwit botanists, twins who fight every day for quantum mechanical reasons, and scientists who fall in love with the birds they study. Tickets £6/£4, from here. A Manchester Literature Festival event.