2026!!!

History is a darkroom. Nobody opens its door.

We live inside the exposure, not the finished image – fumbling in chemical light, unsure what will emerge, unable to rush the process. Only later, sometimes much later, do the shapes resolve themselves into something we recognise as meaning. This past year has felt very much like that: events arriving faster than we can interpret them, consequence outpacing comprehension, the sense that we are all standing too close to see the full frame.

It has been a year of sharp contrasts. Of noise and stillness. Of moments that felt impossibly large unfolding alongside acts of quiet, almost stubborn human care. It is against that backdrop that I found myself working on my next literary project. On the 26th May 2026, The Big Shot: Photographs by Greg Brennan will be published by ACC Art Books. If you couldn’t tell by the title, it’s a collaboration with my dad, showcasing the work of one of Britain’s longest-standing and most celebrated photographers, spanning three decades of celebrity, entertainment, and major events. From Hollywood icons and music legends to sporting greats, fashion visionaries, and members of the British Royal Family, The Big Shot is both a parade of famous faces and a personal record of a life spent waiting for the instant when a public persona cracks just enough to reveal something human beneath. Jack Nicholson. Lady Gaga. Kate Moss. Mike Tyson. Queen Elizabeth II. Over one hundred photographs, all asking the same question: what survives the flash?

I am very glad to have had the privilege of writing the accompanying narratives, and you can find the book at all major bookshops and retail platforms, including Amazon: The Big Shot: Photographs by Greg Brennan : Greg Brennan, Greg Brennan: Amazon.co.uk: Books

On the 27th May, my dad and I will be doing a talk and signing together at Blackwell’s in Oxford. Tickets are only £6, and I’d love to see you there: Dylan Brennan THE BIG SHOT with Greg Brennan Tickets, Wed, May 27, 2026 at 5:30 PM | Eventbrite

We are living through another period of accelerated history, one where old assumptions dissolve and institutions reveal their seams. But even here, in the darkroom, something endures. People keep thinking, keep gathering. They keep making books and sculptures and videogames and playlists and murals. They keep telling stories, even when they don’t yet know what the story is about.

Perhaps that’s why rituals matter. Why we still mark time. Why we still hope. Even when we can’t see the final image, we trust that it’s forming.

The coming year doesn’t offer certainty, but it does offer continuity – the chance to carry forward what has proven resilient, and to leave behind what hasn’t. To choose attention over apathy. To keep looking, even when the light is low.

Happy New Year. May 2026 give you patience with the process – and the courage to keep creating anyway.