The Exchange Book Club: Project Hail Mary

Join The Exchange Book Club in partnership with Lyza Lawal, founder of Blacklore UK. Together, we’ll celebrate a list of amazing books featuring powerful stories inspired by the arts and sciences behind our exhibition Seeing the Sun.

Expect lively conversation, fresh perspectives, and a welcoming space in the heart of the city.

This month's book

The first book on our TBR (to-be-read) list is Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. 

Book synopsis: 

"Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission – and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realises that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it's up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he's got to do it all alone. Or does he?"

Tickets

Tickets for this book club are £5 per person, which includes entry to the session and a drink.

To make our book club as accessible as possible, we are also offering a limited number of free Solidarity tickets. For more information on Solidarity tickets, please visit our ticketing information page.

Buy the book!

Our official bookselling partner is The Heath Bookshop.

The Heath Bookshop is a vibrant, award-winning, independent bookshop in the heart of Kings Heath in Birmingham. The Heath Bookshop is for everyone and anyone, offering a safe community space with a diverse range of books, delicious hot and cold drinks, and a much-loved Kate Bush coffee table. The Heath Bookshop won Independent Bookshop of the Year 2025, which was announced at the British Book Awards in May of this year.

To place an order with The Heath Bookshop, head to Bookshop.org or contact them directly by email at orders@theheathbookshop.co.uk.

Facilities & accessibility

We’re committed to making The Exchange as welcoming and accessible as possible. There’s step-free access and accessible toilets on all floors, plus a Changing Places toilet on the basement level. Guide dogs and assistance animals are always welcome. If you have any questions about access, just drop us an email at engage@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

Presented as part of the UK's National Year of Reading 2026.