Joy Division book ‘A Cactus in a Dead Land’ launches in Macclesfield

Italian author Simone Puorto launches his book “A Cactus in a Dead Land: Pilgrimage and Ritual in the Cultural Afterlife of Ian Curtis and Joy Division (and the Forgotten Story of Cornelia F.)” on 26 October 2026 at Proper Sound in Macclesfield. The 296-page work, published 1 October 2026, explores why fans visit Macclesfield Cemetery where Curtis is buried and reconstructs the story of Cornelia F., a German Joy Division fan buried seventeen gravestones from Curtis, who died on 18 May 1993, thirteen years after Curtis. The launch includes an informal panel with contributors including Nigel Carr, Ben Walker, Chris Connelly, Lucie Wright, and Brian Gorman, moderated by Victoria Middles. The book draws on music history, tourism research, philosophy and anthropology to examine pilgrimage sites in Macclesfield and Manchester. It includes a restored photograph believed to show Curtis and features a foreword by Philippe Carly and afterword by Jennifer Otter Bickerdike. All profits after expenses go to mental health and suicide prevention organisations.

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