Contributor(s): Dr Molly Crockett, Professor Paul Dolan, Sinéad Moriarty | Why do we like the escapism of "happily ever after"? Can a sad ending ever be enjoyed in the same way? And how can works of fiction have such a powerful hold on our emotions? Molly Crockett (@mollycrockett) is Associate Professor of Experimental Psychology, Fellow of Jesus College, and Distinguished Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics, University of Oxford. Paul Dolan (@profpauldolan) is an internationally renowned expert on happiness, behaviour and public policy and has over 100 peer-reviewed publications. Sinéad Moriarty (@sinead_moriarty) is a best-selling Irish novelist. Her first novel, The Baby Trail, a bitter-sweet story of a couple struggling to have a baby (inspired by her own early difficulties conceiving) was published in 2004 and has been translated into twenty languages. Jonathan Gibbs (@Tiny_Camels) is a writer and journalist, author of Randall, or The Painted Grape. His award-winning short fiction has been widely published. This event forms part of the LSE Space for Thought Literary Festival 2016, taking place from Monday 22 - Saturday 27 February 2016, with the theme 'Utopias'.