Damian Barr
AUTHOR

Damian Barr

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'The Two Roberts' is my new novel. Prepare to fall in love with Bobby and Robert… Meet Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun: artists, lovers, outsiders. From 1930s Glasgow to wartime London and the 1950s, this is the fictional story of two truly wild lives. They were charismatic art celebrities - collected by major galleries, photographed by Vogue, filmed by Ken Russell for the BBC. But they lived as hard as they worked, dying young and penniless on the eve of a comeback. 'The Two Roberts' is my love-letter to these queer Scottish pioneers, exploring what it means to discover your voice as an artist, to find love when it’s forbidden and to change the way the world sees. Published by Canongate in September 2025. 'You Will Be Safe Here' is my first novel - a Guardian, Observer and NPR pick for 2019 and Radio 4 Book at Bedtime. It's set in South Africa in 1900 and now. It's all about mothers and sons and how history repeats itself if we keep it hidden. More than anything, it's about hope. The Irish Times says: 'A story so powerful it’s a useful reminder of how fiction can illuminate the indignities visited upon those the world has mistreated then forgotten.' 'Maggie & Me' is my memoir of surviving small-town Scotland in the Thatcher years. It won Sunday Times Memoir of the Year: "Full to the brim with poignancy, humour, brutality." BBC Radio 4 made it Book of the Week. Stonewall named me Writer of the Year. It's now a play with the National Theatre of Scotland. I have stories in: Speak My Language, Common People, Others, Out There, Imagine a Country and Who Will Be Remembered Here. From 2019 to 2025 I hosted The Big Scottish Book Club on BBC iPlayer with guests including Elif Shafak, Jackie Kay & David Nicholls. From 2008 to 2023, I interviewed some of the world's best writers at my Literary Salon - enjoy my conversations with over 250 writers wherever you get your podcasts.
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