Damian Barr
AUTHOR

Damian Barr

Biographies & Memoirs | LGBTQ+ | Literature & Fiction
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I'm a writer and broadcaster. 'The Two Roberts' is my second novel. Meet Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun: artists, lovers, outsiders. From 1930s Glasgow to wartime London and the Fifties, this is the fictional story of two truly wild lives. They were charismatic art celebrities - collected by major institutions, photographed by Vogue, filmed by Ken Russell for the BBC. But they lived as hard as they worked, dying young and penniless yet on the verge of a comeback. Tender, bold and deeply personal, 'The Two Roberts' is a timely 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. Prepare to fall in love with Bobby and Robert… 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. I host The Big Scottish Book Club on BBC iPlayer wth guests including Elif Shafak, Jackie Kay & Ian Rankin. 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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