65. An Evening with the Scots: Douglas Stuart and Damian Barr

Enjoy an evening in the fine company of two of Scotland’s most renowned contemporary writers: Douglas Stuart and Damian Barr. Stuart, the Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, returns with his latest masterpiece, recently longlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize, John of John. Named a most anticipated book of 2026 by an endless list of publications, this astonishingly layered portrait of a father-son relationship is sure to bring Stuart new awards and devotees. Damien Barr’s debut novel,You Will Be Safe Here, was shortlisted for six major awards; his acclaimed book The Two Roberts reimagines one of the most passionate love stories of modern British art, in a moving meditation on devotion and obsession, art, and class. Moderated by Bill Richardson.

Damian Barr’s attendance presented thanks to the generous support of an anonymous patron and Publishing Scotland’s Author International Travel Fund.

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Damian Barr

DAMIAN BARR is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, and journalist. His memoir Maggie & Me, won Stonewall Writer of the Year and Sunday Times Memoir of the Year. His debut novel, You Will Be Safe Here, was shortlisted for six major awards. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and lives in Brighton, England.

Bill Richardson

BILL RICHARDSON is the author of Last Week, an illustrated children’s book that sensitively portrays medical assistance in dying (MAiD); I Saw Three Ships, a collection of stories set in Vancouver’s West End; and Hare B&B, a picture book with illustrations by Bill Pechet.

Douglas Stuart

DOUGLAS STUART is a Scottish-American author. His New York Times-bestselling debut novel Shuggie Bain won the 2020 Booker Prize and the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. It was the winner of two British Book Awards, a finalist for the National Book Award, PEN/Hemingway Award, National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, as well as several other literary awards.