Damian Barr
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Damian Leighton Barr (born 20 July 1976) is a Scottish writer and broadcaster. He is the creator and host of the Literary Salon, which started at Shoreditch House in 2008, and he hosts live literary events worldwide. In 2014 and 2015, he presented several editions of the
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
cultural programme '' Front Row''. He has hosted several television series including ''Shelf Isolation'' and most recently ''The Big Scottish Book Club'' for
BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...
. He is the author of the 2013 memoir ''Maggie & Me'', about his 1980s childhood in the west of Scotland, and the 2019 novel ''You Will Be Safe Here'', set in South Africa in 1901 and now. He is a
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...
(FRSA).


Early life

Barr was born in 1976 in Bellshill, Scotland. He graduated from
Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...
in Sociology and English Literature in 1998, having spent a year studying at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
1996–1997. In 2000 he won an
ESRC The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), formerly the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the UK government. ESRC provides fundin ...
Scholarship and completed an MA in Contemporary Sociology. In 2020 Barr completed his PhD in Creative Writing at Lancaster University.


Career and books

Barr is the author of three award-winning books and several radio plays, and has contributed to several well-known collections (see below for full bibliography). Barr's first book was published in 2006 by
Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...
. ''Get It Together: How to Survive Your Quarterlife Crisis'' was the first book concerned with the
quarter-life crisis In popular psychology, a quarter-life crisis is an existential crisis involving anxiety and sorrow over the direction and quality of one's life which is most commonly experienced in a period ranging from a person's early twenties up to their m ...
to be published in the UK. It was inspired by a column Barr wrote for ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' in 2001–03 about graduate work and life. 3">Damian_Barr#cite_note-3.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Damian Barr#cite note-3">3 Barr's second book is ''Maggie & Me'', a memoir of growing up in small-town Scotland during the
Thatcher years. Bloomsbury Publishing">Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
acquired the book at auction in July 2010 and it was published in the UK in April 2013 winning him Stonewall Awards">Stonewall Writer of the Year, ''Sunday Times'' Memoir of the Year and the Paddy Power Political Satire Award. It was a
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
Book of the Week. It has been optioned by STV and is being adapted for television by Andrea Gibb – Barr will also be a writer on the series. In 2016, Bloomsbury pre-empted Barr's debut novel ''You Will Be Safe Here''. In 2017 Barr received an award from the Arts Council England to complete research on his novel in South Africa. In 2018 Barr received a University of Otago Scottish Writers Fellowship, which saw him based at the
Pah Homestead The Pah Homestead is a historic home located in the suburb of Hillsborough in Auckland, New Zealand, within the bounds of Monte Cecilia Park. It is owned by the Auckland Council, and is currently used as an art gallery, housing the Arts House T ...
in
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, New Zealand where he edited the novel. ''You Will be Safe Here'' was published internationally on 4 April 2019 and was shortlisted for several major awards (see below). It featured on BBC Radio 4's ''
Book at Bedtime ''Book at Bedtime'' (''A Book at Bedtime'' until 9 July 1993) is a long-running radio programme that is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each weekday evening between 22:45 and 23:00. The programme presents readings of fiction, including modern classic ...
'', and was critically acclaimed.


Broadcasting and journalism

Barr has been a columnist for ''The Times'', ''Sunday Times'' and ''
The Big Issue ''The Big Issue'' is a United Kingdom–based street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents. ''The Big Issue'' is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer ho ...
'', and wrote the travel column ''Novel Destinations'' for '' High Life Magazine''. In 2016 he was Highly Commended by
BSME The British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME.market) is a professional association of print and onlinBSME.MARKETeditors in the United Kingdom. Established in 1981, the BSME.market has 148 members. Its annual awards—the BSME.market Awards and t ...
as Columnist of the Year. From 2014 to 2017 he wrote BarrFly, ''The'' ''Sunday Times''' drink column. From 2008–2018 he was Literary Editor of Soho House. He is a frequent guest on BBC Radio 4 and has hosted '' Front Row'', with interviewees including
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
,
Javier Marías Javier Marías Franco (20 September 1951 – 11 September 2022) was a Spanish author, translator, and columnist. Marías published fifteen novels, including '' A Heart So White'' (''Corazón tan blanco,'' 1992'')'', '' Tomorrow in the Battle Th ...
and
Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...
. In 2016 he hosted his first half-hour documentary on BBC One revealing ''The Writers of Rye'' produced by Factory Films. In October 2019, Barr was on
Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, films, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...
co-hosting the first ever live coverage of the
Cheltenham Literature Festival ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' Cheltenham Literature Festival, a large-scale international festival of literature held every year in October in the English spa town of Cheltenham, and part of Cheltenham Festivals: also responsible for th ...
along with
Andi Oliver Andrea Oliver (born 26 May 1963) is a British chef, television and radio broadcaster, and former singer. She is best known for her appearances on the BBC TV cooking show ''Great British Menu''. She is the author of the book ''The Pepperpot Dia ...
,
Miquita Oliver Miquita Billie Alexandra Oliver (born 25 April 1984) is a British television presenter and radio personality. With Simon Amstell, she co-hosted Channel 4's '' Popworld'' from 2001 to 2006. She went on to present on '' T4'' from 2006 to 2010, a ...
and Simon Savidge. As well as co-hosting with Andi in the studio he presented the Book Banquet, in which prominent writers recommended a range of books, and he diagnosed the reading habits of a variety of festival guests as the Book Doctor. In 2019, Barr hosted ''The Big Scottish Book Club'' (produced by IWC for
BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...
). The series returned in 2020 for a longer run, which was broadcast at the end of 2020. The show featured
Janice Galloway Janice Galloway FRSL (born 1955 in Saltcoats, Scotland) is a Scottish writer of novels, short stories, prose-poetry, non-fiction and libretti. In 2023, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Biography She is the second d ...
,
Marian Keyes Marian Keyes (born 10 September 1963) is an Irish author and radio presenter. She is principally known for her popular fiction. Keyes became known for her novels ''Watermelon'', '' Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married'', ''Rachel's Holiday'', ''Las ...
,
Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), known professionally as Graham Norton, is an Irish comedian, broadcaster, actor, and writer. He is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for the comedy chat show ''The Graham Norton Show'' (2007–present) ...
, David Nicholls,
Jojo Moyes Pauline Sara Jo Moyes (born 4 August 1969), known professionally as Jojo Moyes, is an English journalist and, since 2002, an award-winning romance novelist, #1 New York Times best selling author and screenwriter. She is one of only a few author ...
,
Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...
and
Sathnam Sanghera Sathnam Sanghera FRSL (born 1976) is a British journalist and best-selling author. Early life and education Sathnam Sanghera was born to Indian Punjabi parents in Wolverhampton in 1976. His parents had emigrated from India to the UK in 1968. H ...
, among others. During the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Barr devised and hosted ''Shelf Isolation'', produced by IWC for BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer.


Damian Barr's Literary Salon

Launching at Shoreditch House in 2008, Damian Barr's Literary Salon aimed to revitalise live literary events. Readers and writers meet through special live events and online content including interviews, podcasts and brand-new stories. The Salon has held residencies at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, the Mondrian and the Savoy, and travelled to venues all around the world including Moscow, New York, Sydney, Auckland, Toronto and San Francisco. The Savoy appointed Barr as the hotel's first ever Literary Ambassador, running their writers-in-residence scheme. Salon guests have included
Tracey Thorn Tracey Thorn (born 26 September 1962) is an English singer, songwriter, and author. She is best known as a member of the duo Everything but the Girl, active from 1982 to 2000, and again from 2022. She was in the band Marine Girls from 1980 to ...
,
Rose McGowan Rósa Arianna McGowan (born September 5, 1973) is an American actress and activist. After her film debut in a brief role in the comedy ''Encino Man'' (1992), she achieved recognition for her performance in the dark comedy ''The Doom Generation' ...
,
Maggie O'Farrell Maggie O'Farrell, RSL (born 27 May 1972), is a novelist from Northern Ireland. Her acclaimed first novel, ''After You'd Gone'', won the Betty Trask Award, and a later one, '' The Hand That First Held Mine'', the 2010 Costa Novel Award. She has ...
,
Yaa Gyasi Yaa Gyasi (born 1989) is a Ghanaian-American novelist. Her work, most notably her 2016 debut novel ''Homegoing'' and her 2020 novel '' Transcendent Kingdom,'' features themes of lineage, generational trauma, and Black and African identities. A ...
,
Dustin Lance Black Dustin Lance Black (born June 10, 1974) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBT rights activist. He is known for writing the film ''Milk'', for which he won the Oscar for best original screenplay in 2009. He has also subsequen ...
,
Caitlin Moran Catherine Elizabeth Moran ( ; born 5 April 1975) is an English journalist, broadcaster, and author at ''The Times'', where she writes two columns a week: one for the Saturday Magazine, and the satirical Friday column "Celebrity Watch". Moran w ...
, Philippa Perry, and
Armistead Maupin Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1944) is an American writer notable for '' Tales of the City'', a series of novels set in San Francisco. Early life Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., to Diana Jane (Barton) and Armistead Jones Maup ...
. In 2020 the Salon added online events and held Salons with Douglas Stuart,
Dolly Alderton Dolly Alderton (born 31 August 1988) is a British author and screenwriter. She is also columnist for ''The Sunday Times''. Her memoir '' Everything I Know About Love'' won a 2018 National Book Award for autobiography and was shortlisted for the ...
, SJ Watson,
Polly Samson Polly Samson (born 29 April 1962) is an English novelist, lyricist and journalist. She is married to the musician David Gilmour and has written lyrics for many of his songs, including albums with his band Pink Floyd. Life and career Samson's f ...
, Pete Paphides and
John Niven John Niven (born 1966) is a Scottish author and screenwriter. His books include ''Kill Your Friends'', ''The Amateurs'', and ''The Second Coming''. Career Born in Irvine, Ayrshire, Niven read English literature at the University of Glasgow, g ...
. There is also a podcast available on iTunes, SoundCloud and LitHub, which is also played in-flight on
British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...
.


Awards and honours

*Stonewall Writer of the Year for ''Maggie & Me'' (2013) *The Sunday Times Memoir of the Year for ''Maggie & Me'' (2013) *Paddy Power Political Satire Award for ''Maggie & Me'' (2014) *Winner of National Consumer Travel Feature of the Year by the Travel Media Awards (2015) *Shortlisted for Writer of the Decade by Stonewall *Highly Commended in 2016 by
BSME The British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME.market) is a professional association of print and onlinBSME.MARKETeditors in the United Kingdom. Established in 1981, the BSME.market has 148 members. Its annual awards—the BSME.market Awards and t ...
as Columnist of the Year for Damian's Big Issue column * GQ 100 Most Connected Men In Britain (2016) *Shortlisted for the
Saltire Society The Saltire Society is a membership organisation which aims to promote the understanding of the culture and heritage of Scotland, founded in 1936. The society organises lectures and publishes pamphlets, and presents a series of awards in the fiel ...
Fiction Book of the Year Award (2019) * The Bookseller 150 (2019) *Longlisted for ‘HWA Debut Crown for the best work by a first-time historical fiction author' for ''You Will Be Safe Here'' (2020) *Longlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel for ''You Will Be Safe Here'' (2020) *Shortlisted for the Independent Book Awards for ''You Will Be Safe Here'' (2020) *Shortlisted for
The London Magazine ''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and poetry. A number of Nobel Laureates, including Annie Ernaux, Albert Camus, Doris Les ...
Prize for Debut Fiction 2020 for ''You Will Be Safe Here'' *Shortlisted at Edinburgh TV Awards 2020 for ''Shelf Isolation'' *Elected
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the ...
(2020)


Booker Prize controversy

In June 2020, Barr publicly raised questions about the suitability of Baroness Emma Nicholson as honorary vice president of the
Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
, a prestigious annual literary prize. Nicholson, a peer in the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, had voted against same-sex marriage in 2013 claiming she believed "it would lead to degrading the status of women and of girls". Booker subsequently announced that they would be dissolving all honorary titles and roles associated with the event. Shortly afterwards, it emerged that Barr used pejorative language on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
to describe
transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
people, appearing to mock a
transsexual A transsexual person is someone who experiences a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desires to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (incl ...
who had attempted to take their own life, writing in April 2009: "Tittering sickly @ story of 6’5" tranny who failed to hang herself from 5 ft balcony this wknd. How many failures can one person take?" The following month he referred to a "nice tranny charity", and wrote: "lady-man truckers unite." And in March 2013 he tweeted that there was a "mad tranny going through my recycling bin". An interrogation of his Twitter account also revealed that he had referred to women as "bitches" and sex workers as "hookers". Once these became known, Barr immediately locked his Twitter account and issued an apology, stating: "I apologised then. I remain sorry today. I listened and changed: I hope my solidarity and actions since speak louder than that word then." The revelations led to much criticism; the
Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 1 ...
, which Barr is the literary ambassador for, condemned the comments.


Supporting libraries and charities

Barr started the campaign to save Newarthill Library in 2016 receiving support from
Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel ...
,
Armistead Maupin Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1944) is an American writer notable for '' Tales of the City'', a series of novels set in San Francisco. Early life Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., to Diana Jane (Barton) and Armistead Jones Maup ...
,
Val McDermid Valarie McDermid (born 4 June 1955) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of novels featuring clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill and his collaborators in the police department. Her work is considered to be part of a sub-genre k ...
,
Sathnam Sanghera Sathnam Sanghera FRSL (born 1976) is a British journalist and best-selling author. Early life and education Sathnam Sanghera was born to Indian Punjabi parents in Wolverhampton in 1976. His parents had emigrated from India to the UK in 1968. H ...
among others. He worked closely with the local community who ran the campaign and who now work closely with the library running events and activities there. In 2012 he started the Writers-in-Residence scheme for Gladstone's Library. Barr is a Trustee at Gladstone's Library, a Patron of the young people's writing charity Little Green Pig and a Schools Ambassador for Stonewall.


Bibliography


Books

*''Get It Together: How to Survive Your Quarterlife Crisis'' (2006) *''Maggie & Me'' (2013) *''You Will Be Safe Here'' (2019)


Anthology appearances

*''Imagine A Country'' (2020) *''Common People: An Anthology of Working-Class Writers'' (2019) *''Others'' (2019) *''Speak My Language, and Other Stories: An Anthology of Gay Fiction'' (2015) *''Out There'' (2014)


Personal life

Barr lives in
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
,
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
, with his husband, where he keeps chickens and writes in a shed at the bottom of the garden.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Damian 1976 births Living people Alumni of Lancaster University Alumni of Bowland College, Lancaster Scottish male journalists People from Newarthill Scottish gay writers Scottish LGBTQ journalists The Times journalists 20th-century Scottish writers 21st-century Scottish LGBTQ people Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature