Maggie & Me is going to be A PLAY! ON AN ACTUAL STAGE! Well, stages - because it's touring the UK in May & June 2024. I still can't quite believe it!
You're the first to know - the news is being made public later today. There's so much to say: the process, the thrills, the sheer OMG of turning my memoir into a play, casting actors as my beloved family, as myself! But for now, I want to thank National Theatre Scotland for commissioning this adaptation - for having the vision to see the drama in my story and its relevance to the moment we're all living in and through. The NTS team really care about stories and storytelling and I'm grateful to them for all their inspiration and care.
I'm not doing this alone. The utterly fantastic James Ley and I are writing the play together. He's the award-winning playwright behind the hit shows Love Song to Lavender Menace and Wilf & Ode To Joy. I've never worked so closely with another writer. And I'm learning so much from him. Not just about the mechanics and process but also about the spirit and soul of what it means to move from page to stage. Again, there's so much to say about the process of working so closely together, especially on such intense material, but it's a joy. And all that joy will be there for you on stage!
I'm delighted to say the brilliant Suba Das is our Director and we couldn't be more thrilled to have him. He was chosen by Caryl Churchill to do the 40th anniversary revival of her iconic play Top Girls at the Liverpool Everyman. No pressure! That production was dazzling and he's bringing all his magic to Maggie & Me.
This play is an adaptation but it is also an update. It's ten years since my memoir came out. Maggie & Me: The Play explores what it takes to find your own voice and what it means to shape your own story. I can't wait for you to see it!
So, thank you for all your support. I'll be sharing tour details with you as soon as I'm allowed.
Read MoreWhen I've not been working on the play, I've been busy with my new novel! I announced it at the Edinburgh Book festival in August. It's a big gay Scottish love story! As soon as I can tell you more, I will. If you follow me on Insta you might have picked up the hints about who it's about. My new novel will come out in 2025 with my new publisher, Canongate Books - my shelves are full of their books so being published by them feels like a real honour and a proper homecoming. I've done a two book deal so the book after the novel will be another memoir but let's not get ahead of ourselves....!
Follow me on Instagram to find out the latest news about my book!
Read MoreWe're back on Tuesday 24th October for a History Special. My guests are Maggie O'Farrell, Rochelle Neil and Leila Aboulela. We'll take you to 15th century Florence and 19th Century Sudan via Windrush Britain.
If you miss the show, you can catch up on BBC iPlayer. Thanks to all my guests, to IWC for producing and to you for watching and sharing.
Read MoreI can’t quite believe this is happening - Sir Ian is turning the tables! Thank you to the Royal Society of Edinburgh for putting this event on. Tickets are free and the event is in Edinburgh. I hope to see you there. Details for tickets in post.
Read MoreWe're back! Join us on Tuesday 17th October, BBC Scotland at 10.30pm for a Crime Special. My guests are Irvine Welsh, Ann Cleeves and Lauren Lyle. We're talking true-crime podcasts, revenge in Edinburgh and truth in Shetland.
If you miss the show, you can catch up on BBC iPlayer. Thanks to all my guests, to IWC for producing and to you for watching and sharing.
Read MoreHere’s my column for The Independent on why writers AND readers will all suffer if AI systems are allowed to exploit our books.
Read MoreI so enjoyed this conversation with memoirist Lily Dunn. I hope others find it helpful too.
Read MoreChildren at a school in Paisley have been using art to showcase the importance of treating people with respect and kindness.
It comes after pupils at Kibble’s Goudie Academy completed a project that they called “We are not all in the same boat, but we are in the same storm” to celebrate the difference everyone has with a reminder to be kind.
Click here to read the full article.
Read MoreThe Big Scottish Book Club returns with an Edinburgh Festival Special! Damian's joined by Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead, Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton and Judy Murray.
Join us live on on BBC Scotland or BBC iPlayer - Thanks for all your support!
Watch The Big Scottish Book Club on Wednesday, 23rd August 10pm, BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001pxk5.
Read MoreI better crack on with the writing then!
Thrilled to be joining Canongate and honoured to be edited by Ellah Wakatama. The whole team there is amazing and Anna Frame is already winning at All Things Publicity!
At my Edinburgh International Book Festival event today I said ‘I’m writing a big gay Scottish love story.’ And I am!
Thank you to my agent and friend Clare Conville for making it all happen. As always. And to all at Conville & Walsh.
You can read the full announcement at The Bookseller.
Read MoreFashion designers and brother and sister duo, Christopher and Tammy Kane have been trendsetters in the fashion world since 2006. They’ve dressed celebrities and world leaders, blending a playful, sexy aesthetic with working-class realism. Now they're launching a brand-new club night in London, the More Joy Disco. But how does their upbringing in a small Scottish village inform the glitz and glamour of their event? And why is joy such a motivating factor for the pair?
This documentary is presented by Damian and will be broadcast on Sunday 20th August at 7.32pm, you can also listen on BBC Sounds.
Read MoreMy event with Catherine Taylor on 18th August in Edinburgh is sold out! We look forward to seeing you there, but for anyone who was unable to get a ticket, you can contact the festival box office for any returns.
Here’s the full festival programme.
Read MoreSo, my novel is getting another airing on radio. It’s narrated beautifully by Tracy-Ann Oberman.
‘You Will Be Safe Here’ is set in South Africa in 1901 and more-or-less-now. It’s a story of hidden histories, the horrors of Empire and the redemptive power of love. And there’s a gay love story in there. It’s partly inspired by a real-life story and by all the history I wasn’t taught.
Published by @bloomsburypublishing in US and UK; @jonathanballpublishers in SA; @houseofanansi in Canada; @uitgeverijmozaiek in Netherlands and @cherchemidiediteur in France.
PS the weird Howard’s Way -esque flag in the ident (program guide) are nothing to do with the novel.
Read MoreI had the honour of becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature - I signed the register with Dickens’s quill! And my outfit accidentally matched RSL president Bernardine Evaristo. I chaired the Open Committee for RSL choosing 31 new Fellows. Was a special night!
Read MoreDamian will be returning to Edinburgh International Book Festival this year for two events! You can see him on 18th August at 12pm-1pm alongside Catherine Taylor and again on the same day at 8.30pm-10pm when he will be hosting a Literary Salon, guests will include Monica Heisey, and more guests to be announced soon.
Tickets will be available from 29th June, click HERE to buy yours!
Read MoreThis Pride month, Audible has teamed up with non-profit organisation, Out on the Page, supporter and champion of LGBTQIA+ writers and writing, to release this extensive Pride List of Queer Storytelling, which features contributions from some of the UK’s most important and exciting voices from the LGBTQIA+ community, including; Damian Barr, Andrew McMillan and Dean Atta.
Read MoreListen to BBC Radio 4 today at 4pm to hear Damian talking about She Ra!
Host Anita Anand joins Damian and podcaster Meff to hear about how the 80s icon She Ra - sister of He Ra - has become a main character.
We hear about how, in her newest iteration, the Princess of Power isn’t just openly gay but saved the world with a queer kiss.
Read MoreWhose Truth Is It Anyway? ‘Memoir and Me’ was featured on BBC Radio 4's Pick of the Week on Sunday 4th June!
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