You, better than anybody, know all about the importance of endings - good stories need good endings. We’ve all sighed through a book that went on for fifty pages too long. Or wished for just one more chapter. Endings are not easy. In life, we rarely get to choose them. But I feel that now - after fifteen amazing years and over a hundred fabulous events with hundreds of incredible writers and a pioneering podcast and a spin-off TV show - is the right time to say: The End.
And, most importantly, thank you.
Books are just sleeping ink and paper – they need readers to bring them to life. That’s what you’ve done for Salon. You’ve been the life and soul of every party, since our very first night, in a glorified cupboard at Shoreditch House in 2008. We’ve popped up all around the world from Sydney to São Paulo, from Motherwell to Moscow, with iconic partners including British Airways, the British Council and the Women’s Prize. We’ve appeared on stages large and small and, once, memorably, in a field.
You’ve always been there listening and thinking. You are the very best readers. And some of you aren’t bad at writing either.
Hosting Salon for fifteen years has been the purest joy. It’s made me laugh and cry and often a messy combination of both. It has enriched my reading immeasurably and given me a writing life I could never have imagined. But my own books stubbornly refuse to write themselves. I’ve got a play on the way and a novel to finish then a memoir to start - I’m delighted to be joining Canongate Books, who will be publishing both of these! My next novel is a big gay Scottish love story, as you ask. At this point in my life, I need to do what every single of one our guest writers has done and make time for my own writing. I hope you get the time you need and deserve for your own creativity, whatever form it takes.
I’ll be answering your questions and sharing gorgeous memories on the Salon Insta and Facebook at 7pm GMT on Friday 15th September. I look forward to seeing you.
Children 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.
The 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.
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.
Fashion 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.
My 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.
So, 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.
I 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!
I have been awarded Honorary Membership by CILIPS. This means so much to me. Librarians are my heroes, so being recognised by them in this way means the world. And in fine company. So grateful for all the work they do.
To mark the end of Pride month 2023, Audible and Out on the Page are hosting a ‘Celebration of Queer Storytelling‘ at Barbican on Tuesday 27th June, a one-off panel event which invites attendees to engage in a dynamic and joyous discussion about queer representation in modern storytelling.
I will be joining a panel of established, emerging and celebrated members of the LGBTQIA+ writing community, including award-winning writer, performer and theatre maker Travis Alabanza (None of the Above); award-winning author and Lecturer in Creative Writing Okechukwu Nzelu (Here Again Now, The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney); award-winning Young Adult author Lisa Williamson (The Art of Being Normal, All About Mia); poet, playwright and education facilitator Gayathiri Kamalakanthan, and presenter and broadcaster Shivani Dave set to host and steer the panel discussion.
This 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.
In this new three part series, I grapple with the slippery idea of truth in literature - from memoir to fiction to writing that occupies all the areas in between. What does it mean for a story to be true - and is the idea of truth changing? Who gets to decide whose truths make it into onto the page and into our bookshelves?
With contributions from Sathnam Sanghera, Olivia Laing, Ellah Wakatama, Taymour Soomro, Alexandra Heminsley and Suede singer and co-creator of the new album Autofiction, Brett Anderson.
In this first episode, I explore one of the most popular and personal genres of writing - memoir. Revisiting my own complex experience of writing a memoir, and dealing with the aftermath, I unpick what it is that authors and readers expect from type of writing. What makes a memoir more or less true? And do readers understand something different by that truth from authors? Do modern audiences expect a different kind of truth?
I also reveal some of my own discoveries about the process of writing a true memoir - including discovering that even the most candid memoir is also be shaped by legal and personal considerations. Not all truths are published equally.
"Zachary Zane is one of the best sex writers working today."—DAN SAVAGE
Zachary is the sex and relationship columnist for Men’s Health magazine in the US. He is delightfully out there, often outrageous and happily determined to rid us all of sex shame. ‘Boyslut’ is his first book!
We have followed Zachary’s Instagram for years and love his positive messages around life, sex and love. We’re excited about his book! ‘Boyslut’ is a series of essays—part memoir, part manifesto. Zachary explores his own coming-of-age and coming out as a bisexual man and his journey towards embracing and celebrating sex without shame.
‘Boyslut ‘is a series of personal and tantalizing essays articulating how our society still shames people for the sex they have and the sexualities they inhabit. Through the lens of his own bisexuality and self-described sluttiness, Zane breaks down exactly how this shame negatively impacts our sex and relationships.
From stories of drug-fuelled threesomes and risqué Grindr hookups, to insights on dealing with rejection and living with his boyfriend and his wife, ‘Boyslut’ is often almost painfully funny. It is a personal and powerful testimony inspiring us all learn to live healthier lives unburdened by stigma.
Host Anita Anand joins Damian and podcaster Meff to hear about how the 80’s 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.
On April 21st Damian will be taking over the Insta feed for the Royal Society of Literature. Damian is a Fellow and will be talking about his own writing (or lack thereof); his Literary Salon and upcoming events. Follow @royalsocietyofliterature on Instagram for the takeover!
Extra tickets have also been released for the RSL event with Damian at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern on the 25th April, celebrating 10 years of Maggie & Me! Tickets available HERE.
Damian Barr’s Literary Salon returns to The London Library on Thursday May 25th, with Monica Heisey and a world premiere from Jenni Fagan. Hosted by Damian Barr.
The Salon is back in person and online for our first Salon of 2023! With two bold and brilliant writers.
Every story starts with a writer alchemising their own experience. Whether it’s a memoir or epic fiction, the truth of the writer is in there somewhere. Join us as we explore two equally superb, but wildly different, books where the writer uses their own story to powerful effect.
