Douglas Stuart is one of the most successful writers in Britain today. He is celebrated globally for his honest portrayals of human relationships and working-class life. In 2020 he won the Booker Prize for his debut novel Shuggie Bain, a searingly honest novel set in 1980s Glasgow about a boy named Shuggie trying to save his mother, Agnes, from alcoholism and poverty. 

His second novel Young Mungo, a story of the dangerous first love of two young men, was released in 2022 and became a number one Sunday Times Bestseller. 

On May 20, Stuart joins us live in London for an evening on identity, resilience, and the themes of his new novel John of John. 

In John of John, Stuart returns to the themes of class, family, masculinity, and sexuality. It is the story of John-Calum Macleod, who returns to his childhood home on the island of Harris. Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, he sinks back into his old life, caught between the two poles of his childhood: his father John, a sheep farmer, weaver, and pillar of their local Presbyterian church, and his Glaswegian grandmother Ella, who has kept a faltering peace with her son-in-law for decades.

Don’t miss this opportunity to see Douglas Stuart live at Union Chapel, and ask your questions in the audience Q&A.  

Praise for Douglas Stuart

Douglas Stuart has a rare gift . . . A major literary talent ― The Spectator

Stuart has cemented his status as a vital new voice for the working class ― Independent

‘I wasn’t sure Young Mungo could live up to Shuggie Bain, but it surpasses it. Deeply harrowing but gently infused with hope and love. And so exquisitely written. It’s a joy to watch, in real time, as Douglas Stuart takes his place as one of the greats of Scottish literature.’ — Nicola Sturgeon

‘Few novels are as gutsy and gut-wrenching as Young Mungo in its depiction of a teenage boy who finds love amid family dysfunction, community conflict and the truly terrible predations of adults. Vividly realised and emotionally intense, this scorching novel is an urgent addition to the new canon of unsung stories.’ — Bernardine Evaristo