Douglas Stuart was born and raised in Glasgow. After graduating from the Royal College of Art, he moved to New York, where he began a career in design. Shuggie Bain is his debut novel. It won the 2020 Booker Prize, and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction, the Kirkus Prize, and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. His short stories have appeared in The New Yorker and his essay on ‘Gender, Anxiety and Class’ was published by Lit Hub. Shuggie Bain is to be published in over 30 territories (and counting) and a TV adaptation is being made by A24 and Scott Rudin Productions; Douglas is currently writing the screenplay. Loch Awe, the second novel by Douglas Stuart, will be published by Picador in 2022.  

Jackie Kay (chair) is a Scottish poet and novelist, and has been the National Poet of Scotland since 2016. She is the author of a number of works, including The Adoption Papers, Trumpet, and Red Dust Road. The recipient of numerous prizes, she was also twice shortlisted for the Scottish Book of the Year Award. She is currently chancellor of the University of Salford, and divides her time between Glasgow and Manchester.

Cambridge Literary Festival – Spring Festival Online 21 – 25 April, 2021