Damian Barr's Literary Salon

Our dearest podcast listeners - we have a special, important message for you from our founder Damian Barr, as we say a very fond but sad farewell to the Literary Salon... Some of you have come along in person or online or listened to our podcast for years. Thank you for being there—readers bring a book to life, and that’s what you’ve done for Salon. It’s been fifteen years since our first night at Shoreditch House and we’ve grown beyond any dream Damian dared have. So in this special final episode, Damian shares his decision with you, takes us on a joyful trip down memory lane, and gives you a sneak peek of the next chapter... Damian Barr's Literary Salon was founded 15 years ago by award-winning writer, columnist and broadcaster Damian Barr. Find out more about Damian and subscribe to his personal newsletter on his website - www.damianbarr.com. Follow Damian on Twitter/X - @Damian_Barr Follow Damian on Instagram - @mrdamianbarr Podcast produced and edited by presenter/producer Megan Bay Dorman. For any podcast production or presenting enquiries, email Megan on mbaydorman@gmail.com Podcast programmed by Sales, Marketing & Publicity Director Matt Casbourne. For any enquiries email Matt on mcasbourne@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before the summer is out we wanted to share a page-turning holiday read on the podcast. The Orchid Hour takes us back to New York City, 1923, when Zia De Luca’s life is about to be shattered. She lives with her in-laws in Little Italy and works at the public library, but when an unassuming patron is murdered, the police investigation focuses on Zia... After another tragedy strikes even closer to home, she learns the crimes are connected to a new speakeasy in Greenwich Village. When the police investigation stalls, Zia decides to find her own answers. As she’s pulled in deeper and deeper, will Zia be able to bring the killers to justice before they learn her secret? This is a great book for anyone who enjoyed Broadway Butterfly by Sara Divello and Last Call at the Nightingale by Katharine Schellman. The Orchid Hour by Nancy Bilyeau is published by Lume, an imprint of Joffe Books, and available now. If you enjoy the work we do and would like to support the Literary Salon podcast, you can get a copy (at a discounted price!) from our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. W: www.meganbaydorman.com E: mbaydorman@gmail.com Insta: @meganbaydorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Insta: @indiepublishermatt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Book of the Week is a spellbinding debut novel by writer and commissioning editor on The Observer newspaper, Kathryn Bromwich. In At the Edge of the Woods, Laura lives alone in a cabin deep in the Italian Alps. When she isn’t translating documents, she spends her days climbing the mountains exploring the woods. But while she reconnects with nature, Laura is hiding from the violence of her past. The village where she purchases supplies grows wary of the woman in the cabin and of her increasingly odd behaviour... With a deft hand and slow-burn tension, At the Edge of the Woods is a captivating novel for anyone who enjoyed Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller or Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm. ‘An exceptional debut; uncanny, unsettling, original and subtle.’ - Robert Macfarlane At the Edge of the Woods by Kathryn Bromwich is published by independent press Two Dollar Radio and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. W: www.meganbaydorman.com E: mbaydorman@gmail.com Insta: @meganbaydorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Insta: @indiepublishermatt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Book of the Week will have you laughing and crying in equal measure! Stand-up comedian Jo Caulfield’s hilarious memoir, The Funny Thing About Death, is about two unconventional girls growing up in the 1970s. Six years ago, Jo was about to go on stage when she found out that her big sister Annie had cancer. Not the best way to start a nationwide comedy tour. But the tour turns out to be a welcome distraction for them both. As Jo reports back from various hotels and service stations, they revisit their childhood and adolescence while navigating Annie's illness, learning through trial and error how to behave when someone you love gets sick. 'It’s a wildly satisfying and moving read... I loved this special book' - Graham Norton The Funny Thing About Death by Jo Caulfield is published by Polygon, an imprint of Scottish independent press Birlinn, and available now. You can get yourself a copy while supporting the Literary Salon and UK indie bookshops by buying from our shop on Bookshop.org. And if you fancy meeting Jo in St Andrews, pop along to a special event with her at Toppings bookshop on 20th September! Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman. W: www.meganbaydorman.com E: mbaydorman@gmail.com Insta: @meganbaydorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne. Insta: @indiepublishermatt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re joined by Paul Dalgarno reading from his thoughtful, existential novel, A Country of Eternal Light. Margaret Bryce has been having a hard time since dying in 2014. In a liminal place, we join Margaret as she revisits her life, from her Aberdeen prefab childhood to the birth of her twin girls, through Thatcher’s Britain, the Piper Alpha oil rig disaster, Australia’s Black Summer bushfires, the death of Princess Diana and the COVID pandemic. But as Margaret struggles to remember her past, there is something she’s also fighting to forget... An emotional journey, A Country of Eternal Light by Paul Dalgarno is published by Polygon (an imprint of Birlinn Ltd) and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can support the Literary Salon's work by visiting our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Catherine Taylor reads from her new book The Stirrings: A Memoir in Northern Time, a story about coming of age in the north of England during the 1970s and 80s. Historical events were happening all around her: from the pursuit and capture of the Yorkshire Ripper, to the anti-nuclear protests and Miners’ Strike. But there were also pressing concerns at home, including her parent’s divorce and a debilitating illness that would define her late adolescence... We're so excited about this memoir and we hope you enjoy this reading from Catherine! Damian will be in-conversation with Catherine this August at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The Stirrings is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and available now. If you'd like a copy, you can support the podcast by buying from our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode, Booker award-winning author Ben Okri combines fiction, essay and poetry in Tiger Work. This incredible collection, inspired by environmental activism, displays his classic blend of storytelling, fantasy and magic in tales that imagine messages sent to us from beyond the end, from those who saw it coming - exhorting us to change now.  'Both a work of lyrical imagination and a warning about the dangers we will face unless we take immediate action' - New Yorker This is an important and incredible collection, and we hope you enjoy Ben's special reading for us. Tiger Work by Ben Okri is published by Apollo, an imprint of Head of Zeus, and available now. We recommend visiting your local indie bookshop or you can support the Literary Salon by getting a copy from our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the Booker longlisted author, and an Irish Times No.1 bestseller - Donal Ryan’s The Queen of Dirt Island is a searing, jubilant novel about four generations of women and the stories that bind them. On a council estate in County Tipperary, Ireland, the Aylward women stick with each other through thick and thin, and always with a wicked sense of humour. The head of the family, Nana, is a woman who has buried two sons. Her daughter-in-law, Eileen, is estranged from her own parents, having 'shamed' them and given birth to Saoirse. And then there's Saoirse herself, eavesdropping on lives she cannot comprehend. It is only when they must battle for the inheritance of Dirt Island - a narrow strip of land adjacent to Eileen's childhood home - that they truly understand the roots that bind their lives together. Listen now for an exclusive reading from Donal himself. 'Beautiful, compassionate... Donal Ryan at his inimitable best' - MAGGIE O'FARRELL The Queen of Dirt Island is published by Transworld and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can support the work we do and the podcast by visiting our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast programmed by Matt Casbourne Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our next guest on the podcast is Essie Fox, reading from her instant Sunday Times bestseller, The Fascination. It’s a Victorian story about the estranged grandson of a wealthy collector of human curiosities, who becomes fascinated with teenage twin sisters, leading them into a web of dark obsessions... And we love this dazzlingly gothic novel from the bestselling author of The Somnambulist. ‘A magical, macabre masterpiece’ - A.J. West, author of The Spirit Engineer  This is a perfect pick for anyone who enjoyed Laura Shephard-Robinson's The Square of Sevens or Liz Hyder's The Illusions. (And if you’d like a non-fiction book on the subject of Victorian circuses and curiosities, then read John Woolf’s The Wonders.) The Fascination by Essie Fox is published by independent publisher Orenda Books and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Or you can grab a special signed and numbered first edition with beautiful sprayed edges from our indie bookshop friends Goldsboro Books. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve got a literary thriller in store for you this week! In the seaside town of Kinlough, Ireland, three old friends are thrown together for the first time since the disappearance of their friend Kala... Fifteen years later Helen has reluctantly returned for her father's wedding; Joe is a world-famous musician back in town for a gig; and Mush has never left, too scared to venture beyond the counter of his mother's café. When two more girls go missing, the past and present collide as these estranged friends are forced to confront the events that led to Kala's disappearance, and to try to stop history from repeating itself... Colin Walsh’s debut novel Kala is published by Atlantic Books and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. 'A gritty heartbreaker of a thriller... Part heartfelt coming-of-age tale, part brutal Irish noir, this is a spectacular read for Donna Tartt and Tana French fans.' - Kirkus Podcast programmed by Matt Casbourne Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deep in Brazil's neglected Bahia hinterland, two sisters find an ancient knife beneath their grandmother's bed and, momentarily mystified by its power, decide to taste its metal. The tragedy that follows marks their lives and binds them together forever... Heralded as a new masterpiece and the most important Brazilian novel of this century, Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior merges folklore with the plight of Afro-Brazilian subsistence farmers, covering themes of family, spirituality, slavery and its aftermath. It has received the Prémio Leya, a prestigious Portuguese literary prize, and is Itamar’s English language debut novel. This gripping tale has been skilfully translated by Johnny Lorenz, who also reads this exclusive extract for us on the podcast. A perfect story for lovers of The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante, or Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor. Crooked Plow is published by independent publisher Verso and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning actor and creator of a myriad of unforgettable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Gertrude Stein, Miriam truly is a national treasure - and possibly our very favourite lesbian. She made us wait a long time for her extraordinary life story, and it's far richer and stranger than any part she's played. From declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave to being told to be quiet by the Queen, her memoir This Much Is True is packed with brilliant stories, several of which Miriam shared with us in this live Literary Salon at the London Library. As you might expect from Miriam and her potty mouth, the conversation with Damian gets explicit and sweary at times, as well as being honest, intelligent and HILARIOUS - enjoy!   Interview and reading recorded live at Damian Barr's Literary Salon, at the London Library, in December 2021. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Live audio recorded by Jake Clark-Darby Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Smart, accessible, thoughtful, entertaining and frank: our Book of the Week is Black Girl, No Magic by Kimberly McIntosh. Informed by years of social policy research and campaign work, as well as her own personal experiences, this debut essay collection investigates the intersection of race and class in the UK. She discusses dismantling the myth of social mobility for those who conform to expectations, how systematic injustice impacts us all, and many other urgent questions.  Don’t worry if you’re not an expert on any of the above; this is a great place to start no matter your background.   ‘Witty, fresh and full of life’ Liv Little, founder of gal-dem  'This book is a glowing achievement by one of the best essayists of her generation' Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, writer and managing editor of Skin Deep magazine  A book for fans of Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino and Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay, Black Girl, No Magic by Kimberly McIntosh is published by The Borough Press and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A grand hotel, a famous opera star and a psychoanalyst with a hidden agenda. Our Book of the Week offers a glamorous, thrilling ride through murder, madness and the darkest recesses of the mind, set at Birmingham’s Regent Hotel in 1929, where guests sip absinthe cocktails on velvet banquettes and nothing is as it appears... Hokey Pokey by Kate Mascarenhas is published by Apollo, an imprint of beloved publisher Head of Zeus, and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can get a copy from Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re thrilled to bring you a reading from And Then He Sang a Lullaby by Ani Kayode Somtochukwu. This is the inaugural title from a new publisher on the scene: Roxane Gay Books, an imprint of Grove Atlantic. Roxane Gay is of course the bestselling author of Bad Feminist and her press will publish beautifully written, provocative, intelligent writing including underrepresented fiction, nonfiction and memoir.  And Then He Sang a Lullaby is a passionate and heartbreaking debut from a Nigerian writer and queer liberation activist, exploring what love and freedom cost in a society steeped in homophobia. It’s a poignant and searching book, reminding us of the work to be done around the world to ensure the safety and rights of our LGBTQ+ community. ‘A courageous, heart-in-mouth debut about the lives and loves of young gay Nigerians. I can't wait to see what Ani Kayode Somtochukwu writes next.’ - Patrick Gale, author of Mother’s Boy We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re bringing you a brilliant, poignant and darkly comic novel by Irish author Alice Ryan.  Molly Black has been running away since her parents died. But this time, or so says her note, she's gone for good... There's Been a Little Incident is an award-winning debut novel about grief, family and the people who are there for you when you can't be there for yourself. 'Warm, wry and genuinely funny' - Marian Keyes Perfect for readers of Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan and Snowflake by Louise Nealan, we can’t wait for you to discover this fantastic book for yourself! There’s Been A Little Incident is published by Head of Zeus and available now in paperback in all good bookshops, or from our shop on Bookshop.org. Produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s time for some sex positivity! This week we’ve invited sex and relationship columnist Zachary Zane to read to you from his painfully funny memoir, Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto. The New York based author bares all in this memoir-manifesto, exploring how, even today, we live in a world that shames people for the sex they have and the sexualities they inhabit. Through the lens of his bisexuality and self-described sluttiness, Zachary breaks down how this sexual shame impacts our lives, and how we can unlearn the harmful, entrenched messages society imparts to us. We recently featured a very popular interview with Zachary on our Instagram Live, in which he opened up about his sexual experiences, exploring polyamory, orgies, anonymous encounters and his thoughts on how to lead a fulfilling sex life in a long-term relationship, not to mention bi-visibility and dismantling toxic masculinity. Do head on over to that after you've enjoyed this special podcast episode with a brilliant reading from Boyslut! ‘Reading about Zane’s own sexual adventures is like getting invited to Sunday brunch by your wittiest, sluttiest, funniest friend and getting to listen to him recount his crazy weekend.’ - Dan Savage Boyslut, perfect for readers of Unprotected by Billy Porter or Here for It by R. Eric Thomas, is published by Abrams Image, an imprint of Abrams & Chronicle Books. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne            Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve got another page-turner on the podcast this week, this time by internationally bestselling author Joanne Harris!   In Broken Light, Bernie Moon has given her life to other people: her husband, her son, her friends. At nineteen she was full of dreams and ambitions; now almost fifty, and going through the menopause, she's fading, fast. When a young woman is murdered in a local park, it sparks a series of childhood memories and a talent that has lain dormant most of her adult life. But what will she do with this power and who will she become when she decides to use it..? Perfect for readers of Naomi Alderman’s The Power and Stephen King’s Carrie. 'Profound, moving and utterly unforgettable' - CATRIONA WARD Broken Light by Joanne Harris is published by Orion and available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prepare to be dazzled by our Book of the Week, Eyes Guts Throat Bones, an anthology of macabre tales at the end of civilisation. Moïra Fowley's spellbinding imagination will captivate your senses in an irresistible collection that explores our darkest impulses and deepest fears, interlaced with stories of queer love.  ‘One of my favourite storytellers. These tales lingered, morphed, consumed me.’ Kiran Millwood Hargrave Eyes Guts Throat Bones by Moïra Fowley is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and out now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re delighted to bring you a new instalment of The Darkland Tales! In this series, leading Scottish authors offer dramatic retellings of stories from their nation's history, myth and legend. Last season we brought you Hex by Jenni Fagan. This season we’re spotlighting Nothing Left to Fear From Hell by award-winning author Alan Warner. In this story, Bonnie Prince Charles flees from the disastrous Battle of Culloden with a small band of companions through the mountainous landscapes of the north-west Highlands of Scotland. Dive into the past with this page-turning reimagining!  Nothing Left to Fear From Hell by Alan Warner is published by Polygon, an imprint of Scottish indie press Birlinn, and is available now. We recommend buying a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can visit our shop on Bookshop.org. Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman Programmed by Matt Casbourne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices