269 ratings | 67 reviews | avg rating:4.38

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Damian’s Year In Books

Damian’s 2025 Year in Books

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Damian Barr’s Followers (332)

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read (322)
eclectic (1)
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1,779 books | 138 friends

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54 books | 651 friends

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1,066 books | 368 friends

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2,649 books | 36 friends

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Damian Barr

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United Kingdom

July 20

Website

https://www.damianbarr.com

Twitter

damian_barr

Genre

Fiction, Nonfiction, Gay and Lesbian

Influences

Alice Walker, Truman Capote, Janice Galloway, Tennessee Williams, Dian ...more

Member Since

April 2007

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomdamian_barr

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I'm a writer and broadcaster. My books are 'The Two Roberts', 'You Will Be Safe Here' and 'Maggie & Me'.

'The Two Roberts' is my second novel. Meet Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun: artists, lovers, outsiders. From 1930s Glasgow to wartime London and the Fifties, this is the fictional story of two truly wild lives.

They were charismatic art celebrities - collected by major institutions, photographed by Vogue, filmed by Ken Russell for the BBC. But they lived as hard as they worked, dying young and penniless yet on the verge of a comeback.

Tender, bold and deeply personal, 'The Two Roberts' is a timely love-letter to these queer Scottish pioneers, exploring what it means to discover your voice as an artist, to find love when it’s forbidde ...more

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Combine Editions
Damian Barr’s books

Average rating: 4.07 · 5,002 ratings · 822 reviews · 11 distinct works • Similar authors

	You Will Be Safe Here 4.02 avg rating — 2,136 ratings — published 2019 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Maggie & Me 4.12 avg rating — 1,822 ratings — published 2013 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Common People: An Anthology of Working Class Writers by Kit de Waal (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Damian Barr (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Malorie Blackman (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.15 avg rating — 485 ratings — published 2019 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Two Roberts 4.20 avg rating — 417 ratings — published 2025 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Imagine a Country: Ideas for a Better Future by Val McDermid (Editor), Jo Sharp (Editor), Ali Smith (Contributor) 3.86 avg rating — 135 ratings — published 2020 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Speak My Language, and Other Stories: An Anthology of Gay Fiction by Torsten Højer (Editor), Nick Alexander, Alfred Corn 4.03 avg rating — 76 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Others: Writers on the power of words to help us see beyond ourselves by Charles Fernyhough (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Leila Aboulela (Goodreads Author), Gillian Allnutt 4.19 avg rating — 48 ratings — published 2019 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Get It Together : Surviving Your Quarterlife Crisis 3.46 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 2004 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Out There: An Anthology of Scottish LGBT writing by Zoë Strachan (Editor), Damian Barr (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Toni Davidson (Contributor) 3.75 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tout ira bien 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Damian Barr…

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Damian’s Recent Updates

Damian wants to read The Hotel by Elizabeth Bowen	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 23, 2026 03:27AM · like
Damian liked Hollie's review of The Two Roberts: "That afterword took me out. You can feel the love and care Barr has for the Roberts and their art brimming throughout. "
Jan 21, 2026 05:58AM · see review
Damian liked Ellie Foster's review of The Two Roberts: "This was such a gorgeous and addictive novel, detailing the life of two artists. The love and passion for art comes across on the page. It is not just about the love shared between the two Robert's, but their love and passion for the creation of art." Read more of this review »
Jan 21, 2026 05:58AM · see review
Damian and 2 other people liked Rebekah's review of The Two Roberts: "I’d never heard of the Two Roberts before and wasn’t sure what to expect when starting this book. Damian Barr creates such a gorgeously alive depiction of Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun’s life together, and of their obsession with art and with " Read more of this review »
Jan 21, 2026 05:58AM · see review
Damian is now following Kate Atkinson Author of Life After Life (Todd Family, #1)
Jan 15, 2026 07:35AM · like
Damian wants to read Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 15, 2026 07:35AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Damian wants to read The Artist by Lucy Steeds (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 15, 2026 07:34AM · like
Damian added a status update: Binging on novellas this month.
Jan 15, 2026 07:34AM · 4 likes · like · see status
Damian is now following Mason Currey Author of Daily Rituals: How Artists Work
Dec 01, 2025 07:44AM · like
Damian wants to read Making Art and Making a Living: Adventures in Funding a Creative Life by Mason Currey (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 01, 2025 07:44AM · like

More of Damian's books…

Quotes by Damian Barr (?)

“We are not all in the same boat. We are in the same storm. Some of us are on superyachts. Some of us have just the one oar.”
― Damian Barr, Imagine a Country: Ideas for a Better Future

tags: coronavirus, equality, inspirational, kindness, mental-health, wisdom

5 likes

“Reading is an act of radical empathy: turning the page instead of turning away.”
― Damian Barr, Maggie & Me

tags: feminist, inspirational, lgbtq, survivor, survivors-of-abuse

4 likes

“Maggie, tou made it possible -but not probably for me to be the man I am now.”
― Damian Barr, Maggie & Me

tags: abuse-survivors, lgbt, memoir, scotland

1 likes

See all Damian Barr's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

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Around the Year i...: LeahS Summer Challenge	33	56	Aug 04, 2023 07:24AM
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Around the Year i...: 26. A book related to pride	28	450	Aug 27, 2023 08:41AM
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Reading the 20th ...: Booker Prize, Women's Book Prize, etc	902	252	Nov 14, 2025 12:52PM

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Damian’s Quotes

“We are not all in the same boat. We are in the same storm. Some of us are on superyachts. Some of us have just the one oar.”
― Damian Barr, Imagine a Country: Ideas for a Better Future

tags: coronavirus, equality, inspirational, kindness, mental-health, wisdom

5 likes

“You don't realise how much you're holding onto until you start to let go of it. I had had loads of therapy and thought I had come to terms with who I am, but there's something in the process of writing that unlocks other experiences, other emotions and you have to be prepared for that.”
― Damian Barr, Maggie & Me

tags: memoir, publishing, survival, writing-tips

0 likes

“Researching and writing my novel has taken me to some really dark places. It is when you are in these dark places that you can see: there is always hope, there is always love.”
― Damian Barr, You Will Be Safe Here

tags: contemporary, fiction, historical-fiction, south-africa, storytelling, truth

1 likes

“The second time I try to kill a man I'm fourteen. Killing a man seems a very grown-up thing to do - like writing in Biro.”
― Damian Barr, Maggie & Me

tags: abuse-survivors, lgbt, memoir, scotland

1 likes

“Mary the Canary lives in a cloud of perfume and colours. She's an auxiliary nurse by day and a country and western singer by night: bed pans and power ballass. She's so glamorous she makes Mrs Hart look plain. She is the other woman and I'm bring trained to hate her even though I've never met her.”
― Damian Barr, Maggie & Me