THE BOOK
THE TWO ROBERTS BY DAMIAN BARR
The Two Roberts is a profoundly moving story of devotion and obsession, art and class. It is a love letter to MacBryde and Colquhoun, the almost-forgotten artists who tried to change the way the world sees – and paid a devastating price.
DAMIAN BARR
Damian Barr is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and journalist. His memoir Maggie & Me, won Stonewall Writer of the Year and Sunday Times Memoir of the Year. His debut novel,You Will Be Safe Here, was shortlisted for six major awards and named a Book of the Year in the Observer, Guardian and Mail. His world-famous Literary Salon ran from 2008 to 2023, celebrating writers from around the world and widening the cultural conversation. Damian holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Lancaster University and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He lives in Brighton.
Photography © Marc Sethi
The judges said: The Two Roberts is an epic reimagination of the lives of the two artists, blending love, art and sorrow.
2025 Fiction judges
