Glasgow author Margaret McDonald talks about writing her debut novel, 'Glasgow Boys', a coming-of-age story about mental health, queerness, and the Scottish working class.
Deeply personal, tender, and hopeful, Margaret McDonald's debut novel puts contemporary working-class Glasgow experiences on the page.
In conversation with National Librarian, Amina Shah, Margaret will discuss the collaborative process of writing this book, and the way her life experiences growing up in and around Glasgow helped shape the story she wanted to tell.
Margaret has said: "Truthfully, I may never have another story in me that's so personal. For that reason I hope you'll enjoy 'Glasgow Boys' and see the beauty of a life such as theirs and mine – a life so full of joy and pride in being working class in Glasgow."
About the book
Exploring the power of identity, the care system and the Scottish working class, 'Glasgow Boys' is an incisive look at young masculinity and the way even the most fraught childhood is not without hope.
About the author
Margaret McDonald (she/her) is a Scottish author from Glasgow. She is published in the disability-focused magazine 'Breath and Shadow' as well as the prose and poetry magazines 'Bandit Fiction', 'Bubble Lit', 'In Parentheses' and 'The Manifest Station'.
About the chair
Amina Shah, FRSE, is the National Librarian and Chief Executive of the National Library of Scotland.