Damian Barr

As an award-winning writer, journalist, presenter and salonnière, Damian Barr’s life is all about stories and creating content: reporting, crafting and sharing them.

Damian's 'Literary Salon' tempts the world’s finest writers to the world's loveliest venues to read from their latest greatest works and share their own stories. Damian hosts regular events up to 900 people at venues across the UK and the globe and also has a successful podcast. Damian also created and hosts the 'A Book and A Bottle' events, a wine and literary evening held at literary festivals and iconic venues.

An experienced broadcaster and presenter, Damian has hosted a variety of events, including The Man Booker Prize, IPG Awards, Quercus Author Evening and the PEN Quiz. Damian has also interviewed a range of guests from politicians, and writers to singers and Hollywood actors.

Permanently in search of the perfect Martini, Damian is a respected drinks writer, best-known from The Sunday Times. He also covers politics and culture in his Big Issue column for which he was Highly Commended for Columnist of the year at the BSME Awards. His regular column Novel Destinations in British Airways High Life magazine features his choice of novel for whatever your destination. A Times regular, he’s also appeared in the Independent, the Financial Times, the Guardian, the Telegraph and Evening Standard as well as Granta, GQ, Harpers, Glamour, Red, Attitude, Out and Psychologies.

'Maggie & Me' is Damian’s memoir of growing up in the shadow of Thatcher. IT was BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, won Sunday Times Memoir of the Year and the Paddy Power Political Books Awards Satire of the Year. Stonewall also made him their Writer of the Year and shortlisted him for Writer of the Decade. His first novel, ‘You Will Be Safe Here’ is set to be released in April 2019.

He regularly appears on Radio 4 and has interviewed Dolly Parton, Javier Marías and Brad Pitt for Front Row. He hosted a half-hour documentary for BBC One focusing on The Writers of Rye and appears in ‘Coming Oot’ for BBC Scotland.

Damian sits on the boards of: Brighton Fringe, Gladstone’s Library and the Little Green Pig, and is also a Patron of the child protection charity Children 1st and a supporter of Stonewall and the Terrence Higgins Trust.​