Mar
21
11:00pm
Douglas Stuart & Alan Cumming "Shuggie Bain"
By Montclair Literary Festival
Join Scottish-American author Douglas Stuart as he speaks with fellow Scot and award-winning actor, author, filmmaker, and activist Alan Cumming about his 2020 Booker Prize-winning debut novel Shuggie Bain.
Shuggie Bain is a heartbreaking story of addiction, sexuality, and love. It follows the childhood of Hugh “Shuggie” Bain and his wayward, alcoholic mother Agnes, an epic portrayal of a working-class family in 1980s Glasgow. In naming Shuggie Bain the winner, the Booker Prize judges said: “We were bowled over by this first novel….It’s a desperately sad, almost-hopeful examination of family and the destructive powers of desire.”
The novel, a New York Times bestseller, is also a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, and featured as a finalist for the National Book Award, the Kirkus Prize, the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and the Andrew Carnegie Medal. It was named a Best Book of the Year by the Los Angeles Times, NPR, TIME, BuzzFeed, the Economist, Barnes & Noble, Kirkus Reviews, the New York Public Library, the Chicago Public Library, and the Washington Independent Review of Books.
Tickets cost $20 and include a paperback copy of the book (value $17).The first 100 people to register will receive a signed copy of the book. Online event only tickets are available for $10. Tickets can be bought via our ticketing platform here.
Books can be picked up at Festival partner watchung booksellers in Montclair, or shipped to your home address (additional cost, select option when selecting ticket).
Douglas Stuart is a Scottish-American author. His debut novel, Shuggie Bain, won the Booker Prize, and has been translated into 22 languages. He wrote Shuggie Bain over a ten-year period and is currently at work on his second novel, Loch Awe. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he has an MA from the Royal College of Art in London and since 2000 he has lived and worked in New York City.
Alan Cumming is a Scottish-American actor, comedian, singer, writer, filmmaker, and activist. He has won a Tony and hosted the Tonys; received multiple Golden Globe, Emmy and SAG award nominations; and is the author of six books including the #1 NYT bestselling Not My Father's Son and the upcoming memoir Baggage. He has received over 40 awards for his humanitarianism and social activism, three honorary doctorates, both the Great Scot and Icon of Scotland awards from his homeland and was made an OBE (Officer of the British Empire) for his contributions to the arts and LBGT equality by the Queen.
Here's a preview of Alan's thoughts on Shuggie Bain.
This event is part of Succeed2gether’s Montclair Literary Festival's special series of author events, Global Voices taking place on March 20 and March 21, 2021, and featuring authors and poets from England, Scotland, Ireland, Korea, Iran, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, and Spain. The fifth annual Montclair Literary Festival will take place on Saturday October 2, 2021, with a combination of live and online events.
See all of the talks by following us on Crowdcast here or visiting our website events page here.
Any proceeds from the festival benefit parent organization, Montclair-based non-profit Succeed2gether, which offers after-school one-on-one tutoring and enrichment classes with the aim of closing the education and opportunity gaps in Essex County, NJ. You can read more about Succeed2gether and the festival at www.succeed2gether.org.
The festival organizing committee wishes to thank event partners Montclair Public Library and Watchung Booksellers, and festival sponsors Rao's, West of Hudson Realty Group, Jill Williams (Ameriprise Financial), Ferguson Dental, the County of Essex, and community members.
hosted by
Montclair Literary Festival
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