The author tells The Reader if his debut novel Pity - a gay love story set in Barnsley - was to be adapted for TV or film he would love Dame Judi Dench to play all four main characters “with CGI putting all the versions of her on screen at once.”
The Reader is hosting an In Conversation with award-winning Barnsley-born poet, novelist and professor Andrew McMillan on Thursday 13 March who will be discussing his critically acclaimed first novel.
Released in 2024, Pity is an exploration of community, male identity, sexuality and post-industrialisation in the Northern English town of Barnsley.
Jamie Barton, manager of The Reader Bookshop said: “We’re so excited to welcome award-winning poet Andrew McMillan to The Reader , where he will be In Conversation with the wonderful Liverpool book blogger Sara-Louise Tareen, who co-hosts the popular book club, Feminist Fiction Liverpool.
“The event will take place in our independent bookshop. They will be talking about Andrew’s debut novel, Pity, followed by a Q&A session and book signings.
“Set across three generations of South Yorkshire mining family, this short and magnificent book is a lament for a lost way of life, as well as a celebration of resilience and the possibility for change.”
The award-winning author, who is Professor of Contemporary Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University, will be visiting the Shared Reading charity in Liverpool’s Calderstones Park for the first time.
He said: “I lived in Liverpool for a couple of years whilst I worked at Liverpool John Moores University; it’s a lovely city and The Reader is an organisation that I’ve always greatly admired!
“It’s been really lovely that a lot of people have understood what I wanted to do and gone along with what isn’t the easiest of novels in terms of form and structure; it’s best to not take on board any reviews really, positive or negative, but I did see one review that mentioned they’d never read anything where someone took such care of a place as I did with Barnsley in Pity, and that felt very special.”
What is Pity about?
Brothers Alex and Brian have spent their whole life in the town where their father lived and his father, too. Still reeling from the collapse of his personal life, Alex, now in middle age, must reckon with a part of his identity he has long tried to mask. Simon is the only child of Alex and has practically no memory of the mines. Now in his twenties and working in a call centre, he derives passion from his side hustle in sex work and his weekly drag gigs.
The novel has all the hallmarks of a gripping TV drama or film, but which actors would Andrew like to see play his central characters on screen? He said:
“I think Dame Judi Dench should play each one, and we’ll use CGI to put all the versions of her onto the screen together!”
The Reader’s In Conversation with Andrew McMillan will take place on Thursday 13 March, 6pm – 7.30pm, in The Reader Bookshop, Calderstones Park, Liverpool, L18 3JB.
There will be an opportunity for a Q&A with Andrew and book signings after the talk.
To book tickets please visit here.
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