“In my first memories, my mother stands before me with beer or vodka.”
Douglas Stewart grew up in poverty with an alcoholic mother and became a sought-after fashion designer. Today he writes novels – and achieved worldwide success with his debut.
“You did not do well in Glasgow as a gay man who had to toil in a coal mine.” Douglas Stewart, 45 years old here.
Photo: Eric Tanner
Douglas Stewart’s debut novel “Shoji Pine” was published without much ado in February 2020, initially selling slowly until surprisingly taking the famous Booker Prize in November and sweeping the bestseller lists in the USA and Great Britain.
The novel has now been translated into thirty-eight languages, including German. More than a million copies have been sold, says 45-year-old Scotsman Douglas Stewart, who reports via video from his New York apartment.
He gave up his previous job as a fashion designer for brands like Calvin Klein and Gap and devoted himself entirely to writing since the fall of 2017. The book is inspired by the tragic story of his mother who was an alcoholic. Once you talk about it, you realize how deeply Stuart’s grief is. Sometimes his voice breaks, and he has to try to complete his sentences.
“Award-winning music trailblazer. Gamer. Lifelong alcohol enthusiast. Thinker. Passionate analyst.”