In Conversation with award-winning poet Andrew McMillan on his debut novel – ‘a tale of drag queens and northern miners’ (The Times)

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.  

Is this your first visit to The Reader in Liverpool’s Calderstones Park? 

It will be yes, although 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 organization that I’ve always greatly admired! 

The Reader has just been celebrating the 30th anniversary of World Book Day – can you name three of your favourite books as a boy/young adult? 

Treasure Island was the first book I remember truly loving, I’d get mum to read to me from the Ladybird Children’s Classic edition every time I was off school ill. And then after that Goosebumps books, the Animorphs series as well. 

Your award-winning poetry collections physical, playtime, pandemonium and debut novel Pity all have the letter ’P’ in common. Why is this? 

I wish there was some deep and meaningful reason; in truth I just enjoy it, it amuses me; I like how they all line up on a shelf next to each other too. There’s something nice, too, in the challenge of finding the exact right word that suits each different project.  

You must be delighted with the recognition and excellent reviews from critics Pity has received. What has particularly resonated with you? 

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

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. 

Pity seems ripe for a TV adaptation – are there any actors you can imagine playing the main characters, Alex, Brian, Simon and Ryan? 

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! 

You recently coedited the acclaimed anthology 100 Queer Poems (Vintage, 2022) - is this something you felt was an important literary milestone and are there any particular poems or poets’ work which mean a lot to you? 

It was such a special thing to be involved in putting together that anthology- it really did feel like an important moment, a bringing together of this real flowering of queer poetry we’ve seen over the last decade, but also a chance to reassert a different canon of queer poetry. So much of the work means so much to me in there, all 100 poems.  

I have to say Nathan Walker’s piece, and Joshua Jones’ poem are two that are personal and treasures favourites, and the Ashbery poem we included has one of my all-time favourite lines of poetry: ‘There is nothing to do for our annihilation, except wait in the horror of it, and I am lost without you’, 

What’s next for you in 2025...any exciting plans? Another novel? Screenplay? 

So, it’s poetry next, in the next year or so, and then after that who knows! If anyone wants a screenplay they can get in touch! 

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.