Margaret McDonald: Glasgow Boys

Margaret McDonald joins us on Authors Live to discuss her phenomenal debut novel, Glasgow Boys. After receiving 60 rejections from agents, Glasgow Boys won The Carnegie Medal, the UKLA Book Award, and the Branford Boase Prize upon its release in 2024, and follows the tender tale of Finlay and Banjo as they navigate life after leaving the care system.

Margaret gives us an insight into how these two very different characters came to life, connected by shared experiences. We hear more about how the desire for connection sits at the centre of this story, how Margaret's experience of shielding during the pandemic played a key role in the writing of it, as well as delving into representations of care-experience, masculinity, and working-class characters in fiction.

If you only do one thing...

We know time is tight, so here is just one activity you could do with your class before or after watching the event.

Create a playlist for Finlay and Banjo (LIT 3-15a/4-15a, EXA 3-17a/4-18a, ENG 3-19a/4-19a)

Finlay and Banjo both have distinctive voices. Make a playlist for each character, thinking about how you capture their different personalities and styles. You can either imagine what kind of music they would listen to or try and think about what styles or genres capture their personalities. This activity has been taken from our Glasgow Boys resource, which lets you explore the entire book as a set text. See below for more information.