Glen James Brown was born and raised in County Durham. His first novel Ironopolis—about the demise of Teesside social housing and its impact of memory, identity, and folklore—was published in 2018 by Parthian Books. Hailed by The Guardian as ‘nothing short of a triumph,’ Ironopolis was shortlisted for the 2019 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, as well as the 2020 Portico Prize. It was translated in to French in 2023, winning the Prix Millepages and Prix des Lecteurs at the prestigious 2024 Festival America in Vincennes, Paris.

His second novel, Mother Naked, was published in June 2024 by Peninsula Press. Inspired by a single line in the 1433-34 ledgers of Durham Cathedral, in which a male entertainer named ‘Modyr Nakett’ performed for the lowest sum in over 200 years of surviving records, the book take the form of a sustained monologue as Mother delivers his act. The Irish Times called Mother Naked  ‘a dazzling work of speculative fiction.’

He lives in Manchester.

Photo Credit: Francesco Gattoni