GLEN JAMES BROWN studied literature at Leeds Beckett University before winning an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded scholarship to study an MA in Creative Writing at the University of Chichester, where he passed with Distinction and the Kate Betts Memorial Award for best work.
His first novel Ironopolis—which follows the lives of three generations on a fictional, magic-realist council estate in Teesside—placed second in the 2016 Luke Bitmead Bursary Award, before being published by Parthian in 2018. The Guardian said that its “unflinching, clear-eyed and overall deeply human depiction of an estate’s glory days and its eventual decline is nothing short of a triumph”, while the Morning Star called it “the most accomplished working-class novel of the last few years”. It was also shortlisted for the 2019 Orwell Prize for political fiction. His latest novel, Mother Naked, was published by Peninsula Press in 2024.
His short stories have appeared in print literary magazines and journals, and he has experience as a guest lecturer in BA and MA Creative Writing modules.
- Areas of expertise: literary and commercial fiction; short stories
- Location: Manchester
- Potential meeting locations: Manchester Central Library, Manchester Art Gallery Cafe, Whitworth Gallery Cafe
Glen is on Twitter
