Douglas Stuart: ‘What did I want to be when I was growing up? Heterosexual’

Born in Glasgow, Stuart, 46, studied at the Royal College of Art. In 2000, he moved to New York to work as a fashion designer for Calvin Klein and went on to become vice-president of design at Kate Spade. In 2020, he published his first novel, Shuggie Bain, which won the Booker prize as well as both debut of the year and book of the year at the British Book awards in 2021. He is adapting the book for television and working on his third novel. Young Mungo, his second bestseller, is out in paperback on 13 April. He lives in New York with his husband.

When were you happiest?
The summer of 1997. My husband, who is an American, gave up everything to come and live with me in Edinburgh when we were students, and we were so skint but we had so much fun.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
People who can’t hear other points of view. Absolute certainty always scares me a little.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
At a fashion show after-party in New York in 2004, my friend dared me to push her into the pool. I did, and you’ve never heard laughter die so quickly.

Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought?
My creative freedom. I was the creative director of a large fashion brand when I packed it all in to pursue my writing.

What is your most treasured possession?
When you lose your parents at an early age, you lose most of your possessions, so I don’t really attach value to things. However, I do talk to my dog’s ashes every day. Her name was Margaret, Peggy to her friends.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I lost my hair at 21 and that was really rough. Sometimes, I grieve for all the wonderful hair styles I could have had.

Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
Because I write about poverty and the working class, critics often say my work is Dickensian and I’ve actually never read more than a few pages of Dickens.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Heterosexual.

What was the last lie you told?
When I accept an appointment or an invitation, I say: “Yes I would be happy to.” Or I say: “Yes I’m looking forward to it.” That’s usually a lie.

To whom would you most like to say sorry, and why?
To my younger self. I was incredibly self-loathing and self-doubting, and I’m still undoing that damage 30 years later.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My husband, Michael. We’ve been together for 27 years this year. As young men we could never have imagined that we deserved love or that we would find such a happy ending.

Have you ever said ‘I love you’ and not meant it?
All the time. Is that a bad thing?

What is the worst job you’ve done?
When I was about 18, I worked on the chicken counter in a large supermarket, and every morning I had to pierce 64 birds on to industrial skewers to load up the rotisserie. That was very grim.

If you could edit your past, what would you change?
My mother and my brother would still be alive. So much of my life has been coping with the grief of losing them.

Would you rather have more sex, money or fame?
Sex.

How would you like to be remembered?
I don’t care.

Tell us a secret
I am not Shuggie Bain.