Douglas Stuart on Quitting Fashion for Writing and His Booker-Nominated Novel "John of John"

Douglas Stuart abandoned a career in fashion in order to write, and his novel "John of John" has earned him another Booker Prize nomination. He discussed the book in a conversation published by Süddeutsche Zeitung, addressing the portrayal of working-class masculinity alongside the novel's gay protagonist living in a rural setting. The interview, headlined with the phrase about the souls of these men consuming themselves, frames the book around lower-class men and how they are depicted. Stuart's shift from fashion design to literature forms the biographical backdrop to the discussion, which centers on "John of John" and its recognition by the Booker Prize jury. The piece appeared under the Kultur section of the Süddeutsche Zeitung website at the URL referencing the interview, the novel, the Booker Prize, and gay life in the countryside.