AllanRadcliffe

Meet Allan

Allan is an author, arts journalist and editor, and freelance theatre critic and feature writer.

Studio headshot of Allan Radcliffe wearing a maroon turtleneck against a dark background

Biography

Allan Radcliffe is the author of Blurred Faces and The Old Haunts, both published by Fairlight Books. The Old Haunts was shortlisted for the McKitterick Prize 2024 and for the First Book Award at Scotland’s National Book Awards 2024, and was a BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime.

Allan was born in Perth, Scotland, and now lives near Edinburgh. His writing has won the Allen Wright Award and the Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. With an MA from the University of Glasgow, he works as an arts journalist and editor, and is currently a freelance theatre critic and feature writer.

His short stories have been published in anthologies including Out There, The Best Gay Short Stories and New Writing Scotland, and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The Old Haunts was his debut novel. Blurred Faces, is due to be published by Fairlight on 13 November 2025.

Recent Media

From Short Works to interviews, browse a selection of recent media from Allan.

  • The Old Haunts

    A rippling, multifaceted jewel of a novel – elegant and unshowy, it dazzles with a distinct and irresistible inner luminosity. Poignant and compelling, it is resonant with vivid images. The writing flows, emotive and understated, with an enigmatic and impressive momentum. A stunning, indelible debut.

    — Kevin MacNeil, Author of The Brilliant & Forever

  • Blurred Faces

    I was quietly moved by Allan Radcliffe’s thoughtful, lovely story, steeped in vodka, bog-smell, and aging rain, about these wounded characters who tiptoe toward one another and risk the terrifying possibility of an un-haunted life. I want to believe they can do it.

    — Jeanne Thornton, author of A/S/L and Summer Fun