Allan Radcliffe

Allan Radcliffe, author of The Old Haunts

The Old Haunts

Recently bereaved Jamie is staying at a rural steading in the heart of Scotland with his actor boyfriend Alex.

The sudden loss of both of Jamie’s parents hangs like a shadow over the trip. In his grief, Jamie finds himself sifting through bittersweet memories, with a growing awareness of his sexuality threaded through these formative years.

When Alex is called away to an audition, Jamie can no longer avoid the pull of the past: haunted by an inescapable failure to share his full self with his parents, he must confront his unresolved feelings towards them.

In spare, evocative prose, Allan Radcliffe tells a wistful coming-of-age story and paints a tender portrait of grief in all its complexities.

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The Old Haunts, shortlisted for the McKitterick Prize 2024

Allan Radcliffe

Allan Radcliffe is the author of The Old Haunts, published by Fairlight Books on 14 Septembe.

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 is his debut novel.

Allan Radcliffe’s debut touched my heart with its quiet, intimate look at grief, love, family and romantic relationships, told with masterful spare prose. It is both insightful and observant, warm and infinitely relatable.

I will be thinking of Jamie and his story for a long time.
Henry FryAuthor of First Time for Everything
This poignant Bildungsroman is at once a tender tale of queer awakening in the Edinburgh of the 80’s and 90’s and a heart-breaking love letter from a young man to his lost parents.

Suffused with longing for those precious moments in life we can never get back, it is written through with gleaming prose and a quiet sense of hope
Mary Paulson-Ellis Bestselling author of The Other Mrs Walker, The Inheritance of Soloman Farthing and Emily Noble’s Disgrace
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 MacNeilAuthor of The Brilliant & Forever
Delicately observed but with an edge, moving and real. One for the gay Scottish canon!
Zoë StrachanAuthor of Ever Fallen in Love, Spin Cycle and Negative Space
Equally heart-warming and sorrowful. Each and every sentence has been elegantly penned . . . a pleasure to read
Hannah McLarenScots Magazine
The Old Haunts may be a debut, but it reads as if Allan Radcliffe has been around for years – there is wisdom and insight which is usually married to experience, not necessarily of life but in the art of writing itself
Alistair BraidwoodSnackmag
There is much to admire in this novel: the elegance and economy of the writing, the understanding of emotional difficulties, the truth to life
Allan MassieThe Scotsman
Seeps into the soul and stays with the reader long after the final page has been turned. Masterful
Sally McDonaldSunday Post