Fairlight Books has acquired Allan Radcliffe’s second literary novel entitled Blurred Faces

Fairlight Books obtains a moving story of queer romance and second chances by award-listed author Allan Radcliffe

Fairlight Books has acquired Scottish author Allan Radcliffe’s second novel for publication in November 2025. Blurred Faces is a literary novel set in Edinburgh, told through a dual narrative of two gay men in their early forties as they attempt to reconcile with their pasts.

The full synopsis reads:

‘I mean, it’s nothing really. An old face from the past.’
Two men meet on a dating app. It’s supposed to be a casual encounter between strangers. Jordan is only back in Edinburgh to visit his complicated family, and Davie is reeling from a painful breakup. Yet Davie recognises Jordan as someone he knew long ago, when they were both closeted teenagers at the same school. Back then, Jordan was relentlessly bullied – and Davie was one of the bullies. But Jordan doesn’t remember him at all.

Against the backdrop of a city steeped in memories, Davie and Jordan find themselves drawn together again and again. A fragile intimacy blossoms between them, but can anyone ever be free of their past?

Allan Radcliffe 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. His debut novel The Old Haunts was published in 2023 and was shortlisted for the Saltire Society First Book Award 2024 and the McKitterick Prize 2024.

Radcliffe said: ‘I’m over the moon to be publishing my second novel with Fairlight and have loved working with the team that shepherded my debut, The Old Haunts, into the world. Blurred Faces is a book about two men from the same city whose lives have taken them in very different directions. Their accidental meeting sends them back into past places and bittersweet memories. I’ve had fun carrying Jordan and Davie around in my head, honing their distinctive, unreliable voices, and I can’t wait to share them with readers.’

Pre-order your copy of Blurred Faces here or check out Allan’s debut novel, The Old Haunts here.