Stuart Murdoch: What Happens in the Margins
Stuart Murdoch is a Scottish musician, composer writer, and filmmaker, and the lead singer and songwriter for the iconic Glasgow-based band Belle and Sebastian. Since forming in the mid-1990s, the band has released 12 acclaimed studio albums, including Tigermilk and If You’re Feeling Sinister.
Stuart’s online diaries were collected into his first book, The Celestial Café and in his work is featured in Belle and Sebastian: Illustrated Lyrics, featuring specially commissioned illustrations from Scottish artist Pamela Tait. Murdoch also scripted, composed, and directed the movie God Help the Girl, a musical coming-of-age drama. An outspoken advocate for sufferers of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), Murdoch is also an Ambassador for the Open Medicine Foundation working to promote awareness of ME/CFS and the efforts to find a cure.
In this interview, Stuart shares how his wife helped guide his debut novel, what many publishers wanted out of him instead, working with editors on two continents, and more.
Name: Stuart Murdoch
Literary agent: Jud Laghi
Book title: Nobody’s Empire
Publisher: HarperCollins/HarperVia
Release date: January 21, 2025
Genre/category: Literary Fiction
Elevator pitch: Three young people with a debilitating illness are thrown together, their previous lives are gone forever.
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What prompted you to write this book?
I was in the mood to start a new story, about a female character, it was going to be a comic novel in collaboration with a friend. My wife asked me why I couldn’t just write about myself for once, write it straight. When I sat down to do that I found it easy, and immediately outstripped the need for illustration.
Although the book is written as fiction, the character of Stephen is essentially me, or a version of me looking back that I was comfortable with. (I was definitely more annoying in real life.)
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I started writing in the autumn of 2019. I stopped for an extended period to make two albums with my band and go on tour, but I was done with the book by spring of 2023.
The basic idea of the book stayed in place, the story of events in my life from 1991-1993. When my agent sent it out, the common refrain was ‘Why didn’t he write about the band?’
Happily, Harper Via and Faber stepped in and were happy to embrace the premise of what happened to Stephen and his friends in the early 90s, without it being a band story.
Often, the most interesting things that happen to a person happen in the margins, in the dark, in a hole. It’s the climbing out that makes the story vital.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
I had two editors, one in New York and one in London. I happily took all of their notes. I’m used to collaborating to make art, so I was really pleased that these two people cared enough to make the effort. It became a better book.
It was fun to edit, and all the further proofing that it went through was new to me too. I made many, many mistakes!
I’m still learning about the business; it feels a little bit sleepier than the music business, but then maybe I will write a thriller next time.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
The main surprise was uncomfortable. I had quite a severe setback in terms of my mental health at the end of 2022. Working on the book was one of things that kept me going, and I folded into the writing some of the things that were happening to me in the present time. This allowed me to bring to life more viscerally, some of the darker times in the 1990s.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
A sense of kinship. Some easy instruction, companionship, and fun. It won’t happen for many, but for some the book may strike a chord, and may accelerate their understanding of themselves, of what is happening to them, and what it is they want to be and achieve.
I do feel that I’m writing for a younger audience, for the age that Stephen and Carrie and Richard are in the book. Instruction without condescension—do you think that’s possible?
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
I’m the rookie here, I’m not sure I’m in a position to share!
