Desmond Barry (born 1954) was born in Merthyr Tydfil and raised on the town’s Gurnos estate. After University College London he taught English in Italy and then in 1986 moved to the USA. His debut novel, The Chivalry of Crime was published in 2001. From 1999 to 2001, Barry worked in Tibet with a NGO. His shorter prose has appeared in Granta, The New Yorker, The Big Issue and in the anthologies Wales, Half Welsh (Bloomsbury, 2004), London Noir (Serpent’s Tail, 2006) and Sea Stories (National Maritime Museum, 2007).
Books
- The Chivalry of Crime (Jonathan Cape, 2001)
- A Bloody Good Friday (Jonathan Cape, 2002)
- Cressida’s Bed (Jonathan Cape, 2004)
Contributed to:
- Wales, Half Welsh (Bloomsbury, 2004)
- London Noir (Serpent’s Tail, 2006)
- Sea Stories (National Maritime Museum, 2007)
- Merthyr Writing! (Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, 2008)
Nonfiction
- 3:AM Magazine
- The Circular Church. Words by Des Barry; Photography by Diego Vidart
- The Sauna King. Words by Des Barry; Photography by Kristian Helgesen
- William Burroughs and the Dreamscapes of the Dalai Lama