Stephen Burgen

Writer & Journalist

The Jacket

A stranger appears on the doorstep wearing your stolen leather jacket and with tales of your deceased partner.

A mother frets that her son has been caught up in a riot.

A middle-aged woman tries to relive an unforgettable teenage kiss and a small boy embraces solitude after his mother disappears.

Eleven stories of hope, passion, hurt and redemption, each one a love story in its own peculiar way and each another faltering step in the pursuit of happiness.

Audio

In the first instalment of the audio book, Sarah Davison reads The Jacket

Stephen Burgen grew up in Montréal and lived in Cambridge, London, Bristol and New York before moving to Barcelona in 2001 as The Times Spain correspondent.

He was the founding editor of Carles Puigdemont’s English-language newspaper Catalonia Today and now writes about all aspects of Spanish life for The Guardian, Observer and Financial Times, as well as contributing radio and TV reports on Spanish affairs to the BBC, Radió Telefís Éireann and TRT in Istanbul.

Stephen is the author of Your Mother’s Tongue – A Book of European Invective, (Gollancz / Orion), Walking the Lions (Constable), a novel, and the short story collection Afterlife.

– Books –

Afterlife

‘It would be a perfect hell for even death to be riddled with uncertainty, to be still thinking the same stupid thoughts.” Held hostage in a cell for 100 days and then manhandled into the back of a car, his face pressed to the floor by a foot on his neck, the narrator of Afterlife no longer knows whether he’s alive or dead. The titular story in this enjoyable, independently published collection from journalist Stephen Burgen shows a man unwilling to let go of life even in the bleakest of circumstances.

Although living in Spain since 2001, Burgen was born in Canada and there are echoes of his compatriot Alice Munro in some of the stories; a preference for uncomplicated prose and quiet revelations when exploring his characters and their complexities.

For all its contemplation on serious topics – alcoholism, terminal illness and prison, to name but a few – there is plenty of humour.

Packed with insightful observations on human behaviour, Afterlife introduces a range of authentic characters in various stages of transition. Getting her money’s worth on the rollercoaster is pragmatic nurse Paula who points to the heart of the book in the penultimate You Never Know Your Luck : “We all know how the story ends, but it’s the not knowing when that sustains us.”

Sarah Gilmartin, Irish Times

An assured and absorbing first novel
Sunday Telegraph

‘There is a great deal to like in this sophisticated novel… (Burgen’s) touch is light, though the theme is dark’.
Catalonia Today


‘Burgen… does a fine job paying homage to Catalonia in his first novel.’
Publishers Weekly

His gently comic tone recognises how funny, how much of a release, much bad language can be.
Nicholas Lezard – The Guardian

An extremely funny history of so-called bad language.
Cameron Simpson – Glasgow Herald

Essential as f***
Loaded

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– Journalism –

Spanish civil war book reveals hidden history of female journalists

Women less interested in ‘macho competitiveness of violence’ in conflict, says author… Read more

Barcelona school and residents create solar energy community

Council-supported project beginning on roof of school in Poblenou could grow across the city… Read more

Zebras, giraffes … and a cycle race through the Maasai Mara

East Africans rarely get a chance to show what they can do on two wheels. They did that in Kenya… Read more

Barcelona wrestles with revival of mass tourism

As visitors return after easing of Covid curbs, talk of diversification of Spanish city has been drowned out… Read more

Barcelona housing co-op wins architecture award

La Borda, whose model of community living thrived during pandemic, wins prestigious prize… Read more

Why an ancient water system is being brought back to life in Spain

A project to restore a 1,000-year-old network of water channels is helping farmers in the Sierra Nevada… Read more

‘It’s my mother tongue’: the fight for a fifth co-official Spanish language

Spaniards easily understand the Asturias vernacular, but official recognition may further fracture Spain linguistically… Read more

Spanish hotel booking app to show working conditions of staff

Spanish chambermaids’ union to launch platform in response to outsourcing and low pay rates… Read more

Days of wine and olives: how the old farming ways are paying off in Spain

The ‘no-plough’ regenerative methods adopted in small vineyards have spread to olive groves and leading wine producers… Read more

Exhibition tells story of Spanish children used as vaccine ‘fridges’

Francisco Javier de Balmis used children to keep smallpox vaccine fresh on journey to Spain’s colonies… Read more

Salud! Spain’s female winemakers use their intuition to rise to the top

The industry has a growing number of women earning plaudits at its renowned bodegas. But are they really better than men?… Read more

Football-mad Barcelona votes to build cricket oval

A public vote to create a €1.2m ground took the city’s authorities by surprise, but the sport has become increasingly popular… Read more

Chariots of steel: Barcelona’s hidden army of scrap recyclers

Thousands of migrants play a key role in collecting Catalonia’s waste but must live on the margins… Read more

Spanish farmers deeply split as ban on hunting wolves is extended

The predators, protected in the south, are widely blamed for attacks on livestock but some think coexistence is possible… Read more

Spain becomes cannabis hub as criminals fill tourism void

With high profit margins and low risk of long jail time, Catalonia is now the marijuana capital of Europe, police warn… Read more

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