“It’s following the same journey I had travelling around Europe living on just £1 a day” – Former Green Party MP is set to release his debut novel which tackles issues of homelessness.

Bryan Blears, former Green Party MP for Salford, has announced he is releasing his debut novel ‘These Walls Were Never Really There’.

Described by publishing industry editors as ‘thought-provoking’, the novel combines Bryan’s own experiences of travelling across Europe with a true-to-life account of life in Manchester’s homeless community.

Bryan, who is now an NHS worker, said: “The novel is based a lot on some of my own experiences as a 20-year-old, I came from a really rough background in Salford and there was a lot of trouble at home.

“All I knew was that I wanted to get away, so I ended up dropping out of university and I left.”

“I had no idea what I was doing, I was living on very little favours and sometimes less than a pound a day”.

Bryan’s own experience whilst travelling around Europe is what inspired him to write his novel.

“Coming back to the UK was when I started to turn my life around, I didn’t think of this as a book for a long time.

“However, a few years later I started writing short stories, and that was when I started to realise that this could make a really fantastic story.”

I absolutely love this online Penguin Classics cover generator. Could this be on the shelves of Waterstones one day? An author can dream!https://t.co/VjTkkkhgF6 pic.twitter.com/W5poi8TVH7

— Bryan Blears (@bryanblears) November 3, 2021

“It shouldn’t be happening in this day and age”

‘These Walls Were Never Really There’ follows the journey of a young man called Cameron, who at the start of the book, is living on the streets of Manchester.

Bryan wanted to use his debut novel as a way to raise awareness of the issues of homelessness.

“After I returned to the UK, I used to walk past the homeless every day and I was seeing the impact of all that had, so I decided that I wanted to make this novel more of a critique of how homeless people are treated in the UK and the massive imbalances.

“I hope that this book can broaden people’s perspectives, and also make them a bit more sympathetic to the homeless and the issues affecting them.”

Rishi Lancaster, co-founder of homeless charity Coffee4Craig said: “I think it’s absolutely vital that people write about homelessness. It gives people a different perspective on the issue and also, it will hopefully make them a little more empathetic towards the people who are affected.

“We really need to get the message out there because it shouldn’t be happening in this day and age, it’s just not right.”

Bryan Continued: “I am really excited to share this important and hopefully inspiring story with the people of Salford.

“In the future, I am planning on offering signed copies, prizes and lots more, I just can’t wait for everyone to be able to read this novel.”

‘These Walls Were Never Really There’ is due to be released in April 2022 by 2QT Publishing and will be available in paperback and ebook.

To keep up to date with Bryans latest announcements, you can visit his website here.