William McIlvanney

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox writer William Angus McIlvanney (25 November 1936 – 5 December 2015) was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, and poet.<ref name=BBCProfile>Template:Cite web</ref> He was known as Gus by friends and acquaintances.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> McIlvanney was a champion of gritty yet poetic literature; his works Laidlaw, The Papers of Tony Veitch, and Walking Wounded are all known for their portrayal of Glasgow in the 1970s. He is regarded as "the father of Tartan Noir" and as Scotland's Camus.<ref>Massie, Allan. "Scotland's master of crime is also its Camus". 25 May 2013.</ref>

Biography

McIlvanney was born in Kilmarnock on 25 November 1936,<ref>"William McIlvanney" in Contemporary Authors Online, Gale Thomson, entry updated 23 April 2001.</ref> the youngest of four children of a former miner, and attended school at Kilmarnock Academy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He went on to study English at the University of Glasgow and graduated with an MA in 1960.<ref name=BBCProfile /> McIlvanney then worked as an English teacher until 1975, when he left the position of assistant headmaster at Greenwood Academy to pursue his writing career.<ref name=BBCProfile /> The writer's elder brother was the sports journalist Hugh McIlvanney.<ref name=BBCProfile /> His son, Liam McIlvanney, is also an author of the crime genre.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In addition to his literary career, McIlvanney wrote regularly for newspapers, and was a writer and narrator of the BBC Scotland football documentary Only a Game? in 1986.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

McIlvanney held onto his strong socialist views throughout his life. In common with many from working-class backgrounds in Scotland, he was strongly opposed to Thatcherism. Later, he became disappointed by the shift of Labour towards the centre during the New Labour era under Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and by 2014, he had ultimately come to hesitantly feel that Scottish independence might be the best political solution.<ref name=":0" />

William McIlvanney died on 5 December 2015 at the age of 79, after a short illness.<ref name=Death>Template:Cite web</ref> Following his death, a number of public figures, including SNP MSP Nicola Sturgeon, authors Ian Rankin and Irvine Welsh, paid tribute noting both his inspirational writing and his likeable and gentlemanly personality.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> The Telegraph obituary noted: "Many authors are admired. Many are respected. Few are loved as he was, for what they are as well as for what they have written."<ref name=":0" />

Writing

His first book, Remedy is None, was published in 1966<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in 1967.<ref name=FABER>Template:Cite news</ref> Docherty (1975), a portrait of a miner whose courage and endurance is tested during the depression, won the Whitbread Novel Award.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The Big Man (1985) is the story of Dan Scoular, an unemployed man who turns to bare-knuckle fighting to make a living. Both novels feature typical McIlvanney characters – tough, often violent, men locked in a struggle with their own nature and background.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The novel was adapted into a film in 1990 directed by David Leland, starring Liam Neeson, and featuring Billy Connolly.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

His novel, The Kiln (1996), is the story of Tam Docherty, the grandson of the hero of Docherty. It won the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award.<ref name=ScotsmanSaltire>Template:Cite news</ref>

Laidlaw (1977), The Papers of Tony Veitch (1983) and Strange Loyalties (1991) are crime novels featuring Inspector Jack Laidlaw. Laidlaw is considered to be the first book of Tartan Noir, despite the author's calling the term Tartan Noire.<ref name=Telegraph_Kelly>Template:Cite news</ref>

McIlvanney was also a poet, and wrote The Longships in Harbour: Poems (1970), In Through the Head (1988) and Surviving the Shipwreck (1991), which also contains pieces of journalism, including an essay about T. S. Eliot.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McIlvanney wrote a screenplay based on his short story "Dreaming" (published in Walking Wounded in 1989) which was filmed by BBC Scotland in 1990 and won a BAFTA.<ref name=BAFTA>Template:Cite news</ref>

From April 2013, McIlvanney's writing was regularly published on his own website, which features personal, reflective and topical writing, as well as examples of his journalism.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

His final novel, The Dark Remains, was completed by Ian Rankin and released in September 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The McIlvanney Prize, awarded by Bloody Scotland, is named after him.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Reviews

• Gifford, Douglas (1976), review of Docherty, in Burnett, Ray (ed.), Calgagus No. 3, pp. 58 & 59, Template:Issn
• Aitchison, James (1983), review of The Papers of Tony Veitch, in Lindsay, Maurice (ed.), The Scottish Review: Arts and Environment 31, August 1983, pp. 60 – 62, Template:Issn

Prizes and awards

• 1967 Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for Remedy is None<ref name=FABER />
• 1968 Scottish Arts Council Book Award for A Gift from Nessus
• 1975 Scottish Arts Council Book Award for Docherty
• 1975 Whitbread Award, for Best Novel for Docherty<ref name=IrishTimes_Honour>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1977 Crime Writers' Association Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction for Laidlaw<ref name=DaggerAwards>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1983 Crime Writers' Association Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction for The Papers of Tony Veitch<ref name=DaggerAwards />
• 1990 Glasgow Herald People's Prize for Walking Wounded<ref name=BBCProfile />
• 1990 BAFTA (screen adaptation): "Dreaming"<ref name=BAFTA />
• 1992 Glasgow Herald People's Prize for Strange Loyalties<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1992 Scottish Arts Council awards for Surviving the Shipwreck and Strange Loyalties<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1996 Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award for The Kiln<ref name=ScotsmanSaltire />
• 2013 Saltire Society Fletcher of Saltoun Award 2013 for "outstanding contribution to Scotland's life and culture"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2013 Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award for writing<ref name=SpiritScotland>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 2016 University of Glasgow posthumously awarded him with an honorary doctorate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

External links

• Writer's website at www.williammcilvanney.com
• profile Template:Webarchive on Canongate Publishing website
• Natural Loyalties: The Work of William McIlvanney Template:Webarchive: Association for Scottish Literary Studies
• William McIlvanney’s Laidlaw Novels Template:Webarchive: Association for Scottish Literary Studies
• William McIlvanney: The Write Stuff, National Library of Scotland

References to reviews of work

• [1] Template:Webarchive McLuckie, Craig. "Researching McIlvanney. A Critical and Bibliographic Introduction", Scottish Studies International 28 (Scottish Studies Centre of the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz in Germersheim), 1999.
• Newton, Ken. "William McIlvanney": Literary Encyclopedia
• Template:British council
• [2] McLuckie, Craig. "Postcolonial Resistance: Class, Gender and Race in McIlvanney's The Big Man," Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses (RCEI) 2002; 45: 151–67.
• [3] McLuckie, Craig. "William McIlvanney and the Provocative Witness: Resistance in the 'Laidlaw' Trilogy," Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses (RCEI) 2000 Nov; 41: 87-101.