William McIlvanney

(born 25 November 1936 - ) - Kilmarnock, Ayrshire

Novelist William McIlvanney was born in Kirmarnock and studied at the Academy there, before going on to read an MA in English at the University of Glasgow. After graduating in 1960, he worked for 15 years as an English teacher. His first novel, Remedy is None, won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in 1996. He is best known for his gritty portrayals of working class life in 1970s Glasgow and Kilmarnock (fictionalised as "Graithnock"). His 1975 novel Docherty won the Whitbread Novel Award, and its sequel, The Kiln, won a Saltire Society Award.

McIlvanney's 1985 novel The Big Man was made into a film starring Liam Neeson and featuring Billy Connolly. His most recent novel is Weekend, published in 2006. McIlvanney is also a successful poet, with collections published in 1970 and 1991.

Unfortunately McIlvanney's books were allowed to go out of print but 2012 has seen a real revival of interest in the author and his works. Canongate's editorial director, Francis Bickmore, bought world rights and will re-publish Laidlaw, The Papers of Tony Veitch and Strange Loyalties in 2013, followed by Doherty and The Big Man in 2014.

Bickmore said: "We are thrilled at Canongate to have the chance to publish McIlvanney with the energy he deserves and to take these irresistible books to a whole new generation of readers. Starting with his appearance at Bloody Scotland 2012, McIlvanney is back with a vengeance."

William McIlvanney's brother Hugh is a respected sports journalist and writer, and his son, Liam McIlvanney, is an academic and novelist working in New Zealand.

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Laidlaw
William McIlvanney - Paperback - Canongate
Meet Jack Laidlaw, the original damaged detective. When a young woman is found brutally murdered on Glasgow Green, only Laidlaw stands a chance of finding her murderer from among the hard men, gangland villains and self-made moneymen who lurk in the city's shadows.
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The Papers Of Tony Veitch
William McIlvanney - Paperback - Canongate
Eck Adamson, an alcoholic vagrant, summons Jack Laidlaw to his deathbed. Probably the only policeman in Glasgow who would bother to respond, Laidlaw sees in Eck's cryptic last message a clue to the murder of a gangland thug and the disappearance of a student. With stubborn integrity, Laidlaw tracks a seam of corruption that runs from the top to the bottom of society.
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Strange Loyalties
William McIlvanney - Paperback - Canongate
When his brother dies stepping out in front of a car, Detective Jack Laidlaw is determined to find out what really happened. With corrosive wit, Laidlaw relates an emotional quest through Glasgow's underworld, and into the past. He discovers as much about himself as the loved brother he has lost, in a search which leads to a shattering climax.