Bernard MacLaverty is a highly acclaimed author of literary fiction, who was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1942. He spent his early years in his hometown, where he trained to be a Medical Laboratory Technician before moving to Scotland in 1975 with his wife Madeline and their four children.
MacLaverty has had a varied career, including working as a mature student, teacher of English, and Writer-in-Residence at the University of Aberdeen. He has also lived in several different places, including Edinburgh, the Isle of Islay, and currently resides in Glasgow. He is a member of Aosdana in Ireland and is Visiting Writer/Professor at the University of Strathclyde. In addition to this, he teaches creative writing on a postgraduate course in prose fiction run by the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen.
Throughout his career, MacLaverty has published a total of five collections of short stories and four novels. He has also written versions of his fiction for other media, including radio plays, television plays, and screenplays. Recently, he wrote and directed a short film called 'Bye-Child'. His works have been widely recognized and appreciated, earning him a reputation as a skilled and accomplished author.