Alexander McCall Smith facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alexander McCall Smith
CBE FRSE FRSL
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McCall Smith at Bloody Scotland in 2018
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| Born | Rodney Alexander Alasdair McCall Smith 24 August 1948 Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) |
| Occupation | Professor of medical law, writer |
| Nationality | British, Zimbabwean |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Education | Christian Brothers College, Bulawayo |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh (LLB, PhD, Emeritus Professor in the School of Law) |
| Genre | Fiction, crime fiction, children's books, academic non-fiction |
Sir Alexander McCall Smith is a famous Scottish writer. He was born on August 24, 1948. He grew up in a country called Southern Rhodesia, which is now Zimbabwe. Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a professor who taught about medical law at the University of Edinburgh.
He is known for writing many books. By 2010, over 40 million copies of his books had been sold in English. His stories have been translated into 46 different languages. He is most famous for creating The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency book series.
Contents
Growing Up
Early Life and Education
Rodney Alexander Alasdair McCall Smith was born in 1948. His birthplace was Bulawayo, in what was then Southern Rhodesia. His parents were British. He was the only boy in his family, with three older sisters. His father worked as a public prosecutor in Bulawayo.
McCall Smith went to school at Christian Brothers College in Bulawayo. When he was 17, he moved to Scotland. There, he studied law at the University of Edinburgh. He earned two degrees there: a Bachelor of Laws and a PhD.
First Steps in Writing
After his studies, he taught at Queen's University Belfast. While teaching, he entered a writing contest. He submitted two stories: one for children and one for adults. He won the prize for the children's book. This was an early sign of his talent for writing for young readers.
Professional Journey
Teaching Law in Africa
In 1981, McCall Smith went back to southern Africa. He helped start a law school at the University of Botswana. He also taught law there. During this time, he co-wrote a book called The Criminal Law of Botswana. This book was published in 1992.
Professor and Expert
Later, he became a Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. He is now an Emeritus Professor there. This means he is a retired professor who still has a connection to the university. He also helps with the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, which is a famous literary award.
McCall Smith was also involved in important committees. He was the chairman of the Ethics Committee for the British Medical Journal. He was also the vice-chairman of the Human Genetics Commission in the UK. He was a member of the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO. After he became very successful as a writer, he stopped these roles.
Awards and Recognition
Special Honours
McCall Smith has received many honours for his work. In 2007, he was given the title of CBE. This award is for people who have done great things for literature. In 2024, he was made a Knight Bachelor. This means he can use the title "Sir" before his name. He received this honour for his contributions to literature, education, and charity.
Honorary Degrees
In June 2007, he received an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh. This was a Doctor of Laws degree. It celebrated 300 years of the university's law school. In 2015, he received another honorary degree. This was a Doctor of Letters from the University of St Andrews.
Life in Edinburgh
Family and Home
After studying in Edinburgh, Scotland, he decided to live there. He and his wife, Elizabeth, bought and fixed up a large Victorian house. They have lived there ever since and raised their two daughters. Other famous authors like J. K. Rowling and Ian Rankin lived nearby.
Hobbies and Interests
McCall Smith enjoys playing the bassoon. He even helped start an orchestra called The Really Terrible Orchestra. He also helped create Botswana's first opera training center. It is called the Number 1 Ladies' Opera House. He wrote the story for their first show, which was a version of Macbeth. This version was set among baboons in the Okavango Delta.
In 2014, McCall Smith bought some small, uninhabited islands. These islands are called the Cairns of Coll in the Hebrides. He said he wanted to keep them untouched. He plans for them to be a safe place for wildlife forever.
Writing Journey
A Prolific Author
McCall Smith writes a lot of books. He has written many different series. He writes very quickly. Even when he travels, he writes between 2,000 and 3,000 words each day. When he is at home in Edinburgh, he can write up to 5,000 words a day. He usually writes about 1,000 words in an hour.
His most famous books are the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. These stories are about a detective named Mma Precious Ramotswe. The books are set in Gaborone, Botswana. The first book in this series came out in 1998. By 2009, over 20 million copies of this series had been sold in English.
Full-Time Writer
His publisher in Edinburgh shared that he was a professor until 2005. Then, he decided to stop teaching to focus only on writing. He has been a full-time writer ever since.
He wrote 30 books in the 1980s and 1990s. This was before he started the series that made him famous worldwide. In 2008, he wrote a story online called Corduroy Mansions. It was published in parts each day. He wrote many chapters ahead of time. He found it exciting to create a novel while readers were watching.
In 2009, he gave a short story called "Still Life" to Oxfam. This was for their "Ox-Tales" project. This project included four collections of stories by 38 British authors. McCall Smith's story was in the "Air" collection. In 2020, he published a book of poems called In a Time of Distance: And Other Poems.
Images for kids
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McCall Smith speaking at the Library of Congress in 2019
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See also
In Spanish: Alexander McCall Smith para niños
