Bernard MacLaverty facts for kids

Bernard MacLaverty (born on September 14, 1942) is a famous Irish writer. He writes novels and short stories. Some of his well-known novels are Cal and Grace Notes. He has also written many collections of short stories.

His Life Story

Bernard MacLaverty was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He went to Holy Family Primary School and then St Malachy's College. After school, he worked as a medical lab technician. He also studied at Queen's University Belfast.

In 1975, he moved from Belfast to Scotland with his wife, Madeline. They had four children: Ciara, Claire, John, and Jude. First, they lived in Edinburgh. Then they moved to the island of Islay. Finally, they settled in the West End of Glasgow.

Bernard MacLaverty has been a "Writer-in-Residence" at several universities. This means he was a special guest writer who taught and worked with students. He worked at universities like Aberdeen and Iowa State. In 2007, he was a special artist at the University of Toronto in Canada.

His Books and Films

Bernard MacLaverty has written five novels and seven collections of short stories. His first novel, Lamb, came out in 1980. It explores ideas about faith, relationships, and love.

His next novel was Cal, published in 1983. This book looks at love during times of conflict. Grace Notes, from 1997, was a finalist for the important Booker Prize. It's about a woman trying to create music while also being a mother. The Anatomy School (2001) is a funny story about growing up.

Many of his short stories are collected in a book called Collected Stories (2013).

MacLaverty also wrote screenplays for his books. A screenplay is the script for a movie. He wrote the script for Cal in 1984. Famous actors Helen Mirren and John Lynch starred in the movie. The film's music was made by Mark Knopfler. Helen Mirren won an award for Best Actress at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival for her role.

He also adapted his book Lamb for a movie. Liam Neeson and Hugh O'Conor were in Lamb (1985). The music for this film was by Van Morrison.

Bernard MacLaverty has written for other types of media too. He has written plays for radio and television. He also writes libretti for operas. A libretto is the text or words used in an opera. In 2003, he wrote and directed a short film called Bye-Child. It was nominated for a BAFTA award. He has also written operas for schools, like The Elephant Angel.

What He Has Written

Novels

• Lamb, Cape / Blackstaff Press (1980)
• Cal, Cape / Blackstaff Press (1983)
• Grace Notes, Cape / Blackstaff Press (1997)
• The Anatomy School, Cape / Blackstaff Press (2001)
• Midwinter Break: A Novel, W. W. Norton & Company (2017)

Short story collections

• Secrets & Other Stories, Blackstaff Press (1977)
• A Time to Dance & Other Stories, Cape / Blackstaff Press (1982)
• The Great Profundo & Other Stories, Cape / Blackstaff Press (1987)
• Walking the Dog & Other Stories, Cape / Blackstaff Press (1994)
• Matters of Life & Death & Other Stories, Cape (2006)
• Collected Stories, Cape (2013)
• Blank Pages and Other Stories, Cape (2021)

Awards and Recognition

Bernard MacLaverty has won several awards for his writing:

• 1988 - 'Scottish Writer of the Year'
• 2005 - The Lord Provost of Glasgow’s Award for Literature
• 2018 - Hennessy Literary Hall of Fame
• 2018 - Sunday Herald Culture Awards Best Writer Award 2018

He is also a member of Aosdána. This is a special group of Irish artists who have made important contributions to the arts in Ireland.

See also

• List of Northern Irish writers
• List of members of Aosdána
• The Dawning