Carlo Gébler facts for kids

Carlo Gébler was born on August 21, 1954. He is an Irish writer, a director for television, and a teacher. He has written many books, including novels, short stories, plays, and historical works. He is also a member of Aosdána, a group that honors Irish artists.

Carlo Gébler's Early Life

Carlo Gébler was born in Dublin, Ireland. His parents were both famous Irish writers, Ernest Gébler and Edna O'Brien. He was named Karl, after Karl Marx.

In 1958, when Carlo was four years old, his family moved to London. His parents separated in 1962. After their separation, Carlo and his younger brother first lived with their father. Later, they moved to live with their mother. Carlo had a challenging relationship with his father for many years.

Carlo Gébler's Education

Carlo Gébler went to Bedales School. His father often told him he was not smart, which made their relationship difficult.

He later studied English at the University of York. After that, he went to the National Film and Television School. In 2009, he earned a PhD from Queen's University Belfast.

Carlo Gébler's Work

Carlo Gébler directed his first television film in 1979. In 1998, he won an award for his documentary called Put to the Test. This award was from the Royal Television Society.

Books and Stories

Carlo Gébler's first novel, The Eleventh Summer, came out in 1985. He then published August in July in 1986 and Work and Play in 1987. In 1988, he wrote his first non-fiction book, Driving Through Cuba: An East-West Journey. He continued to write novels in 1990 and 1991.

Gébler has written many different types of works. These include plays, screenplays (scripts for movies), children's books, and short stories. He has also written several memoirs, which are books about his own life.

Some of his novels are based on real historical murder cases. For example, his 2011 novel, The Dead Eight, was about events in Tipperary in 1940. A reviewer called him an "overlooked novelist" who understood the world's hidden workings.

Memoirs and Family Stories

In 2000, Carlo Gébler published Father and I. This book was about his difficult relationship with his father. They were not close for much of Carlo's life.

In 2014, he wrote a biography about his father called The Projectionist: The Story of Ernest Gébler. This book used his father's diaries and notes. A review said that Carlo showed "emotional empathy" in the book. It also noted that his care made the story important beyond just the facts. His relationship with his father is also a big part of his 2015 memoir, Confessions of a Catastrophist.

Teaching and Prison Work

From 1991 to 1997, Gébler worked at Maze Prison. He taught creative writing to prisoners there. From 1997 to 2015, he was a writer in residence at HM Prison Maghaberry. He has said that teaching in prison taught him more than anything else in his life.

Today, Carlo Gébler teaches a course called "Writing for a Living." He teaches this course at Trinity College Dublin's Oscar Wilde Centre. He is an Assistant Professor in Creative Writing there. He has also taught at Queen's University Belfast.

Since 1990, Carlo Gébler has been a member of Aosdána.

Carlo Gébler's Personal Life

Carlo Gébler lives in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, in Northern Ireland. He is married and has five children. His younger brother, Sasha Gébler, is an architect.