1. William Angus McIlvanney was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, and poet.
12 Facts About William McIlvanney
1. 2.
William McIlvanney was known as Gus by friends and acquaintances.
3.
William McIlvanney is regarded as "the father of Tartan Noir" and as Scotland's Camus.
4.
William McIlvanney was born in Kilmarnock on 25 November 1936, the youngest of four children of a former miner, and attended school at Kilmarnock Academy.
5.
William McIlvanney went on to study English at the University of Glasgow and graduated with an MA in 1960.
6.
William McIlvanney then worked as an English teacher until 1975, when he left the position of assistant headmaster at Greenwood Academy to pursue his writing career.
7.
William McIlvanney's son, Liam McIlvanney, is an author of the crime genre.
8.
William McIlvanney held onto his strong socialist views throughout his life.
9.
William McIlvanney died on 5 December 2015 at the age of 79, after a short illness.
10.
William McIlvanney wrote a screenplay based on his short story "Dreaming" which was filmed by BBC Scotland in 1990 and won a BAFTA.
11.
From April 2013, William McIlvanney's writing was regularly published on his own website, which features personal, reflective and topical writing, as well as examples of his journalism.
12.
The William McIlvanney Prize, awarded by Bloody Scotland, is named after him.