Bernard MacLaverty
In Scotland
In 1975, MacLaverty and his family moved to Scotland to escape an increasingly violent Belfast. Scotland and Ireland were once joined by a land bridge, and MacLaverty and his work have fitted well into the Scottish literary scene. Perhaps the familiar whiff of sectarianism in the Scottish air has warded off homesickness...
MacLaverty taught in Edinburgh for three years before taking up another teaching post on the isolated Isle of Islay, off the west coast of Scotland. During this period, he finished his first two novels - Lamb and Cal. Both novels were later turned into successful films.
In 1981, he gave up teaching to become a full-time writer - a risky move for a man with a young family of four to support. After eight years on Islay, MacLaverty and his family moved to Glasgow.
