Alan Bissett author page

Alan Bissett biography

Alan Bissett (born 17 November 1975 in Falkirk, Scotland) is a Scottish novelist, playwright, and performer. He is known for his distinctive use of Scots dialect and exploration of themes such as masculinity, identity, and social class. Bissett grew up in Hallglen, a housing scheme on the outskirts of Falkirk, which serves as the backdrop for much of his work. He attended Falkirk High School and later studied English literature and education at the University of Stirling, where he graduated with First-Class Honours in 1998. He briefly worked as a secondary school teacher before returning to Stirling to complete a Master’s degree in English. During this time, he edited a collection of Scottish Gothic stories, Damage Land (2001), and wrote his debut novel, Boyracers (2001), which was published while he was still a student.

Following the success of Boyracers, Bissett published The Incredible Adam Spark (2005), a novel about Scotland’s first superhero. His subsequent works include Death of a Ladies’ Man (2009), which explores themes of hedonism and sex addiction, and Pack Men (2011), both of which were shortlisted for the Scottish Arts Council Fiction of the Year award. In 2020, he published Lazy Susan, a novella that continues his exploration of complex characters and social issues.

In addition to his novels, Bissett has made significant contributions to theatre. His play The Moira Monologues (2009), a one-man show performed by Bissett himself, received critical acclaim and was later developed into a sequel, More Moira Monologues (2017), which won a Fringe First award at the Edinburgh Fringe. Other notable plays include The Ching Room (2009) and Turbo Folk (2010), both of which were shortlisted for Best New Play at the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland. Bissett has also written and narrated the short film The Shutdown (2009), which won awards at several international film festivals.

Bissett has lectured in Creative Writing at the Universities of Leeds and Glasgow and has been a full-time writer since 2007. In 2012, he was named Glenfiddich Scottish Writer of the Year, and in 2016, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Stirling for his outstanding contribution to Scottish culture. He is currently working on his first novel in over a decade, The Coven and the Drowners.