Alan Warner (born 1964) is a Scottish novelist who grew up in Connel, near Oban. His notable novels include '' Morvern Callar'' and ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

'' – the latter being the inspiration for the play '' Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour'' and its subsequent film adaptation, ''

Our Ladies ''Our Ladies'' is a 2019 Scottish coming-of-age comedy-drama film produced and directed by Michael Caton-Jones, who co-wrote the screenplay with Alan Sharp, based on Alan Warner's 1998 novel ''The Sopranos''. The film stars Tallulah Greive, Ab ...

''.

Life and career

Early life

Warner's father was a Yorkshireman who served in World War Two. His parents were in their forties when he was born, and ran a coal delivery business in

Mull Mull may refer to: Places *Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides ** Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland * Mount Mull, Antarctica *Mull Hill, Isle of Man * Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highway ...

, a shop in

Kilchoan Kilchoan ( gd, Cille Chòmhain) is a village on the Scottish peninsula of Ardnamurchan, beside the Sound of Mull in Lochaber, Highland. It is the most westerly village in mainland Britain, although several tiny hamlets lie further west on th ...

, and a small hotel in Oban, before in 1963 buying the 42-bedroom Marine Hotel, close to Oban ferry terminal. He attended Oban High School, and his interest in reading was sparked when he was fifteen, after he bought three novels whose covers suggested stories with a sexual dimension: Charles Webb's ''The Graduate'', André Gide's ''The Immoralist'' and Albert Camus' ''The Outsider''. He explained in an interview with the ''Scottish Review of Books'' in 2011: "I had presumed novels were an art form which only happened elsewhere and had died out in Scotland around the time of Walter Scott. What a very curious but genuine assumption. On the other hand, I could argue this was because local bookshops were stuffed with Scott and not a single work of modern Scottish literature." After moving to London, he studied at Ealing College. On his return to Scotland he studied at Glasgow University, where he wrote a dissertation on Joseph Conrad and the theme of suicide. He then spent some time participating in the Spanish rave scene, before working in Scotland as a train driver's assistant, musician and barman.

Novels and other fiction

Warner's debut novel, the acclaimed '' Morvern Callar'' (1995), won a

Somerset Maugham Award The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each year by the Society of Authors. Set up by William Somerset Maugham in 1947 the awards enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience in foreign countries. The awa ...

. It was followed by ''These Demented Lands'' (1997), which won the

Encore Award The £10,000 Encore Award for the best second novel was first awarded in 1990. It is sponsored by Lucy Astor. The award fills a niche in the catalogue of literary prizes by celebrating the achievement of outstanding second novels, often neglecte ...

. His third novel ''

'' (1998) won the

Saltire Society The Saltire Society is a membership organisation which aims to promote the understanding of the culture and heritage of Scotland. Founded in 1936, the society was "set up to promote and celebrate the uniqueness of Scottish culture and Scotland’s ...

's Scottish Book of the Year Award. Since then he has published ''The Man Who Walks'' (2002), an imaginative and surreal black comedy; ''The Worms Can Carry Me to Heaven'' (2006), which imagines the reminiscences of a sickly Spanish playboy;'' The Stars in the Bright Sky'' (2010), a sequel to ''The Sopranos''; ''The Deadman's Pedal'' (2012), a coming-of-age novel set in 1973-4; ''Their Lips Talk of Mischief'' (2015), a comedy about two aspiring writers in Thatcher's Britain; and ''Kitchenly 434'' (2021), a comedic satire set in the 1970s about a British rock star and the caretaker of his country house retreat. His novella 'After the Vision' appeared in the anthology ''Children of Albion Rovers'' (1997), and his short story 'Bitter Salvage' was included in ''Disco Biscuits'' (1997), an anthology edited by

Sarah Champion Sarah Deborah Champion (born 10 July 1969) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rotherham since 2012. Champion studied Psychology at Sheffield University. Before entering Parliament, she ran ...

Adaptations of his work

''Morvern Callar'' has been adapted as a film, directed by

Lynne Ramsay Lynne Ramsay (born 5 December 1969) is a Scottish film director, writer, producer, and cinematographer best known for the feature films '' Ratcatcher'' (1999), ''Morvern Callar'' (2002), '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'' (2011), and '' You Were N ...

. ''The Sopranos'' has been adapted for the screen by

Alan Sharp Alan Sharp (12 January 1934 – 8 February 2013) was a Scottish novelist and screenwriter. He published two novels in the 1960s, and subsequently wrote the screenplays for about twenty films, mostly produced in the United States. According to ...

and

Michael Caton-Jones Michael Caton-Jones (born Michael Jones; 15 October 1957) is a Scottish director and producer of film and television. His credits include the World War II film '' Memphis Belle'' (1990), the romantic comedy '' Doc Hollywood'' (1991), the biog ...

. Released under the title ''Our Ladies'' in 2019, it was directed by Caton-Jones. A play by Lee Hall, '' Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour'', was based on ''The Sopranos'' and premiered in 2015, directed by

Vicky Featherstone Vicky Featherstone (born 5 April 1967) is a theatre and artistic director. She has been artistic director of London's Royal Court Theatre since April 2013. Prior to that she was founding artistic director of the National Theatre of Scotland, a ...

and featuring live songs.

Acclaim and awards

Warner's first three novels all won awards, notably a

. In 2003, he was named by ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...

'' magazine as one of twenty 'Best of Young British Novelists'. In 2010, his novel ''The Stars in the Bright Sky'' was included in the longlist for the Man Booker Prize. In 2013, he was awarded the

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Uni ...

for his novel ''The Deadman's Pedal''.

Recurring themes and motifs

Alan Warner's novels are mostly set in "The Port", a place bearing some resemblance to Oban. He is known to appreciate 1970s Krautrock band Can; two of his books feature dedications to former band members (''Morvern Callar'' to Holger Czukay and ''The Man Who Walks'' to

Michael Karoli Michael Karoli (29 April 1948 – 17 November 2001) was a German guitarist, violinist and composer. He was a founding member of the influential krautrock band Can. Career Karoli was born and grew up in Straubing, Bavaria, moving to St. Gall ...

), and Warner has published a book about their album '' Tago Mago''.

Personal life and teaching career

Warner currently splits his time between

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and Javea, Spain, and was the Writer-in-Residence at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 2016. He was a member of the jury for the 2016

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried competition be ...

. As of 2019 he is senior lecturer in creative writing at the University of Aberdeen.

Novels

*'' Morvern Callar'' (1995) *''These Demented Lands'' (1997) *''

'' (1998) *''The Man Who Walks'' (2002) *''The Worms Can Carry Me To Heaven'' (2006) *'' The Stars in the Bright Sky'' (2010) *''The Deadman's Pedal'' (2012) *''Their Lips Talk of Mischief'' (2014) *''Kitchenly 434'' (2021)

Non-fiction

*'' Tago Mago: Permission to Dream'' (2015)

Music

*''Superstar Vs Alan Warner EP'', 1998 (a collaboration with Scottish band

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

)

References

External links

Spike Magazine interviewthe ''British Council''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Alan 1964 births Living people People from Connel Scottish novelists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People associated with the University of Edinburgh