Chris Dolan (born 1957, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish novelist, poet, and playwright.

Career

Dolan has published four novels (''Ascension Day'', ''Redlegs'', ''Potter's Field'' and ''Aliyyah''), two collections of short stories and two non-fiction books. He has had three full-length stage plays produced internationally, with five shorter pieces and four collaborations with Spanish dramatists. He has written over 50 hours of television, and more of radio drama. He has worked in collaboration with visual artists on several pieces of public art, has published poems, broadcasts regularly and writes for Scottish and London newspapers.

Novels

*''Ascension Day'' (Headline Review, 1999) won the McKitterick First Novel Prize. :"…Dolan's post-industrial and post-imperialist Glasgow: " ch quiet, modest little groupings of streets, yet their shadow stretched and fell for thousands of miles, as afar as Africa, India, America." This long-range view gives the novel great power, as Dolan draws his characters inexorably together, in the lost, once-great, city on the Clyde." – Christopher Hart,

Scottish Review of Books The ''Scottish Review of Books'' is a quarterly literary magazine published in Scotland. It was established in October 2004 with the support of the Scottish Arts Council. In 2009 it became a limited company with a board of directors, Scottish Rev ...

. *''Redlegs'' (Vagabond Voices, 2012) :"Good things come to those who wait, and this is a good thing… An engrossing and compelling novel... lingering richly in the memory… A fine novel" – ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

''.

Short stories

''Poor Angels'' (Polygon, 1995) was shortlisted for the

Saltire Prize The Saltire Prize, named after the flag of Scotland, was the national award for advances in the commercial development of marine energy. To be considered for the £10 million award, teams had to demonstrate, in Scottish waters, a commercially v ...

, and included both the winning story for 1995

Scotland on Sunday ''Scotland on Sunday'' is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by JPIMedia and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate ''The Scotsman''. It was originally printed in broadsheet format but in 2013 ...

/ Macallan Prize (''Sleet and Snow''), and runner-up the following year (''Year of the Vezzas''). :"He holds you in a tight grip right from the start and manages to combine a sense of raw nostalgia with a profoundly moving atmosphere of love and loss." –

on ''Sleet and Snow''.

Non-fiction titles

''An Anarchist's Story: The Life of

Ethel MacDonald Camelia Ethel MacDonald (24 February 1909 – 1 December 1960) was a Glasgow-based Scottish anarchist, activist, and 1937, Spanish Civil War broadcaster on pro-Republican, anti-Fascist Barcelona radio. Early years Camelia Ethel McDonald wa ...

'' (

Birlinn The birlinn ( gd, bìrlinn) or West Highland galley was a wooden vessel propelled by sail and oar, used extensively in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland from the Middle Ages on. Variants of the name in English and Lowland Scots inclu ...

2009)
:"Dolan's book is both personal and universal." – ''

''.

Plays

His first play was ''The Veil'' (1991), ''Sabina'' (1998), ''

The Reader ''The Reader'' (german: Der Vorleser) is a novel by German law professor and judge Bernhard Schlink, published in Germany in 1995 and in the United States in 1997. The story is a parable, dealing with the difficulties post-war German generations ...

'' (2000), and ''The Angel's Share'' (2000).Review
, British Council Literature website. Retrieved 28 February 2013.

Writing for screen and radio

Some of his work has appeared on the radio, including four original plays and many adaptations, including

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of the ...

's '' Name of the Rose'', ''The Master of Ballantrae'' by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

and several of Ian Rankin's Rebus novels. His four-part modern take on ''

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

'' was broadcast in October 2012. He has written for

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 November 197 ...

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

, and

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

. He has written such screenplays as ''Poor Angels'' and ''Ring of Truth'' as well as TV drama documentaries such as ''An Anarchist's Story: The Life of Ethel MacDonald'' and ''Barbado'ed'' both broadcast by

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and ''Red Oil'' for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. He also has written extensively for ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 September 19 ...

'', ''

Take the High Road ''Take the High Road'' (renamed ''High Road'' from 1994 to 2003) was a Scottish soap opera produced by Scottish Television, which started in February 1980 as an ITV network daytime programme, and was broadcast until 2003. It was set in the ficti ...

'', ''

Machair (TV series) ''Machair'' was a Scottish Gaelic television soap opera produced by Scottish Television Enterprises between 6 January 1993 and 6 April 1999. History The series was created and developed by Peter May and Janice Hally who was also the storyliner a ...

'', and ''

River City ''River City'' is a Scottish television soap opera that was first broadcast on BBC One Scotland on 24 September 2002. ''River City'' follows the lives of the people who live and work in the fictional district of Shieldinch. In November 2017, a s ...

'' for which he has been writing since its inception.

Awards

*2000: McKitterick Prize, Ascension Day *1999: Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial Award *1999: Macallan/Scotland on Sunday Short Story Competition, ''Year of the Vezzas'' *1999: Canongate Prize for Journalism *1996: Edinburgh Festival Fringe First, Sabina! *1995: Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year Award, Poor Angels and Other Stories, shortlist *1995: Macallan/Scotland on Sunday Short Story Competition, ''Sleet and Snow''

Bibliography and other works

Fiction

Novels * ''Aliyyah'' (Vagabond Voices, 2015) * ''Potter's End'' (Vagabond Voices, 2014) * ''Ascension Day'' (Hodder Headline Review, 1999) * ''Redlegs'' (Vagabond Voices, 2012) Short stories * ''Hour After Hour'' (Pathfinder, 2008) * ''Poor Angels'' (Polygon, 1996)

Non-Fiction

Books * ''John Lennon, The Original Beatle. Biography'' (Argyll, 2011) * ''An Anarchist's Story: The Life of Ethel MacDonald '' (Birlinn, 2009) Plays * ''The Veil'' (1991) * ''Sabina!'' (1995) * ''3 Fallen Angels'' (1997) * ''The Angels’ Share'' (2000) * ''The Reader'' (2005) * ''Leather Bound and Double Shot'' short plays for Play, Pie & Pint, series (2005/2006) * Short Spin and Wheesht, Zarraberri and Limbo, all translations of plays for Play, Pie & Pint (2006) * ''Hephaistos'' (2008) * ''The Kist'' (2011) Radio drama * ''Sabina !'' (BBC Radio 4, 2000) * ''120 Rue de la Gare'' (adaptation of French thriller, BBC Radio 4, 2001) * ''Of Love & Other Demons'' (

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

novel, BBC Radio 3 2002) * ''The Master of Ballantrae'' (adaptation of

's novel, BBC Radio 4, 2005) * ''Mission to Marseilles'' (adaptation of French thriller, 2004) * ''The Name of the Rose'' (adaptation of

's novel BBC Radio 4, 2006) * ''The Observations'' (adaptation of a

Jane Harris Jane Harris may refer to: * Jane Harris (producer), British television director and producer * Jane Harris (writer) (born 1961), British writer of fiction and screenplays * Jane Harris (''Neighbours''), a fictional character in the Australian so ...

novel, Woman's Hour, 2007) * ''The Tenderness of Wolves'' (adaptation of Stef Penney novel, Woman's Hour, 2007) * ''The Black Sheep'' (

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

, BBC Radio 4, 2008) * ''Black and Blue'' (

Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel, worked in a schoo ...

Rebus adaptation, BBC Radio 4, 2008) * ''The Dead Hour'' (adaptation of

Denise Mina Denise Mina (born 21 August 1966) is a Scottish crime writer and playwright. She has written the ''Garnethill'' trilogy and another three novels featuring the character Patricia "Paddy" Meehan, a Glasgow journalist. Described as an author of T ...

nove, 2009) * ''Blue Water'' (original play for BBC Radio Scotland, 2009) * ''Strip Jack'' (Rebus novel for BBC Radio 4, 2011) * ''House of Mercy'' (co-written with Bruce Young, Woman's Hour, 2011) * ''Dr. Hyde'' (original updating of

's classic, Radio Scotland, 2012) * ''The Black Book'' (Rebus adaptation, 2012) Television drama * ''River City'' (BBC Scotland, 2004–) * ''Taggart'' (STV, 2004–2008) * ''Burns – Alive & Kicking'' (6 dramas on

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

, Channel 4, 1998) * ''Machair'' (Gaelic serial drama, team writer, 1996–1998) * ''High Road'' (STV, Resident writer 1992–1998) * ''The X File''(drama-docs on Scottish Democracy, Channel 4 1999–2000) Film * ''Poor Angels'' (1996) * ''Ring of Truth'' (1998, BBC Scotland) * ''Mistgate''(1999) Television, DOC * ''An Anarchist's Story: The Life of Ethel MacDonald'' (writer, BBC drama documentary, 2007) * ''Barbado’ed'' (writer, presenter, producer, doc BBC/TG4/RDF) * ''Red Oil'' (co-writer, Mediaco/Channel 4 doc on Chavez’s Venezuela, 2009) * ''Don Roberto'' (co-writer, Caledonia Films, BBC Scotland, 2008) * ''Eurokids'' (writer and presenter, 3 series 1992–1995 of 6 programs each on young Europeans) * ''Alba Na 70's'' (6-part series for STV 1993) Radio Writer/presenter Inc’s * ''Edge of the World'' (documentary series Radio Scotland, 2001) * ''Cover Stories'' (writer and presenter, Radio Scotland’s weekly book programme, 2003–2005) * ''Mingin’'' (writer and presenter 60' doc. on sense of smell, Radio Scotland, 2002) * ''Sunday Morning'' (writer and presenter doc on Scotland’s Sundays, 2003) * ''Letter from Caribbean & Northern Arts'' (Radio 3 Interval Talks, 2002) * ''The Last Communard'' (on French Revolution, BBC Radio Scotland, 2007) * ''Lad o’Pairts'' (series on Scottish Education, Radio Scotland, 2003–2004) * ''On The Shelf'' (6 part series on Scots and their book collections, Radio Scotland, 2003) * ''Fire! 60'' (Hogmanay special on fire & light, Radio 4, 2003) * ''The Last Tutor'' (writer and presenter; 60” doc. Radio Scotland, 2004) * ''The Real Macbeth'' (Radio Scotland, 5 part series, 2007) Poetry * Published in: Chapman, Mariscat. Scottish & Glasgow collections

Prizes

* Macallan/Scotland on Sunday Short Story Prize (1995; Finalist, 1998) * Edinburgh Festival Fringe First (1996) * Scottish Screenwriters' Award (1992) * Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial Award (1999) * Canongate Prize, for journalism (1999) * Mckitterick,1st Novel Prize (2000)

References

External links

British Council Literature
* Chris Dola
Books from Scotland
* ''Barbados'ed'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Chris 1957 births Living people Writers from Glasgow Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish novelists Scottish television writers