Alan Bissett

Alan Bissett is a novelist, playwright and performer from Falkirk, in Scotland. Formerly a secondary school teacher, bookshop assistant and university lecturer, Alan has been working as a full-time writer since 2007. His first novel, Boyracers (2001) followed the formative years of four Falkirk teenagers and his second novel, The Incredible Adam Spark (2005), told the story of Scotland’s first superhero. His most recent books, Death of a Ladies’ Man (2009) and Pack Men (2011) were both shortlisted for the Scottish Arts Council Fiction of the Year awards. He was Glenfiddich ‘Spirit of Scotland’ Writer of the Year in 2012, and in 2016 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Stirling University for his Outstanding Contribution to Scottish Culture. Since 2011, Alan’s focus has been on playwriting, and he has twice been shortlisted for Best New Play at the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland. In 2022, he was one of the writers of the Police Scotland video ‘Don’t Be That Guy’, which focused on toxic male behaviours towards women and which went viral, garnering much praise and winning a PRCA Dare Award (for UK-wide PR campaigns) in the ‘Public Sector’ category.