BELFAST WRITER AWARDED ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON FELLOWSHIP 
09 May 2019
Scottish Book Trust, the national Scottish charity changing lives through reading and writing, has announced that Queen’s graduate Bernard McLaverty, is one of four writers to receive Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowships for 2019.
Fellow Belfast writer, Maria Fusco, was also awarded the prestigious Fellowship by the panel, membership of which changes every year.
The Fellowship was initiated in 1994 by Franki Fewkes, a Scottish Robert Louis Stevenson enthusiast, and is supported by Creative Scotland. Intended to give writers a chance to escape the routine and distractions of their everyday lives to devote time to their writing, it provides residencies for four writers at the Hôtel Chevillon International Arts Centre at Grez-sur-Loing, France. Travel and accommodation costs are covered, plus a grant of £300 per week for living expenses.
A BA graduate of the Class of 1974, Bernard McLaverty was born in Belfast in 1942 and lived there until 1975, when he moved to Scotland with his wife, Madeline, and four children. He has been a Medical Laboratory Technician, a mature student, a teacher of English, Writer-in-Residence at the universities of Aberdeen, Augsburg, Liverpool John Moore’s and Iowa State. He is a member of Aosdána in Ireland.
Now living in Glasgow, and has published five novels and five collections of short stories, most of which are gathered into Collected Stories (2013). He has written versions of his fiction for other media including radio plays, television plays, screenplays and libretti.
Bernard’s recent novel, Midwinter Break, has been shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2019. The author was also awarded The Sunday Herald’s ‘Writer of the Year’ (2018) in Scotland and Novel of the Year in Ireland (2017). During his Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship, he plans to work on a new book of short stories.
Speaking about the Fellowship, Bernard McLaverty said: “I am honoured and delighted to have been awarded a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship. To be away from the everyday routine of home, among visual artists, in rural surroundings in France sounds an ideal situation for making progress on a new book of short stories.
“Stimulation and full time focus – what could be better?”
Maria Fusco is an interdisciplinary writer born in Belfast and based in Glasgow. She is the author of five books of fiction, two screenplays, three radio broadcasts and one theatre play. She is currently a Professor at Northumbria University and tutor at Arvon and Faber Academy. During her Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship, she plans to complete her debut novel, Heart of a Peach, about surveillance and forgetfulness.
Marc Lambert, CEO at Scottish Book Trust, said: “The Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship is an excellent opportunity for writers to work in seclusion on a specific project, in such beautiful and historic surroundings. Congratulations to our new Fellows; all of us at Scottish Book Trust look forward to supporting them on the next stage of their creative journey.”
Mairi Kidd, Head of Literature, Languages & Publishing at Creative Scotland said: “The Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship has given writers time and space to focus on their work in an inspiring setting for many years and this year’s Fellows are a wonderful addition to the roster of previous recipients. We wish all the writers every success with their work in the Hôtel Chevillon and thereafter.”
The other Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship awardees for 2019 are Linda Cracknell, a writer of fiction, non-fiction and occasional radio drama based in Aberfeldy, Perthshire, and Philip Miller, a journalist, who has worked for The Glaswegian, for The Scotsman as Arts Reporter, as Scottish Art Correspondent for The Sunday Times, and since 2002, has been Arts Correspondent of The Herald.
Though primarily focused on activities and writers living in Scotland, the Scottish Book Trust’s programmes also reach the rest of the UK. The Scottish Children’s Friendly Book Tour has visited Northern Ireland with popular children’s authors and illustrators John Fardell and Catherine Rayner.
Previous Fellows include Liz Lochhead, Jenni Fagan, Jo Clifford, James Robertson and Louise Welsh. As well as the Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship, Scottish Book Trust supports writers through initiatives such as the New Writers Awards, Next Chapter Award, the ‘What’s Your Story?’ programme for young writers and the Live Literature Fund, which makes funding available to enable authors to visit schools and communities.
For media enquiries please contact Keara Donnachie, PR and Marketing Manager at Scottish Book Trust, or tel: +44 (0)131 524 0184.
To submit graduate news items, or for general enquiries about this story, please contact Gerry Power, Communications Officer, Development and Alumni Relations Office, Queen's University Belfast or telephone: +44 (0)28 9097 5321.
Photo credit: Jude McLaverty
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