Literary festivals UK. Irvine Welsh, biography, bibliography, festival appearances

	Biography Irvine Welsh was born in Edinburgh in 1958. He lived in London after leaving school, but returned to his native city where he worked in the Council's housing department. He gained a degree in computer science and studied for an MBA at Heriot Watt University. His first novel, Trainspotting (1993), a blackly comic portrait of a group of young heroin users living in Edinburgh in the 1980s, was adapted as a film directed by Danny Boyle, starring Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle, in 1996.
	The Acid House, a collection of short stories, was published in 1994 and was followed by Welsh's second novel, Marabou Stork Nightmares (1995), a harrowing stream-of-consciousness narrated by football hooligan Roy Strang. Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance, a collection of three novellas, was published in 1996, and a third novel, Filth, a vivid account of the violent adventures of a bigoted, racist and corrupt Scottish policeman, was published in 1998. Glue (2001), is the story of four boys growing up in an Edinburgh housing estate. Porno, a sequel to Trainspotting, was published in 2002.

Biography

Irvine Welsh was born in Edinburgh in 1958. He lived in London after leaving school, but returned to his native city where he worked in the Council's housing department. He gained a degree in computer science and studied for an MBA at Heriot Watt University.

His first novel, Trainspotting (1993), a blackly comic portrait of a group of young heroin users living in Edinburgh in the 1980s, was adapted as a film directed by Danny Boyle, starring Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle, in 1996.

The Acid House, a collection of short stories, was published in 1994 and was followed by Welsh's second novel, Marabou Stork Nightmares (1995), a harrowing stream-of-consciousness narrated by football hooligan Roy Strang. Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance, a collection of three novellas, was published in 1996, and a third novel, Filth, a vivid account of the violent adventures of a bigoted, racist and corrupt Scottish policeman, was published in 1998. Glue (2001), is the story of four boys growing up in an Edinburgh housing estate. Porno, a sequel to Trainspotting, was published in 2002.

Welsh is also the author of the plays, Headstate (1994) and You'll Have Had Your Hole (1998). 4 Play, an omnibus edition of four stage adaptations of Welsh's fiction by Harry Gibson and Keith Wyatt, was published in 2001. His screenplay of The Acid House was directed for Channel 4 Films by Paul McGuigan (1998).

His journalism includes a column for Loaded magazine and occasional articles for The Guardian. He is also a DJ and has recorded a single with rock group Primal Scream. In February 2003 Irvine Welsh began writing a Monday column for the Daily Telegraph.

Irvine Welsh lives in Edinburgh. Recent works are The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs (2006), a play, Babylon Heights (2006), written with Dean Cavanagh, and If You Liked School You'll Love Work (2007). His latest novel, Crime, was published in 2008.

Bibliography

Past Tense: Four Stories from a Novel Clocktower, 1992

Trainspotting Secker & Warburg, 1993

The Acid House Cape, 1994

Marabou Stork Nightmares Cape, 1995

Children of Albion Rovers (contributor) Rebel Inc. / Canongate, 1996

Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance Cape, 1996

Trainspotting/Headstate (plays) Minerva, 1996

Filth Cape, 1998

You'll Have Had Your Hole (play) Methuen, 1998

Glue Cape, 2001

The Weekenders (contributor) Ebury Press, 2001

Porno Cape, 2002

Alive and Kicking (with David Bryce and Simon Pia) Mainstream Publishing, 2005

Babylon Heights (with Dean Cavanagh) Vintage, 2006

One City (with Ian Rankin and Alexander McCall Smith) Polygon, 2006

The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs Cape, 2006

If You Liked School You'll Love Work Cape, 2007

Crime Cape, 2008

Prizes and awards

1994 Scottish Arts Council Book Award Trainspotting

2002 Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award (shortlist) Porno

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