James Kelman

James Kelman (born 9 June 1946) is a Scottish novelist, short story writer, playwright and essayist. His novel A Disaffection was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 1989. Kelman won the 1994 Booker Prize with How Late It Was, How Late. In 1998, Kelman was awarded the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award. His 2008 novel Kieron Smith, Boy won both of Scotland’s principal literary awards: the Saltire Society’s Book of the Year and the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year.

In 2024, Kelman was honoured by the Saltire Society with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Scottish literature.

THE FIGHT TO NOT CONFORM: Kavan Stafford on James Kelman’s ‘God’s Teeth and Other Phenomena’ – Glasgow Review of Books

Interview with James Kelman: An Interview with James Kelman – The Bottle Imp

James Kelman, the Booker Prize and the ‘battle of the F-word’, 30 years on | The Booker Prizes