Biography

Born in Kirkwall, Orkney, in 1985 and raised in Glasgow, Liam studied for his BA in English Literature at Queen's University, Belfast, and then for his MLitt in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow. Having turned his back on academia for a short while, in order to complete his first novel and work for a high-street bank, Liam has entered into his Research PhD in the (then) department in Autumn 2009 in order to pursue a long-standing interest in researching and producing prose fiction with an emphasis on the Troubles in Northern Ireland. 

An extract from his current work can be found in Wordriver, the literary journal for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, available online at: http://digitalcommons.library.unlv.edu/word_river/1/ 

Research Interests

As above, research revolves around the Troubles in Northern Ireland and, more specifically, on the space between fact and fiction within the texts that have been produced in the Province. As a practicing writer, the primary focus will be on creating a narrative that deals with the conflict both in terms of the collective and the personal.

Publications

"The First Day of Christmas" in New Writing Scotland: Milking the Haggis, Glasgow: ASLS, 2004.

"The Piano" in New Writing Scotland: Bucket of Frogs, Glasgow: ASLS, 2008.

"Death and other distractions" in Let's Pretend: 37 Stories about (in)fidelity, Freight, 2008.

"Quiver" in Wordriver, the Literary Journal of the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, UNLV, 2010.

Co-editor of Writing Urban Space, London: Zero Books, Upcoming. Article in this collection: "Writing on the Walls: Discourses of Violence and Catharsis in the Murals of Northern Ireland".

"Form and Content: A Rationale for a Fractured Narrative" in New Writing: the International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing, London: Routledge, Upcoming.

Departmental Duties

Liam taught:

Introduction to Text Design, Level 1.

Adaptations: Shakespeare on Film, Level 2.

Contemporary Storytelling, Level 2.

Dissertation Supervisor, Level 3.