Gray, Alasdair James (1934– )

Scottish novelist and short-story writer. Lanark (1981), begun when he was 18, is an inventive expression of nationalist and anti-nationalist feeling, brimful of literary jokes. 1982, Janine (1984) and Something Leather (1990) are in much the same vein. Poor Things (1992), illustrated by himself, presents aspects of Glasgow social history, while A History Maker (1994) looks forward to a bizarre future.

Gray was born in Glasgow, and studied at Glasgow School of Art. He was official artist to the People's Palace Museum, Glasgow, 1976–77. His first literary works were plays, broadcast on radio and television.