Acclaimed Scottish author appointed as honorary professor at the University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow announced this week that acclaimed novelist Andrew O’Hagan will join the university’s College of arts and humanities as an honorary professor.

The Glasgow-born novelist will be based in the university’s Scottish literature department, with his role beginning alongside this week’s announcement.

Andrew O’Hagan will remain within the position over the next five years, with his vast literary knowledge and expertise as a novelist and essayist being shared with his students throughout their academic journeys.

The position aligns well with Andrew’s credentials as a Scotland-centric author, where the university’s Scottish literature department remains the world’s only research and teaching facility solely dedicated to Scottish literature.

Andrew begins his role immediately. Credit: Martin Shields Photography

The University of Glasgow is no stranger to Andrew, as the novelist gave a public talk and shared excerpts from his award-winning works at the university back in 2007.

He has been a long-time admirer of the works of Robert Burns, whose poems define many of the most recognisable Scottish literary works.

It’s not only Scottish happenings, however, that permeate O’Hagan’s literary works. Prominent and far-reaching sociopolitical events and crises – including the Grenfell Tower tragedy, James Bulger’s murder and British classism are just some of the relevant topics interspersed throughout Andrew’s novels and essays.

Credit: Martin Shields Photography

Profound writing has been paramount to his entire literary career, with his debut novel Our Fathers being shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize – an impressive feat for a first-time novelist.

In addition to being a three-time Booker Prize nominee, Andrew has won a string of other literary awards – include the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction for his critically acclaimed 2007 novel Be Near Me.

On his newly appointed role, Andrew said: “As a Glaswegian, I feel proud and honoured to be able to serve the University of Glasgow, one of the great European centres of learning and a beacon of innovation and understanding worldwide.”

Andrew O’Hagan’s fellow academics at the University of Glasgow are just as ecstatic at his new position. Professor Gerard Carruthers, Francis Hutcheson chairperson of Scottish literature said: “Andrew is one of the foremost writers of his generation, in long-form journalism as well as fiction and he is deeply engaged in Scottish and global culture.”

Images via Martin Shields Photography.

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