Liam Murray Bell was born in Orkney and brought up in Glasgow. After studying for a degree in English Literature with Creative Writing at Queen’s University Belfast, he returned to Scotland to undertake his Masters in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, before moving to the South of England to complete a PhD at the University of Surrey. Murray Bell now lives in Scotland with his wife and daughter and is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Stirling.
Having developed a fascination with the historical and political context of the Troubles during his time in Northern Ireland, Murray Bell spent several years researching the role of women in the conflict, a subject which informed the writing of his debut novel, So It Is (2012). His second novel, The Busker, was published by Myriad in 2014.
His work has been published in several critical and creative journals and anthologies, including New Writing Scotland and New Writing: the International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing. He is also co-editor of a book of essays entitled Writing Urban Space.
Interviews and Features
Bloody Scotland
Liam attended Bloody Scotland 2013 – Scotland’s second annual International Crime Writing Festival held in Stirling – where he looked quite at home on stage introducing crime legend Val McDermid (see photo). He also ran a series of workshops over the weekend and hosted an event with Irish authors Colin Bateman and James Oswald, on the subject of ‘Good craic’ – the Irish way to tell a story… Read more about the fesitval on Liam’s blog
Interview for Brighton Writer's Retreat
How does Liam Murray Bell stop himself procrastinating when writing novels?
‘I give myself a stern talking to…if I don’t do the work then I only get one biscuit with my mid-morning cup of tea instead of two. Once there are biscuits involved, I tend to get serious.’
Read the full interview for Brighton Writer’s Retreat.