Quick Info
| Profession | Novelist, short story writer and poet |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Date of Birth | 02/12/1955 |
| Age | 70 years |
| Birthplace | Saltcoats, Ayrshire, Scotland |
| Zodiac Sign | Sagittarius |
Latest News about Janice Galloway
12/11/2026
Janice Galloway's agent announced that she has withdrawn from public life after disclosing that she is living with a dementia diagnosis. The announcement came as the National Theatre of Scotland unveiled a 2027 production of her best-known novel, The Trick Is to Keep Breathing, which her family welcomed as a celebration of her living legacy. The production is set to tour Edinburgh, Glasgow and Pitlochry in May and June 2027.
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Bio/Wiki
| Summary | Scottish novelist, short story writer and poet known for her feminist, experimental fiction, including The Trick Is to Keep Breathing, Foreign Parts and This Is Not About Me. |
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| Early Life | Brought up in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, by her mother, and attended Ardrossan Academy. |
| Literary Recognition | Her debut novel The Trick Is to Keep Breathing won the MIND Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award. Her 'anti-memoir' This Is Not About Me won the SMIT Scottish non-fiction Book of the Year. |
| Current Status | Withdrew from public life in recent years due to illness; her agent announced in November 2026 that she is living with a dementia diagnosis. |
Educational Qualification(s)
| University | University of Glasgow, where she studied music and English |
|---|---|
| Secondary School | Ardrossan Academy |
Personal Life
| Background | Grew up in a household shaped by a difficult father and a mother who raised her after leaving him. |
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| Interests | Reading and music |
| Health | Living with a dementia diagnosis, publicly disclosed in November 2026 |
Family
| Father | James Galloway |
|---|---|
| Mother | Janet Clark McBride |
| Siblings |
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| Children | One adult son, James |
Career
| Teaching | Taught in Ayrshire for about ten years |
|---|---|
| Writing Debut | The Trick Is to Keep Breathing (novel, 1989; published 1990 per some sources) |
| Other Novels | Foreign Parts (1994), Clara, This Is Not About Me (2008), All Made Up (2011/2012) |
| Short Fiction | Blood (1991), Where You Find It (1996) |
| Residencies and Fellowships | Writer in residence for four Scottish prisons; Times Literary Supplement Research Fellow at the British Library (1999); Robert Louis Stevenson Award (2006); first Scottish recipient of the Jura Writer's Retreat (2007) |
| Collaborations | Opera Monster with composer Sally Beamish, premiered by Scottish Opera in 2002; Rosengarten with sculptor Anne Bevan |
| Broadcasting | BBC radio work including Life as a Man, Imagined Lives and Chopin's Scottish Swansong |
| Recent Stage Adaptation | National Theatre of Scotland announced a 2027 stage production of The Trick Is to Keep Breathing, adapted by the late Michael Boyd |
Some Lesser Known Facts
| 1. Clara was recorded as the first audio book by Scottish RNIB in 2003. | |
| 2. Rosengarten, made with Anne Bevan, is part of the permanent collection of the Hunterian Museum. | |
| 3. Her opera Monster, with Sally Beamish, explores the life of Mary Shelley. | |
| 4. She was the first Scottish Arts Council writer in residence to work in four prisons. |
