Maurice Leitch | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 July 1933 Muckamore, County Antrim, Northern Ireland |
| Died | 26 September 2023 (aged 90) Canterbury, Kent, England |
| Occupation | Novelist, short story writer and dramatist |
| Language | English |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Notable works | Poor Lazarus Silver's City Chinese Whispers |
Maurice Henry Leitch MBE (5 July 1933 – 26 September 2023) was a Northern Irish author. Leitch's work included novels, short stories, dramas, screenplays and radio and television documentaries. His first novel was The Liberty Lad, published in 1965. His second novel, Poor Lazarus was awarded the Guardian Fiction Prize[1] in 1969, and Silver's City won the Whitbread Prize[2] in 1981.
Leitch taught in primary schools in Antrim for several years before joining BBC Northern Ireland in 1960 as a producer/writer. In 1970, he moved to London to become a producer in the BBC's Radio drama department. From 1977 until 1989 he was editor of Radio Four's Book at Bedtime, until leaving in 1989 to write full-time. In the 1999 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to literature.[3][4]
Leitch died on 26 September 2023, at the age of 90.[5][6]