An evening with Alexander McCall Smith. Alexander McCall Smith is one of the worlds most prolific and best-loved authors. He was born in 1948 and brought up in Southern Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe), before moving to Scotland at the age of 17 to study at the University of Edinburgh. For many years he was a professor of Medical Law and worked in universities in the UK and Botswana before turning his hand to writing fiction. But it wasnt until the publication of the highly successful The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series that Alexander became a household name. These novels have contributed towards a more positive world-view of Botswana and encouraged thousands of people to fall in love with this beautiful country. His various series of books include the popular 44 Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in the Scotsman newspaper and now the longest-running serial novel in the world; the Edinburgh-set Isabel Dalhousie novels, the hilarious von Igelfeld series and the Ulf Varg series of Scandi blanc novels set in Sweden. A new series was launched in 2024, The Perfect Passion Company, with immediate impact in the media and trade. He also writes stand-alone novels and short stories, best-selling poetry, and childrens books. Alexander was honoured as Knight Bachelor in His Majesty The Kings New Year Honours list, 2024 for services to literature, academia and charity.