Archie Hind, the creator of the seminal Glasgow novel The Dear Green Place, has died. The 79-year-old playwright, author of �one of the best books ever about Glasgow�, died yesterday morning.

Archie Hind, the creator of the seminal Glasgow novel The Dear Green Place, has died.

The 79-year-old playwright, author of "one of the best books ever about Glasgow", died yesterday morning after a long period of illness.

First published in 1966, The Dear Green Place, and its story of Mat Craig and his struggle to write a modern literary classic, has been an inspiration to generations of writers. The novel has been described as a key forerunner of the works of other great Glasgow authors such as Alasdair Gray, James Kelman and William McIlvanney, and last night Gray, a great friend of Hind for many years, described his sadness at his death. He also spoke of Hind's recent joy that his great novel was about to be reprinted.

Hind had been due to appear at the Aye Write! literary festival in Glasgow alongside Gray in March.

Gray said: "He was rather pleased about the reprint, because it is going to include some of his notes for the other novel he never completed or printed, Fur Sadie, and a piece of journalism he wrote about the Upper Clyde Shipyards. The Dear Green Place had never died in its impact but he was delighted to see it printed again.

"It is very sad news. I remember two-and-a-half years ago when he was taken into hospital with cancer, and his wife, Eleanor, and son were told he had only weeks to live but he carried on for years more. He said to me he was hoping to see his 80th birthday, but it was not to be."

Bailie Liz Cameron, the chair of Aye Write! Bank of Scotland book festival, said: "We are all devastated to hear that Archie has passed away and our immediate thoughts are with his family and friends.

"We'll redouble our efforts to ensure the event still goes ahead to honour the memory of a great Glasgow writer and a great Glasgow book." The celebratory event, due to take place on March 8, will now only proceed with the Hind family's permission, the festival said. Such was the popularity of Hind and his book, it was the first event to sell-out this year at the festival.

Professor Douglas Gifford, emeritus professor of the department of Scottish Literature at Glasgow University, said The Dear Green Place was a key text in the history of modern Scottish fiction, and writing about life in Glasgow in particular.

He said: "I think over the years the history of Glasgow fiction has been neglected, but he was certainly the beginning of the revival that led to the efflorescence of talent such as Gray, Kelman and McIlvanney and so on."

Jack McLean, the journalist and writer, was a friend of Mr Hind. Yesterday he said: "I am very sorry to hear this. I have known Archie for a very long time. In fact we collaborated on a series of articles for The Herald. We travelled all over Scotland, giving two distinct views of where we went, and I think it worked very well."

Hind was born in June 1928 in Dalmarnock in Glasgow's east end. He grew up in Carntyne. After national service he decided he wanted to become a writer and he began to attend Workers' Educational Association writing classes, followed by study at Newbattle Abbey College.

The publication of The Dear Green Place in 1966 was accompanied by much publicity, including features on ITV and BBC Scotland, and the novel itself won a number of prizes. He and his wife, Eleanor, had five children. One son, Gavin, was killed in a car accident as a youth.