MacLaverty has written versions of his fiction for other media – radio plays, television plays, screenplays and libretti. In 2003 he wrote and directed a short film "Bye-Child" (BAFTA-nominated for "Best Short Film") and more recently wrote libretti for Scottish Opera's Five:15 series "The King’s Conjecture", with music by Gareth Williams, and "The Letter" with music by Vitaly Khodosh. For Scottish Opera in 2012, and again with music by Gareth Williams, he wrote "The Elephant Angel", an opera for schools, which toured Scotland and Northern Ireland.