Joe Heap was born in Bradford in 1986, the son of two teachers. In 2004, he won the Foyle Young Poet award, and his poetry has been published in several pamphlets. He studied for a BA in English Literature at Stirling University and a Masters in Creative Writing at Glasgow University. Joe lives in London with his long-suffering girlfriend, short-suffering baby, and much-aggrieved cat. is his first novel.