Alan Wall was born in Bradford and studied English at Oxford. He has published six novels, a book of short stories, and several poetry collections, three of which are from Shearsman Books. Jacob, a book written in verse and prose, was shortlisted for the Hawthornden Prize, and was later republished in his Shearsman volume, Gilgamesh. His work has been translated into ten languages. He is currently publishing fiction, poetry and essays in The Fortnightly Review, The Reader, International Literary Quarterly, Ready Steady Book and Paraxis. His book of essays Labyrinths and Clues will be published by The Fortnightly Review. He has been Royal Literary Fund Fellow in Writing at Warwick University and Liverpool John Moores. He is currently Professor of Writing and Literature at the University of Chester, and lives in North Wales.