Irvine Welsh was born and raised in Edinburgh. His first novel, Trainspotting, has sold over one million copies in the UK and was adapted into an era-defining film. He has written fifteen further novels, including the Sunday Times bestseller Men in Love and the Crime series, four books of shorter fiction and numerous plays and screenplays. Irvine Welsh currently lives between London, Edinburgh and Miami.

"A pure writer, producing staggering feats of storytelling... The skill of a master" Independent "Welsh writes with a skill, wit and compassion that amounts to genius. He is the best thing to have happened to British writing for decades" Sunday Times "Urgent, violent, bleakly funny" -- Nick Hornby "Welsh's world is spiky, trashy and brutal. It is also brilliant, hilarious and infused with a kind of punkish morality" Sunday Express "The poet laureate of the chemical generation" The Face