Born in Manchester, Tim Parks grew up in London and studied at Cambridge and Harvard. In 1981 he moved to Italy where he has lived ever since. He is the author of novels, non-fiction and essays, including Europa, Cleaver, A Season with Verona and Teach Us to Sit Still. He has won the Somerset Maugham, Betty Trask and Llewellyn Rhys awards, and been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He lectures on literary translation in Milan, writes for publications such as the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books, and his many translations from the Italian include works by Moravia, Calvino, Calasso, Tabucchi and Machiavelli.

"A near-perfect marriage of style and content...A terrific, bravura tale...has a magnificent, thrilling urgency" Sunday Telegraph "A deftly plotted tale...With Rapids, Tim Parks demonstrate, once again, that he is a supremely confident storyteller...As refreshing as it is memorable" Evening Standard "Triumphant...In Rapids he has excelled himself" Daily Telegraph "A writer of considerable intelligence and great technical skill...His work is always tremendously readable" Guardian "A truly outstanding writer... immensely readable and deeply intelligent" -- Tim Lott Independent