Liam McIlvanney was born in Scotland and studied at the universities of Glasgow and Oxford. He has written for numerous publications, including the London Review of Books and the Times Literary Supplement. His first book, Burns the Radical, won the Saltire First Book Award. His crime novels have won multiple awards, including the Bloody Scotland McIlvanney Prize, the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, and he has also been shortlisted for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year. He is Stuart Professor of Scottish Studies at the University of Otago, New Zealand. He lives in Dunedin with his wife and four sons.