Mark Z. Danielewski, son of a film director who co-founded the Sundance Film Festival, grew up in Utah and was educated at Harvard, where he was taught by Harold Bloom. He attended the most prestigious film school in America at the University of Southern California and has written a number of screenplays. Ten years in the writing, House of Leaves - his first novel - was first published in 2000. His sister, Poe, is a cult rock star in the States. He lives in Los Angeles.