James Birrell left Glasgow at the age of seventeen to find his fortune. He only got as far as Leeds before his bank balance convinced him that he needed a job to fund his search. After ten years in a variety of suited jobs which served only to buy ponies for other peoples’ kids, James decided to give up searching for his fortune and took up writing instead.

James’ novel The Manana Man was published in 2002 and he is currently working on his next novel.