Will Self

William Self, known as Will Self (born 1961 in London), is an English writer, journalist and broadcaster. His novels, short stories and essays have made him one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary British fiction, and his regular work in the press and on television has kept him in the public debate.

He was born at Charing Cross Hospital and grew up in north London, between East Finchley and Hampstead Garden Suburb. His parents were a professor of public administration at the London School of Economics and a New Yorker who worked as a publisher's assistant. They separated when he was nine. As a boy he read science fiction avidly, discovering Frank Herbert, J. G. Ballard and Philip K. Dick, and his drug use escalated into heroin in his late teens. He studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford and graduated with a third-class degree. After working as a road sweeper for the Greater London Council, he tried his hand at cartooning and stand-up comedy. His short story collection The Quantity Theory of Insanity brought him wider attention in 1991, while his second book was harshly received by critics.

Through the nineties and two thousands he wrote columns for The Observer, The Times, The Independent on Sunday and the Evening Standard, and appeared often on shows such as Have I Got News for You and Question Time. His fiction, dark and experimental, plays with language and perception and questions the categories we use to make sense of the world. Novels such as Dorian, an Imitation and Umbrella consolidated his reputation, and the latter was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2012. He is an honorary professor at Brunel University London. His legacy lies in keeping demanding, idea-driven fiction in front of readers and in arguing persistently for the novel as an art form against commercial pressure.