Blake Morrison is an author and academic whose work encompasses poetry, autobiography, fiction, non-fiction (including a study of the murder of James Bulger), libretti and journalism.

The Yorkshire-born Morrison came to public prominence in 1993 with his memoir And When Did You Last See Your Father? which has been credited with recasting the autobiographical format. Prior to that, his career included spells as a newspaper literary editor, reviewer and, from 2003, professor of creative writing. He writes across multiple formats: ‘To illuminate things for myself,’ he says. ‘When I start a book I’m never clear what I’m up to, only that I’m nagging away at some problem, or mesh of problems (aesthetic, moral, social).’