Simon Mason

Simon Mason was born in Sheffield. His father was captain of Sheffield United and his mother was a sex therapist. He was happy at school, miserable at Oxford uni, and happy again in publishing, where he has worked all his adult life.

As a young, incompetent editor he was shouted at by some of the most distinguished authors of the day, including John Updike and Ted Hughes and, memorably, VS Pritchett, who was 90 years old at the time and couldn’t shout very loud or for long, but who helpfully called his younger wife to the phone to continue the shouting.

In his spare time Simon has written books, including three novels for adults, several novels for younger readers, and a work of non-fiction, The Rough Guide to Classic Novels.

He likes reading, day-dreaming and doughnuts. He runs five miles three times a week. He dislikes crowds and prefers to sit quietly at the edge of things, watching. His dreams are like B movies in black and white, and almost always involve being chased in terror along rainy streets at night.