Mark Billingham

Nominated Title: "Lazy Bones"
Other Titles: "Sleepyhead" "Scaredy Cat" "The Burning Girl" "Lifeless"
Publisher: Little, Brown / Time Warner

It doesn't harm being a little mad to be a good writer. The necessity of self-imposed solitude, after all, almost begs for the onset of insanity. Mark Billingham, however, takes the call to extremes; he must be insane to perform stand-up comedy as just one of his other roles in a professional life that encompasses his being an actor, comedian, award-winning television writer and novelist. All appear on his impressive CV that shows little sign of slowing up.

Variety, so they say, is the spice of life.

Mark first came to prominence as a novelist with the first of his DI Tom Thorne novels, Sleepyhead, published in 2001, with Scaredy Cat following in 2002. Thorne features in all of Mark's novels to date and the author was awarded 2003 Sherlock award for Best Detective by a British writer.

Success and acclaim have been far reaching. The Sunday Express called his fourth novel, The Burning Girl, " Disturbing and ruthlessly compelling," whereas The Toronto Globe & Mail described Sleepyhead as "A sensational debut," with Time Out dubbing Scaredy Cat "Taut, gripping and stylish".

Mark enjoys being involved in a world that he once looked in on as a passionate reader. 'The most wonderful thing about being a published writer,' he told Writing Magazine recently, 'is that you get to hang out with other writers who are your heroes.'

Mark lives in Hertfordshire with his wife and two children.

www.markbillingham.com